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1 Jesus began to teach again by the Sea of Galilee. A very large crowd gathered around him, so he got into a boat and sat in it. The boat was in the water while the entire crowd lined the shore. 2 He used stories as illustrations to teach them many things. While he was teaching them, he said, 3 |Listen! A farmer went to plant seed. 4 Some seeds were planted along the road, and birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seeds were planted on rocky ground, where there wasn't much soil. The plants sprouted quickly because the soil wasn't deep. 6 When the sun came up, they were scorched. They didn't have any roots, so they withered. 7 Other seeds were planted among thornbushes. The thornbushes grew up and choked them, and they didn't produce anything. 8 But other seeds were planted on good ground, sprouted, and produced thirty, sixty, or one hundred times as much as was planted.| 9 He added, |Let the person who has ears listen!| 10 When he was alone with his followers and the twelve apostles, they asked him about the stories. 11 Jesus replied to them, |The mystery about the kingdom of God has been given [directly] to you. To those on the outside, it is given in stories: Mark 4:1-11, God's Word Translation. Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations.
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