^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. ^8:6Other seed fell on rock,²⁰ and when it came up, it withered because it had no moisture. ^8:7Other seed fell among the thorns,²¹ and they grew up with it and choked²² it. ^8:8But²³ other seed fell on good soil and grew,²⁴ and it produced a hundred times as much grain.”²⁵ As he said this,²⁶ he called out, “The one who has ears to hear had better listen!”²⁷

^8:9Then²⁸ his disciples asked him what this parable meant.²⁹^8:10He³⁰ said, “You have been given³¹ the opportunity to know³² the secrets³³ of the kingdom of God,³⁴ but for others they are in parables, so that although they see they may not see, and although they hear they may not understand.³⁵

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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).
20 The rock in Palestine would be a limestone base lying right under the soil.
21 Palestinian weeds like these thorns could grow up to six feet in height and have a major root system.
22 That is, crowded out the good plants.
23 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in the final stage of the parable.
24 Grk “when it grew, after it grew.”
25 Unlike the parallel accounts in Matt 13:8 and Mark 4:8, there is no distinction in yield in this version of the parable.
26 Grk “said these things.”
27 The translation “had better listen!” captures the force of the third person imperative more effectively than the traditional “let him hear,” which sounds more like a permissive than an imperative to the modern English reader. This was Jesus’ common expression to listen and heed carefully (cf. Matt 11:15; 13:9, 43; Mark 4:9, 23; Luke 14:35).
28 Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
29 Grk “what this parable might be” (an optative after a secondary tense, in keeping with good Koine style).
30 Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
31 This is an example of a so-called “divine passive,” with God understood to be the source of the revelation (see ).
32 Grk “it has been given to you to know.” The dative pronoun occurs first, in emphatic position in the Greek text, although this position is awkward in contemporary English.
33 Grk “the mysteries.” The key term secrets (μυστήριον, mustērion) can mean either (1) a new revelation or (2) a revealing interpretation of existing revelation as in Dan 2:17–23, 27–30. Jesus seems to be explaining how current events develop old promises, since the NT consistently links the events of Jesus’ ministry and message with old promises (Rom 1:1–4; Heb 1:1–2). The traditional translation of this word, “mystery,” is misleading to the modern English reader because this English word suggests a secret which people have tried to uncover but which they have failed to understand (L&N 28.77).
34 The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20–21.
35 A quotation from Isa 6:9. Thus parables both conceal or reveal depending on whether one is open to hearing what they teach.

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. And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’

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. Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.”

When he said this, he called out, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”

His disciples asked him what this parable meant. He said, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that,

“ ‘though seeing, they may not see;

though hearing, they may not understand.’

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. Other seed fell on the rock; when it grew up, it withered away, since it lacked moisture. Other seed fell among thorns; the thorns grew up with it and choked it. Still other seed fell on good ground; when it grew up, it produced fruit: a hundred times what was sown.” As he said this, he called out, “Let anyone who has ears to hear listen.”

Then his disciples asked him, “What does this parable mean?” So he said, “The secrets of the kingdom of God have been given for you to know, but to the rest it is in parables, so that

Looking they may not see,

and hearing they may not understand.

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. Other seed fell among rocks. It began to grow, but the plant soon wilted and died for lack of moisture. Other seed fell among thorns that grew up with it and choked out the tender plants. Still other seed fell on fertile soil. This seed grew and produced a crop that was a hundred times as much as had been planted!” When he had said this, he called out, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”

His disciples asked him what this parable meant. He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of God. But I use parables to teach the others so that the Scriptures might be fulfilled:

‘When they look, they won’t really see.

When they hear, they won’t understand.’

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. And other seed fell on the rock, and when it came up, it withered, because it did not have moisture. And other seed fell in the midst of the thorn plants, and the thorn plants grew up with it and choked it. And other seed fell on the good soil, and when it came up, it produced a hundred times as much grain.” As he said these things, he called out, “The one who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

And his disciples asked him what this parable meant. And he said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest they are in parables, so that

‘Seeing they may not see,

and hearing they may not understand.’

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. And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be? And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.

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