1 Another time Jesus began teaching by the lake, and a large crowd gathered around him. He got into a boat so that he could sit and teach from the lake. All the people stayed on the shore near the water.
2 Jesus used stories to teach them many things. One of his lessons included this story:
3 “Listen! A farmer went out to sow seed.
4 While he was scattering the seed, some of it fell by the road. The birds came and ate all that seed.
5 Other seed fell on rocky ground, where there was not enough dirt. It grew quickly there because the soil was not deep.
6 But then the sun rose and the plants were burned. They died because they did not have deep roots.