Bible verses about "seed" | WNT

⁸ But some of the seed falls into good ground, and gives a return: it comes up and increases, and yields thirty, sixty, or a hundred-fold."

¹ Paul, a bondservant of God and an Apostle of Jesus Christ for building up the faith of God's own people and spreading a full knowledge of the truths of religion, ² in hope of the Life of the Ages which God, who is never false to His word, promised before the commencement of the Ages. ³ And at the appointed time He clearly made known His Message in the preaching with which I was entrusted by the command of God our Saviour: ⁴ To Titus my own true child in our common faith. May grace and peace be granted to you from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Saviour. ⁵ I have left you behind in Crete in order that you may set right the things which still require attention, and appoint Elders in every town, as I directed you to do; ⁶ wherever there is a man of blameless life, true to his one wife, having children who are themselves believers and are free from every reproach of profligacy or of stubborn self-will. ⁷ For, as God's steward, a minister must be of blameless life, not over-fond of having his own way, not a man of a passionate temper nor a hard drinker, not given to blows nor greedy of gain, ⁸ but hospitable to strangers, a lover of goodness, sober-minded, upright, saintly, self-controlled; ⁹ holding fast to the faithful Message which he has received, so that he may be well qualified both to encourage others with sound teaching and to reply successfully to opponents. ¹⁰ For there are many that spurn authority--idle, talkative and deceitful persons, who, for the most part, are adherents of the Circumcision. ¹¹ You must stop the mouths of such men, for they overthrow the faith of whole families, teaching what they ought not, just for the sake of making money. ¹² One of their own number--a Prophet who is a countryman of theirs--has said, "Cretans are always liars, dangerous animals, idle gluttons." ¹³ This testimony is true. Therefore sternly denounce them, that they may be robust in their faith, ¹⁴ and not give attention to Jewish legends and the maxims of men who turn their backs on the truth. ¹⁵ To the pure everything is pure; but to the polluted and unbelieving nothing is pure, but on the contrary their very minds and consciences are polluted. ¹⁶ They profess to know God; but in their actions they disown Him, and are detestable and disobedient men, and for any good work are utterly useless.

¹ Shortly after this He visited town after town, and village after village, proclaiming His Message and telling the Good News of the Kingdom of God. The Twelve were with Him, ² and certain women whom He had delivered from evil spirits and various diseases--Mary of Magdala, out of whom seven demons had come, ³ and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many other women, all of whom contributed to the support of Jesus and His Apostles. ⁴ And when a great crowd was assembling, and was receiving additions from one town after another, He spoke a parable to them. ⁵ "The sower," He said, "goes out to sow his seed; and as he sows, some of the seed falls by the way-side, and is trodden upon, or the birds of the air come and peck it up. ⁶ Another part drops upon the rock, and after growing up it withers away for want of moisture. ⁷ Another part falls among the thorns, and the thorns grow up with it and stifle it. ⁸ But some of the seed falls into good ground, and grows up and yields a return of a hundred for one." While thus speaking, He cried aloud and said, "Listen, every one who has ears to listen with!" ⁹ The disciples proceeded to ask Him what this parable meant. ¹⁰ "To you," He replied, "it is granted to know the secrets of the Kingdom of God; but all others are taught by parables, in order that they may see and yet not see, and may hear and yet not understand. ¹¹ The meaning of the parable is as follows. The seed is God's Message. ¹² Those by the way-side are those who have heard, and then the Devil comes and carries away the Message from their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. ¹³ Those on the rock are the people who on hearing the Message receive it joyfully; but they have no root: for a time they believe, but when trial comes they fall away. ¹⁴ That which fell among the thorns means those who have heard, but as they go on their way, the Message is stifled by the anxieties, wealth and gaieties of time, and they yield nothing in perfection. ¹⁵ But as for that in the good ground, it means those who, having listened to the Message with open minds and in a right spirit, hold it fast, and patiently yield a return. ¹⁶ "When any one lights a lamp, he does not cover it with a vessel or hide it under a couch; he puts it on a lampstand, that people who enter the room may see the light. ¹⁷ There is nothing hidden, which shall not be openly seen; nor anything secret, which shall not be known and come into the light of day. ¹⁸ Be careful, therefore, how you hear; for whoever has anything, to him more shall be given, and whoever has nothing, even that which he thinks he has shall be taken away from him." ¹⁹ Then came to Him His mother and His brothers, but could not get near Him for the crowd. ²⁰ But He was told, "Your mother and brothers are standing on the edge of the crowd, and want to see you." ²¹ "My mother and my brothers," He replied, "are these who hear God's Message and obey it." ²² One day He went on board a boat--both He and his disciples; and He said to them, "Let us cross over to the other side of the Lake." So they set sail. ²³ During the passage He fell asleep, and there came down a squall of wind on the Lake, so that the boat began to fill and they were in deadly peril. ²⁴ So they came and woke Him, crying, "Rabbi, Rabbi, we are drowning." Then He roused Himself and rebuked the wind and the surging of the water, and they ceased and there was a calm. ²⁵ "Where is your faith?" He asked them. But they were filled with terror and amazement, and said to one another, "Who then is this? for He gives orders both to wind and waves, and they obey Him." ²⁶ Then they put in to shore in the country of the Gerasenes, which lies opposite to Galilee. ²⁷ Here, on landing, He was met by one of the townsmen who was possessed by demons--for a long time he had not put on any garment, nor did he live in a house, but in the tombs. ²⁸ When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before Him, and said in a loud voice, "What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of God Most High? Do not torture me, I beseech you." ²⁹ For already He had been commanding the foul spirit to come out of the man. For many a time it had seized and held him, and they had repeatedly put him in chains and fetters and kept guard over him, but he used to break the chains to pieces, and, impelled by the demon, to escape into the Desert. ³⁰ "What is your name?" Jesus asked him. "Legion," he replied--because a great number of demons had entered into him; ³¹ and they besought Him not to command them to be gone into the Bottomless Pit. ³² Now there was a great herd of swine there feeding on the hill-side; and the demons begged Him to give them leave to go into them, and He gave them leave. ³³ The demons came out of the man and left him, and entered into the swine; and the herd rushed violently over the cliff into the Lake and were drowned. ³⁴ The swineherds, seeing what had happened, fled and reported it both in town and country; ³⁵ whereupon the people came out to see what had happened. They came to Jesus, and they found the man from whom the demons had gone out sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they were terrified. ³⁶ And those who had seen it told them how the demoniac was cured. ³⁷ Then the whole population of the Gerasenes and of the adjacent districts begged Him to depart from them; for their terror was great. So He went on board and returned. ³⁸ But the man from whom the demons had gone out earnestly asked permission to go with Him; but He sent him away. ³⁹ "Return home," He said, "and tell there all that God has done for you." So he went and published through the whole town all that Jesus had done for him. ⁴⁰ Now when Jesus was returning, the people gave Him a warm welcome; for they had all been looking out for Him. ⁴¹ Just then there came a man named Jair, a Warden of the Synagogue, who threw himself at the feet of Jesus, and entreated Him to come to his house; ⁴² for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was dying. And as He went, the dense throng crowded on Him. ⁴³ And a woman who for twelve years had been afflicted with haemorrhage--and had spent on doctors all she had, but none of them had been able to cure her-- ⁴⁴ came close behind Him and touched the tassel of His robe; and instantly her flow of blood stopped. ⁴⁵ "Who is it touched me?" Jesus asked. And when all denied having done so, Peter and the rest said, "Rabbi, the crowds are hemming you in and pressing on you." ⁴⁶ "Some one has touched me," Jesus replied, "for I feel that power has gone out from me." ⁴⁷ Then the woman, perceiving that she had not escaped notice, came trembling, and throwing herself down at His feet she stated before all the people the reason why she had touched Him and how she was instantly cured. ⁴⁸ "Daughter," said He, "your faith has cured you; go, and be at peace." ⁴⁹ While He was still speaking, some one came to the Warden of the Synagogue from his house and said, "Your daughter is dead; trouble the Rabbi no further." ⁵⁰ Jesus heard the words and said to him, "Have no fear. Only believe, and she shall be restored to life." ⁵¹ So He came to the house, but allowed no one to go in with Him but Peter and John and James and the girl's father and mother. ⁵² The people were all weeping aloud and beating their breasts for her; but He said, "Leave off wailing; for she is not dead, but asleep." ⁵³ And they jeered at Him, knowing that she was dead. ⁵⁴ He, however, took her by the hand and called aloud, "Child, awake!" ⁵⁵ And her spirit returned, and instantly she stood up; and He directed them to give her some food. ⁵⁶ Her parents were astounded; but He forbad them to mention the matter to any one.

⁶ But do not forget that he who sows with a niggardly hand will also reap a niggardly crop, and that he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

²² Now that, through your obedience to the truth, you have purified your souls for cherishing sincere brotherly love, you must love another heartily and fervently. ²³ For you have been begotten again by God's ever-living and enduring word from a germ not of perishable, but of imperishable life. ²⁴ "ALL MANKIND RESEMBLE THE HERBAGE, AND ALL THEIR BEAUTY IS LIKE ITS FLOWERS. THE HERBAGE DRIES UP, AND ITS FLOWERS DROP OFF; ²⁵ BUT THE WORD OF THE LORD REMAINS FOR EVER." And that means the Message which has been proclaimed among you in the Good News.

²⁰ "Because your faith is so small," He replied; "for I solemnly declare to you that if you have faith like a mustard-seed, you shall say to this mountain, 'Remove from this place to that,' and it will remove; and nothing shall be impossible to you.

⁸ He who sows in the field of his lower nature, will from that nature reap destruction; but he who sows to serve the Spirit will from the Spirit reap the Life of the Ages.

³⁶ Foolish man! the seed you yourself sow has no life given to it unless it first dies; ³⁷ and as for what you sow, it is not the plant which is to be that you are sowing, but a bare grain, of wheat (it may be) or of something else, and God gives it a body as He has seen fit, ³⁸ and to each kind of seed a body of its own.

³⁸ and to each kind of seed a body of its own.

¹ That same day Jesus had left the house and was sitting on the shore of the Lake, ² when a vast multitude of people crowded round Him. He therefore went on board a boat and sat there, while all the people stood on the shore. ³ He then spoke many things to them in figurative language. "The sower goes out," He said, "to sow. ⁴ As he sows, some of the seed falls by the way-side, and the birds come and peck it up. ⁵ Some falls on rocky ground, where it has but scanty soil. It quickly shows itself above ground, because it has no depth of earth; ⁶ but when the sun is risen, it is scorched by the heat, and through having no root it withers up. ⁷ Some falls among the thorns; but the thorns spring up and stifle it. ⁸ But a portion falls upon good ground, and gives a return, some a hundred for one, some sixty, some thirty. ⁹ Listen, every one who has ears!" ¹⁰ (And His disciples came and asked Him, "Why do you speak to them in figurative language?" ¹¹ "Because," He replied, "while to you it is granted to know the secrets of the Kingdom of the Heavens, to them it is not. ¹² For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he shall have abundance; but whoever has not, from him even what he has shall be taken away. ¹³ I speak to them in figurative language for this reason, that while looking they do not see, and while hearing they neither hear nor understand. ¹⁴ And in regard to them the prophecy of Isaiah is receiving signal fulfilment: "'YOU WILL HEAR AND HEAR AND BY NO MEANS UNDERSTAND, AND YOU WILL LOOK AND LOOK AND BY NO MEANS SEE. ¹⁵ FOR THIS PEOPLE'S MIND IS STUPEFIED, THEIR HEARING HAS BECOME DULL, AND THEIR EYES THEY HAVE CLOSED; TO PREVENT THEIR EVER SEEING WITH THEIR EYES, OR HEARING WITH THEIR EARS, OR UNDERSTANDING WITH THEIR MINDS, AND TURNING BACK, SO THAT I MIGHT HEAL THEM.' ¹⁶ "But as for you, blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. ¹⁷ For I solemnly tell you that many Prophets and holy men have longed to see the sights you see, and have not seen them, and to hear the words you hear, and have not heard them. ¹⁸ "To you then I will explain the parable of the Sower. ¹⁹ When a man hears the Message concerning the Kingdom and does not understand it, the Evil one comes and catches away what has been sown in his heart. This is he who has received the seed by the road-side. ²⁰ He who has received the seed on the rocky ground is the man who hears the Message and immediately receives it with joy. ²¹ It has struck no root, however, within him. He continues for a time, but when suffering comes, or persecution, because of the Message, he at once stumbles and falls. ²² He who has received the seed among the thorns is the man who hears the Message, but the cares of the present age and the delusions of riches quite stifle the Message, and it becomes unfruitful. ²³ But he who has received the seed on good ground is he who hears and understands. Such hearers give a return, and yield one a hundred for one, another sixty, another thirty.") ²⁴ Another parable He put before them. "The Kingdom of the Heavens," He said, "may be compared to a man who has sown good seed in his field, ²⁵ but during the night his enemy comes, and over the first seed he sows darnel among the wheat, and goes away. ²⁶ But when the blade shoots up and the grain is formed, then appears the darnel also. ²⁷ "So the farmer's men come and ask him, "'Sir, was it not good seed that you sowed on your land? Where then does the darnel come from?' ²⁸ "'Some enemy has done this,' he said. "'Shall we go, and collect it?' the men inquire. ²⁹ "'No,' he replied, 'for fear that while collecting the darnel you should at the same time root up the wheat with it. ³⁰ Leave both to grow together until the harvest, and at harvest-time I will direct the reapers, Collect the darnel first, and make it up into bundles to burn it, but bring all the wheat into my barn.'" ³¹ Another parable He put before them. "The Kingdom of the Heavens," He said, "is like a mustard-seed, which a man takes and sows in his ground. ³² It is the smallest of all seeds, and yet when full-grown it is larger than any herb and forms a tree, so that the birds come and build in its branches." ³³ Another parable He spoke to them. "The Kingdom of the Heavens," He said, "is like yeast which a woman takes and buries in a bushel of flour, for it to work there till the whole mass has risen." ³⁴ All this Jesus spoke to the people in figurative language, and except in figurative language He spoke nothing to them, ³⁵ in fulfilment of the saying of the Prophet, "I WILL OPEN MY MOUTH IN FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE, I WILL UTTER THINGS KEPT HIDDEN SINCE THE CREATION OF ALL THINGS." ³⁶ When He had dismissed the people and had returned to the house, His disciples came to Him with the request, "Explain to us the parable of the darnel sown in the field." ³⁷ "The sower of the good seed," He replied, "is the Son of Man; ³⁸ the field is the world; the good seed--these are the sons of the Kingdom; the darnel, the sons of the Evil one. ³⁹ The enemy who sows the darnel is *the Devil*; the harvest is the Close of the Age; the reapers are the angels. ⁴⁰ As then the darnel is collected together and burnt up with fire, so will it be at the Close of the Age. ⁴¹ The Son of Man will commission His angels, and they will gather out of His Kingdom all causes of sin and all who violate His laws; ⁴² and these they will throw into the fiery furnace. There will be the weeping aloud and the gnashing of teeth. ⁴³ Then will the righteous shine out like the sun in their Father's Kingdom. Listen, every one who has ears! ⁴⁴ "The Kingdom of the Heavens is like treasure buried in the open country, which a man finds, but buries again, and, in his joy about it, goes and sells all he has and buys that piece of ground. ⁴⁵ "Again the Kingdom of the Heavens is like a jewel merchant who is in quest of choice pearls. ⁴⁶ He finds one most costly pearl; he goes away; and though it costs all he has, he buys it. ⁴⁷ "Again the Kingdom of the Heavens is like a draw-net let down into the sea, which encloses fish of all sorts. ⁴⁸ When full, they haul it up on the beach, and sit down and collect the good fish in baskets, while the worthless they throw away. ⁴⁹ So will it be at the Close of the Age. The angels will go forth and separate the wicked from among the righteous, ⁵⁰ and will throw them into the fiery furnace. There will be the weeping aloud and the gnashing of teeth." ⁵¹ "Have you understood all this?" He asked. "Yes," they said. ⁵² "Therefore," He said, "remember that every Scribe well trained for the Kingdom of the Heavens is like a householder who brings out of his storehouse new things and old." ⁵³ Jesus concluded this series of parables and then departed. ⁵⁴ And He came into His own country and proceeded to teach in their synagogue, so that they were filled with astonishment and exclaimed, "Where did he obtain such wisdom, and these wondrous powers? ⁵⁵ Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers, James, Joseph, Simon and Judah? ⁵⁶ And his sisters--are they not all living here among us? Where then did he get all this?" ⁵⁷ So they turned angrily away from Him. But Jesus said to them, "There is no prophet left without honour except in his own country and among his own family." ⁵⁸ And He performed but few mighty deeds there because of their want of faith.