1 H e began to teach again by the sea. And such a very large crowd gathered to Him that He got into a boat in the sea and sat down; and the whole crowd was by the sea on the land.

Again Jesus began to teach beside the lake. And a very great crowd gathered about Him, so that He got into a ship in order to sit in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was at the lakeside on the shore.

2 A nd He was teaching them many things in parables, and was saying to them in His teaching,

And He taught them many things in parables (illustrations or comparisons put beside truths to explain them), and in His teaching He said to them:

3 “ Listen to this! Behold, the sower went out to sow;

Give attention to this! Behold, a sower went out to sow.

4 a s he was sowing, some seed fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate it up.

And as he was sowing, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.

5 O ther seed fell on the rocky ground where it did not have much soil; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of soil.

Other seed fell on ground full of rocks, where it had not much soil; and at once it sprang up, because it had no depth of soil;

6 A nd after the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.

And when the sun came up, it was scorched, and because it had not taken root, it withered away.

7 O ther seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no crop.

Other seed fell among thorn plants, and the thistles grew and pressed together and utterly choked and suffocated it, and it yielded no grain.

8 O ther seeds fell into the good soil, and as they grew up and increased, they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.”

And other seed fell into good (well-adapted) soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing, and yielded up to thirty times as much, and sixty times as much, and even a hundred times as much as had been sown.

9 A nd He was saying, “ He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

And He said, He who has ears to hear, let him be hearing '> consider, and comprehend].

10 A s soon as He was alone, His followers, along with the twelve, began asking Him about the parables.

And as soon as He was alone, those who were around Him, with the Twelve, began to ask Him about the parables.

11 A nd He was saying to them, “To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but those who are outside get everything in parables,

And He said to them, To you has been entrusted the mystery of the kingdom of God '> the secret counsels of God which are hidden from the ungodly]; but for those outside '> of our circle] everything becomes a parable,

12 s o that while seeing, they may see and not perceive, and while hearing, they may hear and not understand, otherwise they might return and be forgiven.” Explanation

In order that they may look and look but not see and perceive, and may hear and hear but not grasp and comprehend, lest haply they should turn again, and it '> their willful rejection of the truth] should be forgiven them.

13 A nd He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables?

And He said to them, Do you not discern and understand this parable? How then is it possible for you to discern and understand all the parables?

14 T he sower sows the word.

The sower sows the Word.

15 T hese are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them.

The ones along the path are those who have the Word sown, but when they hear, Satan comes at once and takes away the message which is sown in them.

16 I n a similar way these are the ones on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy;

And in the same way the ones sown upon stony ground are those who, when they hear the Word, at once receive and accept and welcome it with joy;

17 a nd they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they fall away.

And they have no real root in themselves, and so they endure for a little while; then when trouble or persecution arises on account of the Word, they immediately are offended (become displeased, indignant, resentful) and they stumble and fall away.

18 A nd others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word,

And the ones sown among the thorns are others who hear the Word;

19 b ut the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

Then the cares and anxieties of the world and distractions of the age, and the pleasure and delight and false glamour and deceitfulness of riches, and the craving and passionate desire for other things creep in and choke and suffocate the Word, and it becomes fruitless.

20 A nd those are the ones on whom seed was sown on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.”

And those sown on the good (well-adapted) soil are the ones who hear the Word and receive and accept and welcome it and bear fruit—some thirty times as much as was sown, some sixty times as much, and some a hundred times as much.

21 A nd He was saying to them, “ A lamp is not brought to be put under a basket, is it, or under a bed? Is it not brought to be put on the lampstand?

And He said to them, Is the lamp brought in to be put under a peck measure or under a bed, and not on the lampstand?

22 F or nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light.

'> Things are hidden temporarily only as a means to revelation.] For there is nothing hidden except to be revealed, nor is anything kept secret except in order that it may be made known.

23 I f anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”

If any man has ears to hear, let him be listening and let him perceive and comprehend.

24 A nd He was saying to them, “Take care what you listen to. By your standard of measure it will be measured to you; and more will be given you besides.

And He said to them, Be careful what you are hearing. The measure you give '> the truth you hear] will be the measure that comes back to you—and more will be given to you who hear.

25 F or whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.” Parable of the Seed

For to him who has will more be given; and from him who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away '> by force],

26 A nd He was saying, “The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil;

And He said, The kingdom of God is like a man who scatters seed upon the ground,

27 a nd he goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows—how, he himself does not know.

And then continues sleeping and rising night and day while the seed sprouts and grows and increases—he knows not how.

28 T he soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head.

The earth produces by itself—first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.

29 B ut when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.” Parable of the Mustard Seed

But when the grain is ripe and permits, immediately he sends forth and puts in the sickle, because the harvest stands ready.

30 A nd He said, “How shall we picture the kingdom of God, or by what parable shall we present it?

And He said, With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use to illustrate and explain it?

31 I t is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the soil, though it is smaller than all the seeds that are upon the soil,

It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all seeds upon the earth;

32 y et when it is sown, it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and forms large branches; so that the birds of the air can nest under its shade.”

Yet after it is sown, it grows up and becomes the greatest of all garden herbs and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air are able to make nests and dwell in its shade.

33 W ith many such parables He was speaking the word to them, so far as they were able to hear it;

With many such parables spoke the Word to them, as they were able to hear and to comprehend and understand.

34 a nd He did not speak to them without a parable; but He was explaining everything privately to His own disciples. Jesus Stills the Sea

He did not tell them anything without a parable; but privately to His disciples ( those who were peculiarly His own) He explained everything.

35 O n that day, when evening came, He said to them, “Let us go over to the other side.”

On that same day evening had come, He said to them, Let us go over to the other side.

36 L eaving the crowd, they took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him.

And leaving the throng, they took Him with them, as He was, in the boat. And other boats were with Him.

37 A nd there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up.

And a furious storm of wind '> of hurricane proportions] arose, and the waves kept beating into the boat, so that it was already becoming filled.

38 J esus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”

But He was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they awoke Him and said to Him, Master, do You not care that we are perishing?

39 A nd He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm.

And He arose and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, Hush now! Be still (muzzled)! And the wind ceased ( sank to rest as if exhausted by its beating) and there was a great calm ( a perfect peacefulness).

40 A nd He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

He said to them, Why are you so timid and fearful? How is it that you have no faith (no firmly relying trust)?

41 T hey became very much afraid and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”

And they were filled with great awe and feared exceedingly and said one to another, Who then is this, that even wind and sea obey Him?