Matthew 13:4

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

As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.

and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up.

As he scattered it across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them.

As he scattered the seed, some of it fell on the road, and birds ate it.

And while he did so, some seeds were dropped by the wayside, and the birds came and took them for food:

And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up.

"And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.

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

¹ tn In Matthew’s version of this parable, plural pronouns are used to refer to the seed in v. 4 (ἅ…αὐτά [Ja…auta]), although the collective singular is used in v. 5 and following (indicated by the singular verbs like ἔπεσεν [epesen]). For the sake of consistency in English, plural pronouns referring to the seed are used in the translation throughout the Matthean account. In both Mark and Luke the collective singular is used consistently throughout (cf. Mark 4:1-9; Luke 8:4-8).