Book of Common Prayer

⁴⁴ And the next Sabbath day, almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God.

⁴⁵ When the Jews saw the people, they were full of indignation and spoke against those things that were said by Paul, contradicting and railing on it. ⁴⁶ Then Paul and Barnabas were bold and said, It was fitting that the word of God should first have been preached to you. But seeing you put it from you, and think yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. ⁴⁷ For so has the Lord commanded us: I have made you a light to the Gentiles, to be salvation to the end of the world.

⁴⁸ The Gentiles heard and were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord and believed – even as many as were appointed to eternal life. ⁴⁹ And the word of the Lord went abroad throughout all the region.

⁵⁰ But the Jews moved the devout and honourable women and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their district. ⁵¹ And they shook off the dust from their feet against them, and went to Iconium. ⁵² And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

The parable of the sower. Take heed to God’s word. Christ stills the tempest of the sea, which obeyed him.

4 And he began again to teach by the sea side. And there gathered together unto him crowds of people, so greatly that he entered into the boat and sat in it in the sea, and all the people were by the sea side on the shore. ² And he taught them many things in similitudes, and said to them in his lesson: ³ Hearken to! Behold, there went out a sower to sow. ⁴ And it happened as he sowed that some seed fell by the wayside, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up. ⁵ Some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth, and quickly sprang up because it did not have depth of earth; ⁶ but as soon as the sun was up, it caught heat, and because it did not have rooting, withered away. ⁷ And some fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, so that it gave no fruit. ⁸ And some fell upon good ground, and yielded fruit that sprang up and grew, and brought forth: some thirtyfold, some sixtyfold, and some a hundredfold. ⁹ And he said to them, He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

¹⁰ And when he was alone, those who were around him with the twelve asked him about the similitude. ¹¹ And he said to them, To you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God. But to those who are outside, all things shall be done in similitudes, ¹² and when they see, they will see but not discern, and when they hear, they will hear and not understand, lest at any time they should turn; and their sins would be forgiven them.

¹³ And he said to them, Do you not understand this similitude? How then will you understand any other similitudes? ¹⁴ The sower sows the word. ¹⁵ And those who are by the wayside where the word is sown are those to whom, as soon as they have heard it, Satan comes immediately, and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. ¹⁶ And likewise, those who receive the seed on the stony ground are those who, when they have heard the word, at once receive it with gladness, ¹⁷ yet have no roots in themselves. And so they endure but a time, and once trouble and persecution arise for the word’s sake, they fall immediately. ¹⁸ And those who receive the seed among the thorns are such as hear the word, ¹⁹ but the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the hunger for other things, enter in and choke the word, and it is made unfruitful. ²⁰ And those who received the seed in good ground are those who hear the word and receive it, and bring forth fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixtyfold, some a hundredfold.