| 1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and
sat by the lake.
2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he
got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people
stood on the shore.
3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying:
\"A farmer went out to sow his seed.
4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the
path, and the birds came and ate it up.
5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have
much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil
was shallow.
6 But when the sun came up, the plants were
scorched, and they withered because they had no
root.
7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and
choked the plants.
8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced
a crop--a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was
sown.
9 He who has ears, let him hear.\"
18 \"Listen then to what the parable of the sower
means:
19 When anyone hears the message about the
kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one
comes and snatches away what was sown in his
heart. This is the seed sown along the path.
20 The one who received the seed that fell on rocky
places is the man who hears the word and at once
receives it with joy.
21 But since he has no root, he lasts only a short
time. When trouble or persecution comes because
of the word, he quickly falls away.
22 The one who received the seed that fell among the
thorns is the man who hears the word, but the
worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth
choke it, making it unfruitful.
23 But the one who received the seed that fell on
good soil is the man who hears the word and
understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a
hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.\"
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