1
Once again Jesus began teaching by the lakeshore. A very large crowd soon gathered around him, so he got into a boat. Then he sat in the boat while all the people remained on the shore.
2
He taught them by telling many stories in the form of parables, such as this one:
4
As he scattered it across his field, some of the seed fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate it.
5
Other seed fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seed sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow.
6
But the plant soon wilted under the hot sun, and since it didn’t have deep roots, it died.
7
Other seed fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants so they produced no grain.
8
Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they sprouted, grew, and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”
9
Then he said, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”