Matthew 13:3

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

Then he told them many things in parables, saying: "A farmer went out to sow his seed.

And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, "Behold, the sower went out to sow;

He told many stories such as this one: "A farmer went out to plant some seed.

Using the boat as a pulpit, he addressed his congregation, telling stories. "What do you make of this? A farmer planted seed.

And he gave them teaching in the form of a story, saying, A man went out to put seed in the earth;

And he told them many things in parables, saying: "Listen! A sower went out to sow.

Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: "Behold, a sower went out to sow.

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

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

² sn Though parables can contain a variety of figures of speech (cf. the remainder of chapter 13), many times they are simply stories that attempt to teach spiritual truth (which is unknown to the hearers) by using a comparison with something known to the hearers. In general, parables usually advance a single idea, though there may be many parts and characters in a single parable and subordinate ideas may expand the main idea further. The beauty of using the parable as a teaching device is that it draws the listener into the story, elicits an evaluation, and demands a response.

³ tn Grk “Behold.”

⁴ sn A sower went out to sow. The background for this well-known parable, drawn from a typical scene in the Palestinian countryside, is a field through which a well-worn path runs. Sowing would occur in late fall or early winter (October to December) in the rainy season, looking for sprouting in April or May and a June harvest. The use of seed as a figure for God’s giving life has OT roots (Isa 55:10-11). The point of the parable of the sower is to illustrate the various responses to the message of the kingdom of God.