1 Once again Jesus began to teach beside the sea, and such a large crowd gathered around Him that He got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people crowded along the shore.
2 And He taught them many things in parables, and in His teaching He said,
3 “Listen! 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, and they yielded no crop.
8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it sprouted, grew up, and produced a crop—one bearing thirtyfold, another sixtyfold, and another a hundredfold.”
9 Then Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”