“So listen to the parable of the sower:

So ¹  Jesus ²  told them ³  this parable: ⁴ 

Jesus spoke all these things in parables to the crowds; he did not speak to them without a parable.

He said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? Then ¹  how will you understand any parable?

“Now the parable means ¹  this: The seed is the word of God.

Now when ¹  Jesus finished these parables, he moved on from there.

Jesus spoke ¹  to them again in parables, saying:

Then ¹  his disciples asked him what this parable meant. ² 

“Son of man, offer a riddle, ¹  and tell a parable to the house of Israel.

But Peter ¹  said to him, “Explain this parable to us.”

I will sing a song that imparts wisdom; I will make insightful observations about the past. ¹ 

He ¹  told them many things in parables, ²  saying: “Listen! ³  A sower went out to sow. ⁴ 

Then ¹  the disciples came to him and said, “Why do you speak to them in parables?”

When ¹  the chief priests and the Pharisees ²  heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them.

He taught them many things in parables, ¹  and in his teaching said to them:

When he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables.

So ¹  with many parables like these, he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear.

Now ¹  when Jesus ²  had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about the parable.

He then ¹  told them a parable: ²  “The land of a certain rich man produced ³  an abundant crop,

Then ¹  Peter said, “Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for everyone?” ²