Luke 8:1-18

New King James Version

Many Women Minister to Jesus

8 Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and ^[a]bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with Him, ² and ^(A)certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and ^[b]infirmities—Mary called Magdalene, ^(B)out of whom had come seven demons, ³ and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for ^[c]Him from their ^[d]substance.

The Parable of the Sower^(C)

^4 (D)And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable: ⁵ “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. ⁶ Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. ⁷ And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. ⁸ But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded ^[e]a crop a hundredfold.” When He had said these things He cried, ^(E)“He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

The Purpose of Parables^(F)

^9 (G)Then His disciples asked Him, saying, “What does this parable mean?”

¹⁰ And He said, “To you it has been given to know the ^[f]mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that

The Parable of the Sower Explained^(I)

^11 (J)“Now the parable is this: The seed is the ^(K)word of God. ¹² Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. ¹³ But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of ^[g]temptation fall away. ¹⁴ Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, ^(L)riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. ¹⁵ But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with ^(M)patience.^[h]

The Parable of the Revealed Light^(N)

^16 (O)“No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the ^(P)light. ^17 (Q)For nothing is secret that will not be ^(R)revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light. ¹⁸ Therefore take heed how you hear. ^(S)For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he ^[i]seems to ^(T)have will be taken from him.”