Good News [1976], GOOD NEWS BIBLE WITH DEUTEROCANONICALS / APOCRYPHA Today's English Version (AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY, New York) [word count] [B15000].
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The Parable of the Sower
(Matthew 13.1–9; Luke 8.4–8)
1 Again Jesus began to teach beside
Lake Galilee. The crowd
that gathered around him was so
large that he got into a boat and sat
in it. The boat was out in the water,
and the crowd stood on the shore at
the water's edge. note
2 He used parables
to teach them many things, saying to
them:
3 “Listen! Once there was a man
who went out to sow grain.
4 As he
scattered the seed in the field, some
of it fell along the path, and the birds
came and ate it up.
5 Some of it fell
on rocky ground, where there was
little soil. The seeds soon sprouted,
because the soil wasn't deep.
6 Then,
when the sun came up, it burned the
young plants; and because the roots
had not grown deep enough, the
plants soon dried up.
7 Some of the
seed fell among thorn bushes, which
grew up and choked the plants, and
they didn't bear grain.
8 But some
seeds fell in good soil, and the plants
sprouted, grew, and bore grain:
some had thirty grains, others sixty,
and others one hundred.”
9 And Jesus concluded, “Listen,
then, if you have ears!”
The Purpose of the Parables
(Matthew 13.10–17; Luke 8.9–10)
10 When Jesus was alone, some of
those who had heard him came to
him with the twelve disciples and
asked him to explain the parables.
11 “You have been given the secret of
-- --
the Kingdom of God,” Jesus answered.
“But the others, who are on
the outside, hear all things by means
of parables,
12 so that,
‘They may look and look,
yet not see;
they may listen and listen,
yet not understand.
For if they did, they would turn to God,
and he would forgive them.’” note
Jesus Explains the Parable of the Sower
(Matthew 13.18–23; Luke 8.11–15)
13 Then Jesus asked them, “Don't
you understand this parable? How,
then, will you ever understand any
parable?
14 The sower sows God's
message.
15 Some people are like the
seeds that fall along the path; as
soon as they hear the message, Satan
comes and takes it away.
16 Other
people are like the seeds that fall
on rocky ground. As soon as they
hear the message, they receive it
gladly.
17 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.
18 Other people are
like the seeds sown among the thorn
bushes. These are the ones who hear
the message,
19 but the worries about
this life, the love for riches, and all
other kinds of desires crowd in and
choke the message, and they don't
bear fruit.
20 But other people are
like seeds sown in good soil. They
hear the message, accept it, and bear
fruit: some thirty, some sixty, and
some one hundred.”
A Lamp under a Bowl
(Luke 8.16–18)
21 Jesus continued, “Does anyone
ever bring in a lamp and put it under
a bowl or under the bed? Doesn't he
put it on the lampstand? note
22 Whatever
is hidden away will be brought out
into the open, and whatever is covered
up will be uncovered. note
23 Listen,
then, if you have ears!”
24 He also said to them, “Pay attention
to what you hear! The same
rules you use to judge others will be
used by God to judge you—but with
even greater severity. note
25 The person
who has something will be given
more, and the person who has nothing
will have taken away from him
even the little he has.” note
The Parable of the Growing Seed
26 Jesus went on to say, “The Kingdom
of God is like this. A man scatters
seed in his field.
27 He sleeps at
night, is up and about during the
day, and all the while the seeds are
sprouting and growing. Yet he does
not know how it happens.
28 The soil
itself makes the plants grow and
bear fruit; first the tender stalk appears,
then the head, and finally the
head full of grain.
29 When the grain
is ripe, the man starts cutting it with
his sickle, because harvest time has
come. note
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
(Matthew 13.31–32, 34; Luke 13.18–19)
30 “What shall we say the Kingdom
of God is like?” asked Jesus.
“What parable shall we use to explain
it?
31 It is like this. A man takes
a mustard seed, the smallest seed in
the world, and plants it in the
ground.
32 After a while it grows up
and becomes the biggest of all
plants. It puts out such large
branches that the birds come and
make their nests in its shade.”
33 Jesus preached his message to
the people, using many other parables
like these; he told them as
much as they could understand.
34 He would not speak to them without
using parables, but when he was
alone with his disciples, he would
explain everything to them.
Jesus Calms a Storm
(Matthew 8.23–27; Luke 8.22–25)
35 On the evening of that same day
Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go
-- --
across to the other side of the lake.”
36 So they left the crowd; the disciples
got into the boat in which Jesus
was already sitting, and they took
him with them. Other boats were
there too.
37 Suddenly a strong wind
blew up, and the waves began to
spill over into the boat, so that it was
about to fill with water.
38 Jesus was
in the back of the boat, sleeping with
his head on a pillow. The disciples
woke him up and said, “Teacher,
don't you care that we are about to
die?”
39 Jesus stood up and commanded
the wind, “Be quiet!” and he said to
the waves, “Be still!” The wind died
down, and there was a great calm.
40 Then Jesus said to his disciples,
“Why are you frightened? Do you
still have no faith?”
41 But they were terribly afraid and
began to say to one another, “Who is
this man? Even the wind and the
waves obey him!”
Good News [1976], GOOD NEWS BIBLE WITH DEUTEROCANONICALS / APOCRYPHA Today's English Version (AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY, New York) [word count] [B15000].
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