1 J esus began to teach by the sea-shore again. Many people gathered around Him. There were so many He had to get into a boat and sit down. The people were on the shore.

He 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.

2 H e taught them many things by using picture-stories. As He taught, He said,

And He was teaching them many things in parables, and was saying to them in His teaching,

3 “ Listen! A man went out to plant seed.

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

4 A s he planted the seed, some fell by the side of the road. Birds came and ate them.

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

5 S ome seed fell among rocks. It came up at once because there was so little ground.

Other 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.

6 B ut it dried up when the sun was high in the sky because it had no root.

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

7 S ome seed fell among thorns. The thorns grew and did not give the seed room to grow. This seed gave no grain.

Other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no crop.

8 S ome seed fell on good ground. It came up and grew and gave much grain. Some gave thirty times as much grain. Some gave sixty times as much grain. Some gave one hundred times as much grain.”

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

9 H e said to them, “You have ears, then listen!”

And He was saying, “ He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

10 T hose who were with Jesus and the twelve followers came to Him when He was alone. They asked about the picture-story.

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

11 H e said to them, “You were given the secrets about the holy nation of God. Everything is told in picture-stories to those who are outside the holy nation of God.

And 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,

12 T hey see, but do not know what it means. They hear, but do not understand. If they did, they might turn to God and have their sins forgiven.” Jesus Tells about the Man Who Planted the Seed

so 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

13 J esus said to them, “Do you not understand this picture-story? Then how will you understand any of the picture-stories?

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

14 W hat the man plants is the Word of God.

The sower sows the word.

15 T hose by the side of the road are the ones who hear the Word. As soon as they hear it, the devil comes and takes away the Word that is planted in their hearts.

These 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.

16 T he seed that fell among rocks is like people who receive the Word with joy when they hear it.

In 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;

17 T heir roots are not deep so they live only a short time. When sorrow and trouble come because of the Word, they give up and fall away.

and 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.

18 T he seed that was planted among thorns is like some people who listen to the Word.

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

19 B ut the cares of this life let thorns come up. A love for riches and always wanting other things let thorns grow. These things do not give the Word room to grow so it does not give grain.

but 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.

20 T he seed that fell on good ground is like people who hear the Word and understand it. They give much grain. Some give thirty times as much grain. Some give sixty times as much grain. Some give one hundred times as much grain.” The Picture-Story of the Lamp

And 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.”

21 H e said to them, “Is a lamp to be put under a pail or under a bed? Should it not be put on a lamp-stand?

And 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?

22 E verything that is hidden will be brought into the light. Everything that is a secret will be made known.

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

23 Y ou have ears, then listen!”

If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”

24 J esus said to them, “Be careful what you listen to. The same amount you give will be given to you, and even more.

And 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.

25 H e who has, to him will be given. To him who does not have, even the little he has will be taken from him.” The Picture-Story of the Grain

For 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

26 H e said, “The holy nation of God is like a man who plants seed in the ground.

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

27 H e goes to sleep every night and gets up every day. The seed grows, but he does not know how.

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

28 T he earth gives fruit by itself. The leaf comes first and then the young grain can be seen. And last, the grain is ready to gather.

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

29 A s soon as the grain is ready, he cuts it. The time of gathering the grain has come.” The Picture-Story of the Mustard Seed

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

30 J esus said, “In what way can we show what the holy nation of God is like? Or what picture-story can we use to help you understand?

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

31 I t is like a grain of mustard seed that is planted in the ground. It is the smallest of all seeds.

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

32 A fter it is put in the ground, it grows and becomes the largest of the spices. It puts out long branches so birds of the sky can live in it.”

yet 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.”

33 A s they were able to understand, He spoke the Word to them by using many picture-stories.

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

34 J esus helped His followers understand everything when He was alone with them. The Wind and Waves Obey Jesus

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

35 I t was evening of that same day. Jesus said to them, “Let us go over to the other side.”

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

36 A fter sending the people away, they took Jesus with them in a boat. It was the same boat He used when He taught them. Other little boats went along with them.

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

37 A bad wind storm came up. The waves were coming over the side of the boat. It was filling up with water.

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

38 J esus was in the back part of the boat sleeping on a pillow. They woke Him up, crying out, “Teacher, do You not care that we are about to die?”

Jesus 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?”

39 H e got up and spoke sharp words to the wind. He said to the sea, “Be quiet! Be still.” At once the wind stopped blowing. There were no more waves.

And 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.

40 H e said to His followers, “Why are you so full of fear? Do you not have faith?”

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

41 T hey were very much afraid and said to each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and waves obey Him!”

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