Luke 8:4-15

Complete Jewish Bible

⁴ After a large crowd had gathered from the people who kept coming to him from town after town, Yeshua told this parable: ⁵ “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he sowed, some fell along the path and was stepped on, and the birds flying around ate it up. ⁶ Some fell on rock; and after it sprouted, it dried up from lack of moisture. ⁷ Some fell in the midst of thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. ⁸ But some fell into rich soil, and grew, and produced a hundred times as much as had been sown.” After saying this, he called out, “Whoever has ears to hear with, let him hear!”

⁹ His talmidim asked him what this parable might mean, ¹⁰ and he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the Kingdom of God; but the rest are taught in parables, so that they may look but not see, and listen but not understand.^[a]

¹¹ “The parable is this: the seed is God’s message. ¹² The ones along the path are those who hear, but then the Adversary comes and takes the message out of their hearts, in order to keep them from being saved by trusting it. ¹³ The ones on rock are those who, when they hear the word, accept it with joy; but these have no root — they go on trusting for awhile; but when a time of testing comes, they apostatize. ¹⁴ As for what fell in the midst of thorns these are the ones who hear; but as they go along, worries and wealth and life’s gratifications crowd in and choke them, so that their fruit never matures. ¹⁵ But what fell in rich soil — these are the ones who, when they hear the message, hold onto it with a good, receptive heart; and by persevering, they bring forth a harvest.