^8:11“Now the parable means³⁶ this: The seed is the word of God. ^8:12Those along the path are the ones who have heard; then the devil³⁷ comes and takes away the word³⁸ from their hearts, so that they may not believe³⁹ and be saved. ^8:13Those⁴⁰ on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while,⁴¹ but⁴² in a time of testing⁴³ fall away.⁴⁴^8:14As for the seed that⁴⁵ fell among thorns, these are the ones who hear, but⁴⁶ as they go on their way they are choked⁴⁷ by the worries and riches and pleasures of life,⁴⁸ and their fruit does not mature.⁴⁹^8:15But as for the seed that landed on good soil, these are the ones who, after hearing⁵⁰ the word, cling to it⁵¹ with an honest and good⁵² heart, and bear fruit with steadfast endurance.⁵³

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Footnotes

36 Grk “is,” but in this context it is clearly giving an explanation of the parable.
37 Interestingly, the synoptic parallels each use a different word for the devil here: Matt 13:19 has “the evil one,” while Mark 4:15 has “Satan.” This illustrates the fluidity of the gospel tradition in often using synonyms at the same point of the parallel tradition.
38 The word of Jesus has the potential to save if it germinates in a person’s heart, something the devil is very much against.
39 The participle πιστεύσαντες (pisteusantes) has been translated as a finite verb here. It may be regarded as an adverbial participle of attendant circumstance. From a logical standpoint the negative must govern both the participle and the finite verb.
40 Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
41 This time of temporary faith represented by the description believe for a while is presented rather tragically in the passage. The seed does not get a chance to do all it can.
42 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
43 Traditionally, “temptation.” Such a translation puts the emphasis on temptation to sin rather than testing of faith, which is what the context seems to indicate.
44 Fall away. On the idea of falling away and the warnings against it, see 2 Tim 3:1; Heb 3:12; Jer 3:14; Dan 9:9.
45 Grk “What”; the referent (the seed) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
46 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
47 That is, their concern for spiritual things is crowded out by material things.
48 On warnings about the dangers of excessive material attachments, described here as the worries and riches and pleasures of life, see Luke 12:12–21; 16:19–31.
49 The verb τελεσφορέω (telesphoreō) means “to produce mature or ripe fruit” (L&N 23.203). Once again the seed does not reach its goal.
50 The aorist participle ἀκούσαντες (akousantes) has been taken temporally, reflecting action antecedent (prior to) that of the main verb.
51 There is a tenacity that is a part of spiritual fruitfulness.
52 In an ancient context, the qualifier good described the ethical person who possessed integrity. Here it is integrity concerning God’s revelation through Jesus.
53 Given the pressures noted in the previous soils, bearing fruit takes time (steadfast endurance), just as it does for the farmer. See Jas 1:2–4.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away. And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

“This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. Those on the rocky ground are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

“This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. The seed along the path are those who have heard and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. And the seed on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy. Having no root, these believe for a while and fall away in a time of testing. As for the seed that fell among thorns, these are the ones who, when they have heard, go on their way and are choked with worries, riches, and pleasures of life, and produce no mature fruit. But the seed in the good ground—these are the ones who, having heard the word with an honest and good heart, hold on to it and by enduring, produce fruit.

NLTNew Living Translation

“This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is God’s word. The seeds that fell on the footpath represent those who hear the message, only to have the devil come and take it away from their hearts and prevent them from believing and being saved. The seeds on the rocky soil represent those who hear the message and receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they believe for a while, then they fall away when they face temptation. The seeds that fell among the thorns represent those who hear the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life. And so they never grow into maturity. And the seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good-hearted people who hear God’s word, cling to it, and patiently produce a huge harvest.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Now the parable means this: the seed is the word of God, and those beside the path are the ones who have heard. Then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they may not believe and be saved. And those on the rock are those who receive the word with joy when they hear it, and these do not have enough root, who believe for a time and in a time of testing fall away. And the seed that fell into the thorn plants—these are the ones who hear and as they go along are choked by the worries and riches and pleasures of life, and they do not bear fruit to maturity. But the seed on the good soil—these are the ones who, after hearing the word, hold fast to it with a noble and good heart, and bear fruit with patient endurance.

KJV 1900King James Version

Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.

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