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Matthew 13:4
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As he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them.
And when he sowed, some seedes fell by the wayes side, and the foules came, and deuoured them vp.
And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:
And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them.
and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up.
While he was planting, some seed fell by the road, and the birds came and ate it all up.
And as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the foules came and deuoured them vp.
and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up.
and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up.
And as he was sowing, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.
While the farmer was scattering the seed, some of it fell along the road and was eaten by birds.
As he sowed, some seed fell alongside the path; and the birds came and ate it up.
and as he sowed, some [grains] fell along the way, and the birds came and devoured them;
While he was scattering the seed, some of it fell by the road. The birds came and ate all that seed.
And when he had sown, some seed fell on the roadside, and the fowls came and ate it.
As he scattered the seed in the field, some of it fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.
and while he was sowing, some seed fell on the side of the path, and the birds came and devoured it.
And in his sowing, some fell by the roadside, and the birds came and ate them.
and as he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the birds came and devoured them:
And while he did so, some seeds were dropped by the wayside, and the birds came and took them for food:
As he sowed, some seeds fell by the roadside, and the birds came and devoured them.
As he was sowing, some seeds fell along the path, and birds came and ate them up.
and as he sowed, some fell by the road-side, and the fowl came and devoured it.
And as he sowed, some [fn] fell upon the side of a path: and a bird came and devoured it.
And when he sowed, some seedes fell by the wayes side, and the fowles came, and deuoured them vp.
and as he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the birds came and devoured them:
As he sowed, some seeds fell by the roadside, and the birds came and devoured them.
And while he sowed, some seeds fell by the wayside, and the birds came and devoured them.
As he sows, some of the seed falls by the way-side, and the birds come and peck it up.
And while he sowith, summe seedis felden bisidis the weie, and briddis of the eir camen, and eeten hem.
and as he sowed, some [seeds] fell by the wayside, and the birds came and devoured them:
And when he sowed, some [seeds] fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them:
And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them.
And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.
As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them.
As he planted the seeds, some fell by the side of the road. The birds came and ate the seeds.
And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up.
and, as he sowed, some, indeed, fell by the pathway, and, the birds, came, and devoured it;
And whilst he soweth some fell by the way side, and the birds of the air came and ate them up.
And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them.
And as he sowed some fell by ye wayessyde and the fowlles came and devoured it vp.
and in his sowing, some indeed fell by the way, and the fowls did come and devour them,
and as he sowed, some fell by the waye syde: Then came the foules, & ate it vp.
and in sowing, part of the grain fell in the high-way, and the fowls light and peck'd them up:
"The picture of thistles pulled up and burned is a scene from the final act. The Son of Man will send his angels, weed out the thistles from his kingdom, pitch them in the trash, and be done with them. They are going to complain to high heaven, but nobody is going to listen. At the same time, ripe, holy lives will mature and adorn the kingdom of their Father. "Are you listening to this? Really listening? "God's kingdom is like a treasure hidden in a field for years and then accidentally found by a trespasser. The finder is ecstatic—what a find!—and proceeds to sell everything he owns to raise money and buy that field. "Or, God's kingdom is like a jewel merchant on the hunt for excellent pearls. Finding one that is flawless, he immediately sells everything and buys it. "Or, God's kingdom is like a fishnet cast into the sea, catching all kinds of fish. When it is full, it is hauled onto the beach. The good fish are picked out and put in a tub; those unfit to eat are thrown away. That's how it will be when the curtain comes down on history. The angels will come and cull the bad fish and throw them in the garbage. There will be a lot of desperate complaining, but it won't do any good."
They planted alfalfa and some of the seed fell on the two-track ranch road. Some blue quail came along and ate it right up.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
the way: Matthew 13:18, Matthew 13:19
Reciprocal: Genesis 15:11 - fowls Mark 4:4 - General Luke 8:5 - sower
Cross-References
To Seth, also, a son was born, whom he named Enosh (mortal man, mankind). At that [same] time men began to call on the name of the LORD [in worship through prayer, praise, and thanksgiving].
So Abram went up out of Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot [his nephew] with him, into the Negev (the South country of Judah).
Now Abram was extremely rich in livestock and in silver and in gold.
He journeyed on from the Negev as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai,
And there was strife and quarreling between the herdsmen of Abram's cattle and the herdsmen of Lot's cattle. Now the Canaanite and the Perizzite were living in the land at that same time [making grazing of the livestock difficult].
So Abram said to Lot, "Please let there be no strife and disagreement between you and me, nor between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, because we are relatives.
Then Abram broke camp and moved his tent, and came and settled by the [grove of the great] terebinths (oak trees) of Mamre [the Amorite], which are in Hebron, and there he built an altar to [honor] the LORD.
O LORD, I love the habitation of Your house And the place where Your glory dwells.
For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand [anywhere else]; I would rather stand [as a doorkeeper] at the threshold of the house of my God Than to live [at ease] in the tents of wickedness.
O give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; For His compassion and lovingkindness endure forever!
Gill's Notes on the Bible
And when he sowed,.... Or, "as he sowed", as the other evangelists; that is, "whilst he was sowing",
some seeds fell; either out of his hand, or out of the cart drawn by oxen; hence the c Talmudists distinguish between מפולת יד, "the falling of the hand", or what falls out of the hand; and שוורים
מפולת, "the falling of the oxen", or what falls from them; where the gloss is,
"in some places they sow the grain with the hand; and in other places they put the seed on a cart full of holes, and oxen draw the cart on the ploughed land, and it falls upon it.''
By the wayside; by the common road, or private paths, which led through corn fields, in which Christ and his disciples walked,
Matthew 12:1 and which being beaten and trodden hard, the seed must lie open on it, and so be liable to be trampled upon by men, or devoured by the fowls of the air; and designs such hearers as are careless, negligent, and inattentive, who hear without understanding, judgment, and affection; see Matthew 13:19
and the fowls came and devoured them; the other evangelists say, "the fowls of the air"; and so the Vulgate Latin, and Munster's Hebrew Gospel, and some copies; and mean the devils; so called, because their habitation is in the air; hence they are said to be "the power of the air": and because of their ravenous and devouring nature, their swiftness to do mischief, and their flocking in multitudes, where the word is preached, to hinder its usefulness, as fowls do, where seed is sowing. Satan, and his principalities, and powers, rove about in the air, come down on earth, and seek whom they may devour, and often mix themselves in religious assemblies, to do what mischief they can; see Job 1:6.
c T. Bab. Bava Metzia, fol. 105. 2.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
In parables - The word “parable” is derived from a Greek word signifying “to compare together,” and denotes a similitude taken from a natural object to illustrate a spiritual or moral subject. It is a narrative of some fictitious or real event, in order to illustrate more clearly some truth that the speaker wished to communicate. In early ages it was much used. Pagan writers, as Aesop, often employed it. In the time of Christ it was in common use. The prophets had used it, and Christ employed it often in teaching his disciples. It is not necessary to suppose that the narratives were strictly true. The main thing - “the inculcation of spiritual truth” - was gained equally, whether it was true or was only a supposed case. Nor was there any dishonesty in this. It was well understood no person was deceived. The speaker was not “understood” to affirm the thing “literally narrated,” but only to fix the attention more firmly on the moral truth that he presented. The “design” of speaking in parables was the following:
- To convey truth in a more interesting manner to the mind, adding to the truth conveyed the beauty of a lovely image or narrative.
- To teach spiritual truth so as to arrest the attention of ignorant people, making an appeal to them through the “senses.”
- To convey some offensive truth, some pointed personal rebuke. in such a way as to bring it “home” to the conscience. Of this kind was the parable which Nathan delivered to David 2 Samuel 12:1-7, and many of our Saviour’s parables addressed to the Jews.
- To “conceal” from one part of his audience truths which he intended others should understand. Thus Christ often, by this means, delivered truths to his disciples in the presence of the Jews, which he well knew the Jews would not understand; truths pertaining to them particularly, and which he was under no obligations to explain to the Jews. See Mark 4:33; Matthew 13:13-16.
Our Saviour’s parables are distinguished above all others for clearness, purity, chasteness, importance of instruction, and simplicity. They are taken mostly from the affairs of common life, and intelligible, therefore, to all people. They contain much of “himself” - his doctrine, life, design in coming, and claims, and are therefore of importance to all people; and they are told in a style of simplicity intelligible to the child, yet instructive to people of every rank and age. In his parables, as in all his instructions, he excelled all people in the purity, importance, and sublimity of his doctrine.
Matthew 13:3
A sower went forth to sow - The image here is taken from an employment known to all people, and therefore intelligible to all.
Nor can there be a more striking illustration of preaching the gospel than placing the seed in the ground, to spring up hereafter and bear fruit.
Sower - One who sows or scatters seed - a farmer. It is not improbable that one was near the Saviour when he spoke this parable.
Matthew 13:4
Some seeds fell by the way-side - That is, the hard “path” or headland, which the plow had not touched, and where there was no opportunity for it to sink into the earth.
Matthew 13:5
Stony places - Where there was little earth, but where it was hard and rocky, so that the roots could not strike down into the earth for sufficient moisture to support the plant.
When the sun became hot they of course withered away. They sprang up the sooner because there was little earth to cover them.
Forthwith - Immediately. Not that they sprouted and grew any quicker or faster than the others, but they were not so long in reaching the surface. Having little root, they soon withered away.
Matthew 13:7
Among thorns - That is, in a part of the field where the thorns and shrubs had been imperfectly cleared away and not destroyed.
They grew with the grain, crowded it, shaded it, exhausted the earth, and thus choked it.
Matthew 13:8
Into good ground - The fertile and rich soil.
In sowing, by far the largest proportion of seed will fall into the good soil; but Christ did not intend to teach that these proportions would be exactly the same among those who heard the gospel. Parables are designed to teach some “general” truth, and the circumstances should not be pressed too much in explaining them.
An hundred-fold ... - That is, a hundred, sixty, or thirty “grains” for each one that was sowed an increase by no means uncommon. Some grains of wheat will produce twelve or fifteen hundred grains. The usual proportion on a field sown, however, is not more than twenty, fifty, or sixty bushels for one.
Matthew 13:9
Who hath ears ... - This is a proverbial expression, implying that it was every man’s duty to pay attention to what was spoken, Matthew 11:15.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Matthew 13:4. Some seeds fell by the way side — The hard beaten path, where no plough had broken up the ground.
