^8:4While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus¹⁴ from one town after another,¹⁵ he spoke to them¹⁶ in a parable: ^8:5“A sower went out to sow¹⁷ his seed.¹⁸ And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled on, and the wild birds¹⁹ devoured it.

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Footnotes

14 Grk “to him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
15 This phrase renders a distributive use of κατά (kata) with πόλις (polis), literally “according to [each] town.”
16 The words “to them” do not appear in the Greek text but are supplied in the translation for clarity.
17 A sower went out to sow. The background for this well-known parable is a field through which a well-worn path runs in the Palestinian countryside. Sowing would occur in late fall or early winter (October to December) in the rainy season, looking for sprouting in April or May and a June harvest. The use of seed as a figure for God’s giving life has OT roots: Isa 55:10–11.
18 Luke’s version of the parable, like Mark’s (cf. Mark 4:1–9) uses the collective singular to refer to the seed throughout, so singular pronouns have been used consistently throughout this parable in the English translation. However, the parallel account in Matt 13:1–9 begins with plural pronouns in v. 4 but then switches to the collective singular in v. 5 ff.
19 Grk “the birds of the sky” or “the birds of the heaven”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated either “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context. The idiomatic expression “birds of the sky” refers to wild birds as opposed to domesticated fowl (cf. 809 πετεινόν).

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable, “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

As a large crowd was gathering, and people were coming to Jesus from every town, he said in a parable, “A sower went out to sow his seed. As he sowed, some seed fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the sky devoured it.

NLTNew Living Translation

One day Jesus told a story in the form of a parable to a large crowd that had gathered from many towns to hear him: “A farmer went out to plant his seed. As he scattered it across his field, some seed fell on a footpath, where it was stepped on, and the birds ate it.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And while a large crowd was gathering and they were going to him from town after town, he spoke by means of a parable: “The sower went out to sow his seed, and while he was sowing, some seed fell on the side of the path and was trampled under foot, and the birds of the sky devoured it.

KJV 1900King James Version

And when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable: A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it.

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