3 “Listen. Look! The sower went out to sow.+ 4 As he was sowing, some seeds fell alongside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. 5 Others fell on rocky ground where there was not much soil, and they immediately sprang up because the soil was not deep.+ 6 But when the sun rose, they were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seeds fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them, and they yielded no fruit.+ 8 But others fell on the fine soil, and growing up and increasing, they began to yield fruit, and they were bearing 30, 60, and 100 times more.”+ 9 Then he added: “Let the one who has ears to listen, listen.”+

4 Now when a large crowd had gathered together with those who went to him from city to city, he spoke by means of an illustration:+ 5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. As he was sowing, some of them fell alongside the road and were trampled on, and the birds of heaven ate them up.+ 6 Some landed on the rock, and after sprouting, they dried up because they had no moisture.+ 7 Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns that grew up with them choked them.+ 8 But others fell on the good soil, and after sprouting, they produced 100 times more fruit.”+ As he said these things, he called out: “Let the one who has ears to listen, listen.”+