Matthew 13:1–15

The Parable of the Sower

¹On that day Jesus went out of ^athe house and was sitting ^bby the sea.

²And ¹large crowds gathered to Him, so ^aHe got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd was standing on the beach.

³And He spoke many things to them in ^aparables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow;

⁴and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up.

⁵“And others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil.

⁶“But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.

⁷“And others fell ¹among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out.

⁸“And others fell on the good soil and were yielding ¹a crop, some a ^ahundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.

⁹“^aHe who has ears, ¹let him hear.”

The Purpose of the Parables

¹⁰And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”

¹¹And ¹Jesus answered and said to them, “^aTo you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.

¹²“^aFor whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.

¹³“Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while ^aseeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.

¹⁴“And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says,

‘^1aYou will keep on hearing, ²but will not understand;

³You will keep on seeing, but will not perceive;

^15aFor the heart of this people has become dull,

And with their ears they scarcely hear,

And they have closed their eyes,

Lest they would see with their eyes,

Hear with their ears,

And understand with their heart and return,

And I would heal them.’