Williams(i)
1 That same day Jesus went out of His house and was sitting on the seashore.
2 And the crowds that gathered about Him were so great that He got into a boat and remained sitting in it, while all the crowd stood on the seashore.
3 And in stories, by way of comparison, He told them many things, as He continued to speak: "A sower went out to sow,
4 and as he was sowing, some of the seed fell along the path, and the birds came and ate them up,
5 and some fell upon rocky ground where they did not have much soil, and at once they sprang up, because there was no depth of soil,
6 and when the sun was up they were scorched and dried up, because they had no root.
7 And some fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them out.
8 And some fell in rich soil, and yielded a crop, some a hundred, some sixty, some thirty-fold.
9 Let him who has ears listen."
10 Then His disciples came up to Him and asked, "Why do you speak to them in stories?"
11 He answered: "It is you and not they who are granted the privilege of knowing the secrets of the kingdom of heaven.
12 For to anyone who has, more will be given, and his supply will overflow, but from anyone who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.
13 This is why I am speaking to them in stories, because they look but do not see, they listen but do not really hear or understand.
14 So in them the prophecy of the prophet Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: "'You will listen and listen and not understand, and you will look and look and never see at all,
15 For this people's soul has grown dull, and with their ears they can scarcely hear, and they have shut tight their eyes, so that they will never see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn to me, so that I may cure them!'
16 "But blessed are your eyes, for they are beginning to see, and your ears, for they are beginning to hear.
17 For I solemnly say to you, many prophets and upright men yearned to see what you are seeing, and did not see it, and to hear what you are hearing, and did not hear it.