And as he sowed, some seeds ¹  fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them.

The ¹  seed sown on rocky ground ²  is the person who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy.

He presented them with another parable: ¹  “The kingdom of heaven is like a person who sowed good seed in his field.

But while everyone was sleeping, an enemy came and sowed weeds ¹  among the wheat and went away.

So the slaves ¹  of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Then where did the weeds come from?’

and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.

And as he sowed, some seed ¹  fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.

These are the ones sown on rocky ground: As soon as they hear the word, they receive it with joy.

It is like a mustard seed ¹  that when sown in the ground, even though it is the smallest of all the seeds in the ground –

For I was afraid of you, because you are a severe ¹  man. You withdraw ²  what you did not deposit ³  and reap what you did not sow.’

The one who reaps receives pay ¹  and gathers fruit for eternal life, so that the one who sows and the one who reaps can rejoice together.

Look at the birds in the sky: ¹  They do not sow, or reap, or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds ²  them. Aren’t you more valuable ³  than they are?

The ¹  seed sown among thorns is the person who hears the word, but worldly cares and the seductiveness of wealth ²  choke the word, ³  so it produces nothing.

But as for the seed sown on good soil, this is the person who hears the word and understands. He bears fruit, yielding a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown.” ¹ 

He gave ¹  them another parable: ²  “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed ³  that a man took and sowed in his field.

Then the one who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Sir, I knew that you were a hard man, harvesting where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed,

But his master answered, ¹  ‘Evil and lazy slave! So you knew that I harvest where I didn’t sow and gather where I didn’t scatter?

But ¹  these are the ones sown on good soil: They hear the word and receive it and bear fruit, one thirty times as much, one sixty, and one a hundred.”

when it is sown, it grows up, ¹  becomes the greatest of all garden plants, and grows large branches so that the wild birds ²  can nest in its shade.” ³ 

Consider the ravens: ¹  They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn, yet God feeds ²  them. How much more valuable are you than the birds!