Matthew 13:18-23

The Sower Explained

18 "¹Hear then the parable of the sower.

19 "When anyone hears ²the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, ³the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road.

20 "The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man 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 arises because of the word, immediately he ⁴falls away.

22 "And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of ⁵the world and the ⁶deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

23 "And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some ⁷a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty."

Cross References

• 1. Matthew 13:18-23: {Mark 4:13-20; Luke 8:11-15}
• 2. Matthew 4:23
• 3. Matthew 5:37
• 4. Matthew 11:6
• 5. Matthew 12:32; Matthew 13:39; Mark 4:19; Romans 12:2; 1 Corinthians 1:20; 1 Corinthians 2:6, 8; 1 Corinthians 3:18; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Galatians 1:4; Ephesians 2:2
• 6. Matthew 19:23; 1 Tim 6:9, 10, 17
• 7. Matthew 13:8

Footnotes

• [a]. I.e. message
• [b]. I.e. message
• [c]. Lit "is caused to stumble"
• [d]. Or "age"