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
.
And He was teaching them many
things
in aparables
, and was saying
to them in His teaching
,
"Listen to this! Behold
, the sower
went
out to sow
;
as he was sowing, some
seed fell
beside
the road
, and the birds
came
and ate
it up.
"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
.
"And after the sun
had risen
, it was scorched
; and because
it had
no
root
, it withered
away
.
"Other seed fell
among
the thorns
, and the thorns
came
up and choked
it, and it yielded
no
crop
.
"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
."
And He was saying, " aHe who
has
ears
to hear
, 1let him hear
."
As soon as He was alone
, 1His followers
, along
with the twelve
, began asking
Him about the parables
.
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
,
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
."
aAnd He *said to them, "Do you not understand
this
parable
? How
will you understand
all
the parables
?
"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.
"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
;
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
.
"And others are the ones on whom seed was sown
among
the thorns
; these
are the ones who have heard
the word
,
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
.
"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
."
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
?
" aFor nothing is hidden
, except
to be revealed
; nor
has anything been
secret
, but that it would come
to light
.
" aIf anyone
has
ears
to hear
, let him hear
."
And He was saying to them, "Take
care
what
you listen
to. 1 aBy your standard
of measure
it will be measured
to you; and more
will be given
you besides
.
" aFor whoever has
, to him more shall be given
; and whoever
does not have
, even
what
he has
shall be taken
away
from him."
And He was saying, "The kingdom
of God
is like
a man
who casts
seed
upon the soil
;
and he goes to bed
at night
and gets
up by day
, and the seed
sprouts
and grows
--how
, he himself
does not know
.
"The soil produces
crops
by itself
; first
the blade
, then
the head
, then
the mature
grain
in the head
.
"But when the crop
permits
, he immediately
1 aputs
in the sickle
, because
the harvest
has come
."
aAnd He said, "How
shall we 1 bpicture
the kingdom
of God
, or
by what
parable
shall we present
it?
"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
,
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
."
With many such
parables
He was speaking
the word
to them, so
far as they were able
to hear
it;
and He did not speak to them awithout
a parable
; but He was bexplaining
everything
privately
to His own
disciples
.
aOn that day, when evening
came
, He *said
to them, "Let us go
over
to the other
side
."
1Leaving the crowd
, they *took
Him along
with them ain the boat
, just
as He was; and other
boats
were with Him.
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.
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
?"
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
.
And He said to them, "Why
are you 1afraid
? aDo you still
have
no
faith
?"
They became very much
afraid
and said
to one
another
, "Who
then
is this
, that even
the wind
and the sea
obey
Him?"