1And again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered to him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was on the land facing the sea.
2And he taught them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them:
3“Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow.
4And as he was sowing, some seed fell beside the path, and the birds came and devoured it.
5And other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up immediately because it had no depth of soil.
6And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and because it had no root, it withered away.
7And other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.
8And other seeds fell into the good soil and were producing fruit, growing up and increasing, and they yielded thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.”
9And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
10And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables.
11And he said to them, “To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but to those outside, everything comes in parables,
12so that ‘seeing they may see, and not perceive, and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest they should turn and be forgiven.’”
13And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?
14The sower sows the word.
15These are the ones beside the path where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.
16And likewise, these are the ones sown on rocky ground: who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy.
17And they have no root in themselves, but are temporary. Then, when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, they immediately fall away.
18And others are the ones sown among the thorns; these are the ones who hear the word,
19but the worries of this age, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
20And those are the ones sown on the good soil: they hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit—thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.”
21And he said to them, “Is a lamp brought to be put under a bushel basket or under a bed? Is it not to be put on a lampstand?
22For there is nothing hidden except to be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light.
23If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”
24And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear. With the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you.
25For to the one who has, more will be given; and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”
26And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground.
27He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows—he knows not how.
28The earth produces by itself: first the blade, then the head, then the full grain in the head.
29But when the grain is ripe, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
30And he said, “To what shall we liken the kingdom of God, or with what parable shall we present it?
31It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth,
32but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all the garden plants and produces large branches, so that the birds of the air can nest in its shade.
33With many such parables he was speaking the word to them, as they were able to hear.
34He would not speak to them without a parable, but privately he would explain everything to his own disciples.
35On that day, when evening came, he said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.”
36So leaving the crowd, they took him along in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him.
37And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that it was already filling up.
38But he was in the stern, sleeping on the cushion. So they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”
39And he woke up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Silence! Be still!” Then the wind died down, and there was a great calm.
40And he said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it you have no faith?”
41And they were struck with great fear and were saying to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
Open in the interactive reader →