| New King James Version | Berean Study Bible |
| 1And again He began to teach by the sea. And a great multitude was gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat in it on the sea; and the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea. | 1Once again Jesus began to teach beside the sea, and such a large crowd gathered around Him that He got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people crowded along the shore. |
| 2Then He taught them many things by parables, and said to them in His teaching: | 2And He taught them many things in parables, and in His teaching He said, |
| 3“Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. | 3“Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. |
| 4And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it. | 4And as he was sowing, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. |
| 5Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth. | 5Some fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly because the soil was shallow. |
| 6But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away. | 6But when the sun rose, the seedlings were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. |
| 7And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. | 7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the seedlings, and they yielded no crop. |
| 8But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.” | 8Still other seed fell on good soil, where it sprouted, grew up, and produced a crop—one bearing thirtyfold, another sixtyfold, and another a hundredfold.” |
| 9And He said to them, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” | 9Then Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” |
| 10But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable. | 10As soon as Jesus was alone with the Twelve and those around Him, they asked Him about the parable. |
| 11And He said to them, “To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables, | 11He replied, “The mystery of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to those on the outside everything is expressed in parables, |
| 12so that ‘Seeing they may see and not perceive, And hearing they may hear and not understand; Lest they should turn, And their sins be forgiven them.’ ” | 12so that, ‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven.’ ” |
| 13And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? | 13Then Jesus said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand any of the parables? |
| 14The sower sows the word. | 14The farmer sows the word. |
| 15And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. | 15Some are like the seeds along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. |
| 16These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; | 16Some are like the seeds sown on rocky ground. They hear the word and at once receive it with joy. |
| 17and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they stumble. | 17But they themselves have no root, and they remain for only a season. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. |
| 18Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, | 18Others are like the seeds sown among the thorns. They hear the word, |
| 19and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. | 19but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. |
| 20But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.” | 20Still others are like the seeds sown on good soil. They hear the word, receive it, and produce a crop—thirtyfold, sixtyfold, or a hundredfold.” |
| 21Also He said to them, “Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed? Is it not to be set on a lampstand? | 21Jesus also said to them, “Does anyone bring in a lamp to put it under a basket or under a bed? Doesn’t he set it on a stand? |
| 22For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light. | 22For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be brought to light. |
| 23If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” | 23If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” |
| 24Then He said to them, “Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given. | 24He went on to say, “Pay attention to what you hear. With the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and even more will be added to you. |
| 25For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.” | 25For whoever has will be given more. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.” |
| 26And He said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, | 26Jesus also said, “The kingdom of God is like a man who scatters seed on the ground. |
| 27and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how. | 27Night and day he sleeps and wakes, and the seed sprouts and grows, though he knows not how. |
| 28For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head. | 28All by itself the earth produces a crop—first the stalk, then the head, then grain that ripens within. |
| 29But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.” | 29And as soon as the grain is ripe, he swings the sickle, because the harvest has come.” |
| 30Then He said, “To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what parable shall we picture it? | 30Then He asked, “To what can we compare the kingdom of God? With what parable shall we present it? |
| 31It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth; | 31It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds sown upon the earth. |
| 32but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade.” | 32But after it is planted, it grows to be the largest of all garden plants and puts forth great branches, so that the birds of the air nest in its shade.” |
| 33And with many such parables He spoke the word to them as they were able to hear it. | 33With many such parables Jesus spoke the word to them, to the extent that they could understand. |
| 34But without a parable He did not speak to them. And when they were alone, He explained all things to His disciples. | 34He did not tell them anything without using a parable. But privately He explained everything to His own disciples. |
| 35On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” | 35When that evening came, He said to His disciples, “Let us cross to the other side.” |
| 36Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. | 36After they had dismissed the crowd, they took Jesus with them, since He was already in the boat. And there were other boats with Him. |
| 37And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. | 37Soon a violent windstorm came up, and the waves were breaking over the boat, so that it was being swamped. |
| 38But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” | 38But Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on the cushion. So they woke Him and said, “Teacher, don’t You care that we are perishing?” |
| 39Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. | 39Then Jesus got up and rebuked the wind and the sea. “Silence!” He commanded. “Be still!” And the wind died down, and it was perfectly calm. |
| 40But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” | 40“Why are you so afraid?” He asked. “Do you still have no faith?” |
| 41And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!” | 41Overwhelmed with fear, they asked one another, “Who is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?” |
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