The Parable of the Sower
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Again 1he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, 2so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land.
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And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.
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Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil.
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And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and 8a hundredfold."
The Purpose of the Parables
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And he said to them, 11"To you has been given 12the secret of the kingdom of God, but for 13those outside everything is in parables,
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14so that "they 15may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they 16should turn and be forgiven."
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17And he said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?
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And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them.
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And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it 20with joy.
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And they have no root in themselves, but 21endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately 22they fall away.a
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And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word,
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but 23the cares of 24the world and 25the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.
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But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and 26bear fruit, 27thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold."
A Lamp Under a Basket
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28And he said to them, 29"Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand?
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30For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light.
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And he said to them, "Pay attention to what you hear: 32with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you.
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33For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away."
The Parable of the Seed Growing
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The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
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37And he said, "With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it?
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It is like 38a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth,
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yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade."
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He did not speak to them 42without a parable, but 43privately to his own disciples he 44explained everything.
Jesus Calms a Storm
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And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him.
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And a great windstorm arose, and the waves 46were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling.
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But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?"
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.
(English Standard Version - The Holy Bible Online)