Matthew 13:1-23

The Parable of the Sower

1 That same day Jesus went out of the house ¹and sat beside the sea.

2 And great crowds gathered about him, ²so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach.

3 And ³he told them many things in parables, saying: ⁴"A sower went out to sow.

4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them.

5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil,

6 but ⁵when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, ⁶they withered away.

7 Other seeds fell among ⁷thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.

8 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some ⁸a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

9 ⁹He who has ears,^[a] let him hear."

The Purpose of the Parables

10 Then the disciples came and said to him, "Why do you speak to them in parables?"

11 And he answered them, ¹⁰"To you it has been given to know ¹¹the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.

12 ¹²For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, ¹³even what he has will be taken away.

13 This is why I speak to them in parables, because ¹⁴seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, ¹⁵nor do they understand.

14 Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: ¹⁶"'You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.

15 For this people's heart has grown dull, and with their ears ¹⁷they can barely hear, and ¹⁸their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and ¹⁹understand with their heart and ²⁰turn, and I would heal them.'

16 But ²¹blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.

17 ²²For truly, I say to you, ²³many 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 Parable of the Sower Explained

18 ²⁴"Hear then the parable of the sower:

19 When anyone hears the word of ²⁵the kingdom and ²⁶does not understand it, ²⁷the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path.

20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately ²⁸receives it with joy,

21 yet he has no root in himself, but ²⁹endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately ³⁰he falls away.^[b]

22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but ³¹the cares of ³²the world and ³³the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.

23 As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and ³⁴understands it. He indeed ³⁵bears fruit and yields, in one case ³⁶a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty."

Read Chapter Compare

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Why Did Jesus Teach about Soil and Sowing? Rick Kirby

What Is the Parable of the Sower? Bible Meaning and Text Greg Laurie

4 Amazing Insights from Jesus’ “Parable of the Sower” Meg Bucher

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Cross References 36

1. For ver. 1-15, see Mark 4:1-12; Luke 8:4-10
2. [Mark 3:9; Luke 5:1-3]
3. ver. 34
4. [Isaiah 55:10; Amos 9:13]
5. James 1:11
6. John 15:6
7. Jeremiah 4:3
8. ver. 23; Genesis 26:12
9. See Matthew 11:15
10. Matthew 19:11; Colossians 1:27; [1 Corinthians 2:6-10; 1 John 2:20, 27]; See Matthew 11:25
11. See Romans 16:25
12. Matthew 25:29; Mark 4:25; Luke 8:18; Luke 19:26; [John 15:2; James 4:6]
13. [Revelation 2:5]
14. Deuteronomy 29:4; Jeremiah 5:21; Ezekiel 12:2; Romans 11:8; 2 Corinthians 3:14; 2 Corinthians 4:4; [Isaiah 42:19, 20]
15. ver. 19, 51; Matthew 15:10; Matthew 16:12; Mark 8:21
16. John 12:40; Acts 28:26, 27; Cited from Isaiah 6:9, 10
17. [Hebrews 5:11]
18. [John 9:39, 41]
19. [Romans 10:10]
20. See Luke 22:32
21. Luke 10:23, 24; [Matthew 16:17]
22. [See ver. 16 above]
23. Hebrews 11:13; 1 Peter 1:10-12; [John 8:56]
24. For ver. 18-23, see Mark 4:13-20; Luke 8:11-15
25. ver. 38; Matthew 4:23; Matthew 8:12
26. See ver. 13
27. John 17:15; Ephesians 6:16; 2 Thessalonians 3:3; 1 John 2:13, 14; 1 John 3:12; 1 John 5:18, 19
28. [Isaiah 58:2; Ezekiel 33:31, 32; Mark 6:20; John 5:35]
29. Galatians 1:6; [Hosea 6:4; Galatians 5:7]
30. See Matthew 11:6
31. See Matthew 6:25
32. 2 Timothy 4:10
33. 1 Tim. 6:9, 10, 17; [Matthew 19:23; Mark 10:23; Acts 5:1-11; Hebrews 3:13]
34. [See ver. 19 above]
35. Hosea 14:8; John 15:5, 16; Philippians 1:11; Colossians 1:6
36. ver. 8

Footnotes 2

[a]. Some manuscripts add here and in verse 43 to hear
[b]. Or stumbles

The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.