1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea.
2 Such large crowds gathered around Him that He got into a boat and sat down, while all the people stood on the shore.
3 And He told them many things in parables, saying, “A farmer went out to sow his seed.
4 And as he was sowing, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.
5 Some fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly because the soil was shallow.
6 But when the sun rose, the seedlings were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.
7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the seedlings.
8 Still other seed fell on good soil and produced a crop— a hundredfold, sixtyfold, or thirtyfold.
9 He who has ears, let him hear.
10 Then the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Why do You speak to the people in parables?
11 He replied, “The knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.
12 Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.
13 This is why I speak to them in parables: ‘Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.’
14 In them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled: ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
