1 Another time Jesus began teaching by the lake. A great crowd gathered around him. So he got into a boat and went out on the lake. All the people stayed on the shore close to the water.
2 Jesus used many stories to teach them. He said,
3 “Listen! A farmer went out to plant his seed.
4 While the farmer was planting, some seed fell by the road. The birds came and ate all that seed.
5 Some seed fell on rocky ground where there wasn’t much dirt. The seed grew very fast there because the ground was not deep.
6 But when the sun rose, the plants withered. The plants died because they did not have deep roots.
7 Some other seed fell among thorny weeds. The weeds grew and choked the good plants. So those plants did not make grain.