1. Once again Jesus began teaching by the lakeshore. A very large crowd soon gathered around him, so he got into a boat. Then he sat in the boat while all the people remained on the shore.
2. He taught them by telling many stories in the form of parables, such as this one:
3. “Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seed.
4. As he scattered it across his field, some of the seed fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate it.
5. Other seed fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seed sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow.
6. But the plant soon wilted under the hot sun, and since it didn’t have deep roots, it died.