1 Later that same day Jesus left the house and sat beside the lake.
2 A large crowd soon gathered around him, so he got into a boat. Then he sat there and taught as the people stood on the shore.
3 He told many stories in the form of parables, such as this one:“Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seeds.
4 As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them.
5 Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow.