[1] And again he was teaching by the seaside. And a very great number of
people had come to him, so that he got into a boat on the sea and took his
seat; and all the people were on the land by the seaside. [2] And he gave
them teaching about a number of things in the form of stories, and said to
them in his teaching, Give ear: [3] A man went out to put seed in the
earth: [4] And while he was doing it, some was dropped by the wayside, and
the birds came and took it for food. [5] And some went on the stones, where
it had not much earth; and it came up straight away, because the earth was
not deep: [6] And when the sun was high, it was burned; and because it had
no root, it became dry and dead. [7] And some went among the thorns, and
the thorns came up, and it had no room for growth and gave no fruit. [8]
And some, falling on good earth, gave fruit, coming up and increasing, and
giving thirty, sixty, and a hundred times as much. [9] And he said to them,
Whoever has ears, let him give ear. [10] And when he was by himself, those
who were round him with the twelve put questions to him about the purpose
of the stories. [11] And he said to them, To you is given the secret of the
kingdom of God, but to those who are outside, all things are given in the
form of stories; [12] So that seeing they may see, and it will not be clear
to them; and hearing it, they will not get the sense; for fear that they
may be turned again to me and have forgiveness. [13] And he said to them,
If you are not clear about this story, how will you be clear about the
others? [14] The seed is the word. [15] And these are they by the wayside,
where the word is planted; and when they have given ear, the Evil One comes
straight away and takes away the word which has been planted in them. [16]
And in the same way, these are they who are planted on the stones, who,
when the word has come to their ears, straight away take it with joy; [17]
And they have no root in themselves, but go on for a time; then, when
trouble comes or pain, because of the word, they quickly become full of
doubts. [18] And others are those planted among the thorns; these are they
who have given ear to the word, [19] And the cares of this life, and the
deceits of wealth, and the desire for other things coming in, put a stop to
the growth of the word, and it gives no fruit. [20] And these are they who
were planted on the good earth; such as give ear to the word, and take it
into their hearts, and give fruit, thirty and sixty and a hundred times as
much. [21] And he said to them, When the light comes in, do people put it
under a vessel, or under the bed, and not on its table? [22] There is
nothing covered which will not be seen openly, and nothing has been made
secret which will not come to light. [23] If any man has ears, let him give
ear. [24] And he said to them, Take care what you give ear to: in the same
measure as you give you will get, and more will be given to you. [25] He
who has, to him will be given: and he who has not, from him will be taken
even that which he has. [26] And he said, Such is the kingdom of God, as if
a man put seed in the earth, [27] And went to sleep and got up, night and
day, and the seed came to growth, though he had no idea how. [28] The earth
gives fruit by herself; first the leaf, then the head, then the full grain.
[29] But when the grain is ready, he quickly sends men to get it cut,
because the time for cutting has come. [30] And he said, What picture may
we give of the kingdom of God, or with what story may we make it clear?
[31] It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is put in the
earth, is smaller than all the seeds on the earth, [32] But when it is
planted, it comes up, and becomes taller than all the plants, and puts out
great branches, so that the birds of heaven are able to take rest in its
shade. [33] And with a number of such stories he gave them his teaching, as
they were able to take it: [34] And without a story he said nothing to
them: but privately to his disciples he made all things clear. [35] And on
that day, when the evening had come, he said to them, Let us go over to the
other side. [36] And going away from the people, they took him with them,
as he was, in the boat. And other boats were with him. [37] And a great
storm of wind came up, and the waves came into the boat, so that the boat
was now becoming full. [38] And he himself was in the back of the boat,
sleeping on the cushion: and they, awaking him, said, Master, is it nothing
to you that we are in danger of destruction? [39] And he came out of his
sleep, and gave strong orders to the wind, and said to the sea, Peace, be
at rest. And the wind went down, and there was a great calm. [40] And he
said to them, Why are you full of fear? have you still no faith? [41] And
their fear was great, and they said one to another, Who then is this, that
even the wind and the sea do his orders?
