Knox Bible

1

Then he began to teach by the sea-side again; and a great multitude gathered before him, so that he went into a boat, and sat there on the sea, while all the multitude was on the land, at the sea’s edge.

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And he taught them for a long time, but in parables; Listen, his teaching began,

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here is the sower gone out to sow.

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And as he sowed, some grains chanced to fall beside the path, so that the birds came and ate them up.

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And others fell on rocky land, where the soil was shallow; these sprang up all at once, because they had not sunk deep in the ground:

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and when the sun rose they were parched; they had taken no root, and so they withered away.

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Some fell among briers, so that the briers grew up and smothered them, and they gave no crop.

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And others fell where the soil was good, and these sprouted and grew, and yielded a harvest; some of them thirtyfold, some sixtyfold, some a hundredfold.

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Listen, he said, you that have ears to hear with.

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When they could speak with him alone, the twelve who were with him asked the meaning of the parable.

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And he said to them, It is granted to you to understand the secret of God’s kingdom; for those others, who stand without, all is parable:

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so they must watch and watch, yet never see, must listen and listen, yet never understand, nor ever turn back, and have their sins forgiven them.✻

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Then he said to them, You do not understand this parable? And are these the men who are to understand all parables?

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What the sower sows is the word.

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Those by the way-side are those who have the word sown in them, but no sooner have they heard it than Satan comes, and takes away this word that was sown in their hearts.

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In the same way, those who take in the seed in rocky ground are those who entertain the word with joy as soon as they hear it,

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and yet have no root in themselves; they last for a time, but afterwards, when tribulation or persecution arises over the word, their faith is soon shaken.

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And there are others who take in the seed in the midst of briers; they are those who hear the word,

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but allow the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches and their other appetites to smother the word, so that it remains fruitless.

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And those who take in the seed in good soil are those who hear the word and welcome it and yield a harvest, one grain thirtyfold, one sixtyfold, one a hundredfold.✻

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And he said to them, Is a lamp brought in to be put under a bushel measure, or under a bed, not in the lamp-stand?

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What is hidden, is hidden only so that it may be revealed; what is kept secret, is kept secret only that it may come to light.

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Listen, all you that have ears to hear with.

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And he said to them, Look well what it is that you hear. The measure in which you give is the measure in which you will be repaid, and more will be given you besides.

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If a man is rich, gifts will be made to him; if he is poor, even the little he has will be taken away from him.

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And he said to them, The kingdom of heaven is like this; it is as if a man should sow a crop in his land,

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and then go to sleep and wake again, night after night, day after day, while the crop sprouts and grows, without any knowledge of his.

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So, of its own accord, the ground yields increase, first the blade, then the ear, then the perfect grain in the ear;

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and when the fruit appears, then it is time for him to put in the sickle, because now the harvest is ripe.

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And he said, What likeness can we find for the kingdom of God? To what image are we to compare it?

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To a grain of mustard seed; when this is sown in the earth, no seed on earth is so little;

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but, once sown, it shoots up and grows taller than any garden herb, putting out great branches, so that all the birds can come and settle under its shade.

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And he used many parables of this kind, such as they could listen to easily, in preaching the word to them;

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to them he spoke only in parables, and made all plain to his disciples when they were alone.✻

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That day, when evening came on, he said to them, Let us go across to the other side.

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So they let the multitude go, and took him with them, just as he was, on the boat; there were other boats too with him.

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And a great storm of wind arose, and drove the waves into the boat, so that the boat could hold no more.

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Meanwhile, he was in the stern, asleep on the pillow there; and they roused him, crying, Master, art thou unconcerned? We are sinking.

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So he rose up, and checked the wind, and said to the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind dropped, and there was deep calm.

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Then he said to them, Why are you faint-hearted? Have you still no faith? And they were overcome with awe; Why, who is this, they said to one another, who is obeyed even by the winds and the sea?✻