Chapter 4

Parable of the Sower and Soils

1 aHe began to teach again bby the sea. And such a very large crowd gathered to Him that cHe got into a boat in the sea and sat down; and the whole crowd was by the sea on the land.

2 And He was teaching them many things in aparables, and was saying to them in His teaching,

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.”

21 And He was saying to them, “aA lamp is not brought to be put under a 1basket, is it, or under a bed? Is it not brought to be put on the lampstand?

22 “aFor nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light.

23 “aIf anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”

24 And He was saying to them, “Take care what you listen to. 1aBy your standard of measure it will be measured to you; and more will be given you besides.

25 “aFor whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.”

Parable of the Seed

26 And He was saying, “The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil;

27 and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows—how, he himself does not know.

28 “The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head.

29 “But when the crop permits, he immediately 1aputs in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

Parable of the Mustard Seed

30 aAnd He said, “How shall we 1bpicture the kingdom of God, or by what parable shall we present it?

31 “It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the soil, though it is smaller than all the seeds that are upon the soil,

32 yet when it is sown, it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and forms large branches; so that athe birds of the 1air can nest under its shade.”

33 With many such parables He was speaking the word to them, so far as they were able to hear it;

34 and He did not speak to them awithout a parable; but He was bexplaining everything privately to His own disciples.

Jesus Stills the Sea

35 aOn that day, when evening came, He * said to them, “Let us go over to the other side.”

36 1Leaving the crowd, they * took Him along with them ain the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him.

37 And there * arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up.

38 Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they * woke Him and * said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”

39 And He got up and arebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down and 1it became perfectly calm.

40 And He said to them, “Why are you 1afraid? aHow is it that you have no faith?”

41 They became very much afraid and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”