Once there was a man who went out to sow = grain. As he scattered the seed in the = field, some of it fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it = up. Some of it fell on rocky ground, = where there was little soil. The seeds soon sprouted, because the soil = wasn't deep. But when the sun came up, it = burned the young plants; and because the roots had not grown deep = enough, the plants soon dried up. Some of the seed fell among thorn = bushes, which grew up and choked the plants. But some seeds fell in good soil, = and the plants bore grain: some had one hundred grains, others sixty, = and others thirty.
Listen, then, if you have ears!
Why do you use parables when you talk to the people?
The knowledge about the secrets of the Kingdom of = heaven has been given to you, but not to them. For the person who has something will be given more, = so that he will have more than enough; but the person who has nothing = will have taken away from him even the little he has. The reason I use parables in = talking to them is that they look, but do not see, and they listen, but = do not hear or understand. So the prophecy of Isaiah applies to them:
This people will = listen and listen, but not understand; they will look and look, but not = see, because their minds are dull, and they have = stopped up their ears and have closed their = eyes. Otherwise, their eyes would = see, their ears would hear, their minds would understand, and = they would turn to me, says God, and I would heal them.
As for you, how fortunate you are! Your eyes see and = your ears hear. I assure you that many prophets = and many of God's people wanted very much to see what you see, but they = could not, and to hear what you hear, but they did not.
Listen, then, and learn what the = parable of the sower means. Those who hear the message about = the Kingdom but do not understand it are like the seeds that fell along = the path. The Evil One comes and snatches away what was sown in = them. The seeds that fell on rocky = ground stand for those who receive the message gladly as soon as they = hear it. But it does not sink deep into = them, and they don't last long. So when trouble or persecution comes = because of the message, they give up at once. The seeds that fell among thorn = bushes stand for those who hear the message; but the worries about this = life and the love for riches choke the message, and they don't bear = fruit. And the seeds sown in the good = soil stand for those who hear the message and understand it: they bear = fruit, some as much as one hundred, others sixty, and others thirty.