1 ^zThat same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2 And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And he told them many things in ^aparables, saying: “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 when the ^bsun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a ^chundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ^dears,¹ let him hear.”

10 ^eThen the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11 And he answered them, ^f“To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.