10 q“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
rgiving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but sit shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
12 t“For you shall go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
uthe mountains and the hills before you
shall break forth into singing,
and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
13 vInstead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;
instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle;
and it shall make a name for the Lord,
an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”
O God of Our Salvation
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song.
1 Praise eis due to you,1 O God, in Zion,
and to you shall fvows be performed.
2 O you who ghear prayer,
to you hshall all flesh come.
3 When iiniquities prevail against me,
you jatone for our transgressions.
4 kBlessed is the one you choose and bring near,
to ldwell in your courts!
We shall be msatisfied with the goodness of your house,
the holiness of your temple!
5 By nawesome deeds you answer us with righteousness,
O God of our salvation,
the hope of all othe ends of the earth
and of the farthest seas;
6 the one who by his strength established the mountains,
being pgirded with might;
7 who qstills the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
rthe tumult of the peoples,
8 so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs.
You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy.
9 You visit the earth and swater it;2
you greatly enrich it;
tthe river of God is full of water;
uyou provide their grain,
for so you have prepared it.
10 You water its furrows abundantly,
settling its ridges,
softening it with vshowers,
and blessing its growth.
11 You crown the year with your bounty;
your wagon tracks woverflow with abundance.
12 xThe pastures of the wilderness overflow,
the hills ygird themselves with joy,
13 zthe meadows clothe themselves with flocks,
the valleys deck themselves with grain,
they ashout and sing together for joy.
Heirs with Christ
12 So then, brothers,1 we are debtors, cnot to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you dput to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are eled by the Spirit of God are fsons2 of God. 15 For gyou did not receive hthe spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of iadoption as sons, by whom we cry, j“Abba! Father!” 16 kThe Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then lheirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, mprovided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
The Parable of the Sower
1 That same day Jesus went out of the house oand sat beside the sea. 2 And great crowds gathered about him, pso that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And qhe told them many things in parables, saying: r“A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, 6 but swhen the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, tthey withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among uthorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some va hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 wHe who has ears,1 let him hear.”
The Parable of the Sower Explained
18 k“Hear then the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word of lthe kingdom and mdoes not understand it, nthe evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately oreceives it with joy, 21 yet he has no root in himself, but pendures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately qhe falls away.1 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but rthe cares of sthe world and tthe deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 23 As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and munderstands it. He indeed ubears fruit and yields, in one case va hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
