1On that day Jesus went out from the home and was sitting beside the sea.2And large crowds assembled to him, so that he got into a boat to sit, and the whole crowd stood on the shore.3And he spoke many things to them in parables, saying, "Look, the sower went out to sow."4And as he sowed, some seed fell beside the road, and the birds came and devoured it.5Other seed fell on rocky ground where it did not have much soil, and it immediately sprouted because it had no depth of earth.6When the sun rose it was scorched, and because it had no root it dried up.7Other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it.8Other seed fell on the good soil and produced fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.9He who has ears, let him hear.10And the disciples came near and said to him, "Why do you speak to them in parables?"11He answered and said to them, "To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens, but to those it has not been given."12For whoever has, more will be given to him and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.13For this reason I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.14And the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled in them, which says, "You will indeed hear but will not understand, and you will indeed see but will not perceive."15For the heart of this people has grown dull, and with their ears they hear with difficulty, and they have closed their eyes, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.16But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.17For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see and did not see it, and to hear what you hear and did not hear it.18You therefore hear the parable of the sower.19When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and seizes what was sown in his heart; this is the one sown beside the road.20The one sown on rocky ground is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy.21Yet he has no root in himself but is temporary; when pressure or persecution arises because of the word, he immediately falls away.22The one sown among the thorns is he who hears the word, but the cares of this age and the deceit of riches choke the word and it becomes unfruitful.23The one sown on the good soil is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.