¹Again he began to teach by the seaside. A great multitude was gathered to him , so that he entered into a boat in the sea and sat down . All the multitude were on the land by the sea .

²He taught them many things in parables , and told them in his teaching ,

³“ Listen ! Behold , the farmer went out to sow .

⁴As he sowed , some seed fell by the road , and the birds came and devoured it .[#4:4 TR adds “of the air”]

⁵Others fell on the rocky ground , where it had little soil , and immediately it sprang up , because it had no depth of soil .

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

⁷Others fell amongst the thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it , and it yielded no fruit .

⁸Others fell into the good ground and yielded fruit , growing up and increasing. Some produced thirty times, some sixty times, and some one hundred times as much.”

⁹He said , “ Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear.”

¹⁰When he was alone , those who were around him with the twelve asked him about the parables .

¹¹He said to them , “ To you is given the mystery of God ’s Kingdom, but to those who are outside , all things are done in parables ,

¹²that ‘ seeing they may see and not perceive , and hearing they may hear and not understand , lest perhaps they should turn again , and their sins should be forgiven them .’”[#Isaiah 6:9-10]

¹³He said to them , “Don’ t you understand this parable ? How will you understand all of the parables ?

¹⁴The farmer sows the word .

¹⁵The ones by the road are the ones where the word is sown ; and when they have heard, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them .

¹⁶These in the same way are those who are sown on the rocky places, who , when they have heard the word , immediately receive it with joy .

¹⁷They have no root in themselves , but are short-lived. When oppression or persecution arises because of the word , immediately they stumble .

¹⁸Others are those who are sown amongst the thorns. These are those who have heard the word ,

¹⁹and the cares of this age, and the deceitfulness of riches , and the lusts of other things entering in choke the word , and it becomes unfruitful.

²⁰Those which were sown on the good ground are those who hear the word , accept it , and bear fruit , some thirty times, some sixty times, and some one hundred times.”

²¹He said to them , “ Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed ? Isn’ t it put on a stand?[#4:21 literally, a modion, a dry measuring basket containing about a peck (about 9 litres)]

²²For there is nothing hidden except that it should be made known , neither was anything made secret but that it should come to light .

²³If any man has ears to hear, let him hear.”

²⁴He said to them , “ Take heed what you hear . With whatever measure you measure , it will be measured to you ; and more will be given to you who hear .

²⁵For whoever has , to him more will be given ; and he who doesn’t have , even that which he has will be taken away from him .”

²⁶He said , “ God ’s Kingdom is as if a man should cast seed on the earth ,

²⁷and should sleep and rise night and day , and the seed should spring up and grow, though he doesn’ t know how .

²⁸For the earth bears fruit by itself: first the blade , then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.

²⁹But when the fruit is ripe, immediately he puts in the sickle , because the harvest has come .”

³⁰He said , “ How will we liken God ’s Kingdom? Or with what parable will we illustrate it ?

³¹It ’s like a grain of mustard seed , which , when it is sown in the earth , though it is less than all the seeds that are on the earth ,

³²yet when it is sown , grows up and becomes greater than all the herbs , and puts out great branches , so that the birds of the sky can lodge under its shadow .”

³³With many such parables he spoke the word to them , as they were able to hear it .

³⁴Without a parable he didn’t speak to them ; but privately to his own disciples he explained everything .

³⁵On that day , when evening had come , he said to them , “ Let ’s go over to the other side .”

³⁶Leaving the multitude , they took him with them , even as he was , in the boat . Other small boats were also with him .

³⁷A big wind storm arose , and the waves beat into the boat , so much that the boat was already filled .

³⁸He himself was in the stern , asleep on the cushion ; and they woke him up and asked him , “Teacher , don’t you care that we are dying?”

³⁹He awoke and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea , “ Peace ! Be still !” The wind ceased and there was a great calm .

⁴⁰He said to them , “ Why are you so afraid ? How is it that you have no faith ?”

⁴¹They were greatly afraid and said to one another , “Who then is this , that even the wind and the sea obey him ?”