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¹ AGAIN he began to teach by the sea side; and many people gathered unto him, so that he went up and sat in a boat in the sea; and all the people stood on the land by the sea.² And he taught them much by parables, and in his teaching he said,³ Listen; Behold, a sower went out to sow.⁴ And when he had sown, some fell on the roadside, and the fowls came and ate it.⁵ Other fell upon the rock, where there was not sufficient soil; and it sprung up earlier because the ground was not deep enough;⁶ But when the sun shone, it was scorched, and because it had no root, it dried up.⁷ And other fell among thistles, and the thistles sprung up and choked it, and it bore no fruit.⁸ But other fell in good soil, and it sprung up and grew and bore fruit, some thirty, and some sixty, and some one hundred.⁹ And he said, He who has ears to hear, let him hear.¹⁰ When they were alone by themselves, those who were with him together with the twelve asked him about that parable.¹¹ And Jesus said to them, To you is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God, but to the outsiders everything has to be explained by parables.¹² For seeing they see, and yet do not perceive; and hearing they hear, and yet do not understand; if they return, their sins would be forgiven.¹³ And he said to them, Do you not know this parable? how then will you know all the parables?¹⁴ The sower who sowed, sowed the word.¹⁵ Those on the roadside are those in whom the word is sown; and when they have heard it, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word which is sown in their hearts.¹⁶ And those which were sown upon the rock, are those who when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with joy;¹⁷ And they have no root in themselves, but last for a while; and when trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they soon stumble.¹⁸ And those which were sown among thistles are those who have heard the word,¹⁹ And the thoughts of this world, and the deception of wealth, and the lusts of other things, enter in and choke the word, and bear no fruit.²⁰ And those which were sown in good soil, are those who hear the word, and receive it and bear fruit, one thirty, and one sixty, and one a hundred.

²¹ And he said to them, Is a lamp brought and put under a basket or under a bed? Is it not put on a lampholder?²² For there is nothing hidden which will not be uncovered; and nothing in secret which will not be revealed.²³ If any man has ears to hear, let him hear.²⁴ And he said to them, Take heed what you hear; with what measure you measure it will be measured to you; and increase especially to them who hear.²⁵ For he who has, to him will be given; and he who has not, even that which he has will be taken away from him.²⁶ And he said, Such is the kingdom of God, like a man who casts seed in the ground.²⁷ And he sleeps and rises up night and day, and the seed springs up and grows, while he is not aware of it.²⁸ For the earth causes it to yield fruit; and yet first it becomes a blade of grass, then an ear, and at last a full grain in the ear.²⁹ But when the fruit is ripe, then immediately comes the sickle, because the harvest is ready.³⁰ And he said, To what shall we compare the kingdom of God? and with what parable shall we picture it?³¹ It is just like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth.³² But when it is sown, it springs up and becomes greater than all the herbs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds can settle under their shadow.³³ Jesus talked to them with parables as these, such parables as they were able to hear.³⁴ And without parables he did not speak to them; but to his disciples, among themselves, he explained everything.

³⁵ On that day, at evening, he said to them, Let us cross over to the landing place.³⁶ And they left the people, and took him away while he was in the boat. And there were other boats with them.³⁷ And there arose a heavy storm and wind, and the waves kept falling into the boat, so that the boat was nearly filled up.³⁸ But Jesus was sleeping on a blanket in the stern of the boat; and they came and roused him and said to him, Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?³⁹ So he got up, and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind quieted down, and there was a great calm.⁴⁰ And he said to them, Why are you so fearful? and why do you have no faith?⁴¹ And they were exceedingly afraid, and said to each other, Oh, who is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?