^9 (A)Now His disciples began asking Him what this parable ^[a]meant. ¹⁰ And He said, “^(B)To you it has been granted to know the ^[b]mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest they are told in parables, so that ^[c](C)while seeing they may not see, and ^[d]while hearing they may not understand.

¹¹ “Now this is the parable: ^(D)the seed is the word of God. ¹² And those beside the road are the ones who have heard, then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved. ¹³ Those on the rocky soil are the ones who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and yet these do not have a firm root; ^[e]they believe for a while, and in a time of temptation they ^[f]fall away. ¹⁴ And the seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked by worries, riches, and pleasures of this life, and they bring no fruit to maturity. ¹⁵ But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word ^[g]with a good and virtuous heart, and hold it firmly, and produce fruit with ^[h]perseverance.

An Explanation for Parables

¹⁰ And the disciples came up and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” ¹¹ And ^[a]Jesus answered them, “^(A)To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. ^12 (B)For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him. ¹³ Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while ^(C)seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. ¹⁴ And ^[b]in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says,

^16 (F)But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. ¹⁷ For truly I say to you that ^(G)many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

The Sower Explained

¹⁸ “^(H)Listen then to the parable of the sower. ¹⁹ When anyone hears ^(I)the ^[g]word of the kingdom and does not understand it, ^(J)the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one sown with seed beside the road. ²⁰ The one sown with seed on the rocky places, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; ²¹ yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution occurs because of the ^[h]word, immediately he ^[i](K)falls away. ²² And the one sown with seed among the thorns, this is the one who hears the word, and the anxiety of ^(L)the ^[j]world and the ^(M)deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it ^[k]becomes unfruitful. ²³ But the one sown with seed on the good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces, some ^(N)a hundred, some sixty, and some thirty times as much.”

¹⁰ As soon as He was alone, ^[a]His followers, along with the twelve disciples, 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 for ^(A)those who are outside, everything comes ^(B)in parables, ¹² so that ^(C)while seeing they may see, and not perceive, and while hearing, they may hear, and not understand, otherwise they might return and it would be forgiven them.”

Explanation of the Parable

^13 (D)And 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 ^(E)Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them. ¹⁶ And in a similar way these are the ones sown with seed on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; ¹⁷ and yet they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution occurs because of the word, immediately they ^[b]fall away. ¹⁸ And others are the ones sown with seed among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, ¹⁹ but the worries of ^(F)the ^[c]world, and the ^(G)deceitfulness of wealth, and the desires for other things enter and choke the word, and it ^[d]becomes unfruitful. ²⁰ And those are the ones sown with seed on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it and ^(H)bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundred times as much.”