3 “Listen to this! Behold, the sower went out to sow;

4 as he was sowing, some seed fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate it up.

5 “Other seed fell on the rocky ground where it did not have much soil; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of soil.

6 “And after the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.

7 “Other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no crop.

8 “Other seeds fell into the good soil, and as they grew up and increased, they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.”

9 And He was saying, “aHe who has ears to hear, 1let him hear.”

10 As soon as He was alone, 1His followers, along with the twelve, began asking Him about the parables.

11 And He was saying to them, “To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but athose who are outside get everything bin parables,

12 so that awhile seeing, they may see and not perceive, and while hearing, they may hear and not understand, otherwise they might return and be forgiven.”

Explanation

13 aAnd He * said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables?

14 “The sower sows the word.

15 “These are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately aSatan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them.

16 “In a similar way these are the ones on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy;

17 and they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they 1fall away.

18 “And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word,

19 but the worries of athe 1world, and the bdeceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

20 “And those are the ones on whom seed was sown on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it and abear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.”