1. And on that day יהושע went out of the house and sat by the sea.
2. And large crowds were gathered together to Him, so that He went into a boat and sat down. And all the crowd stood on the beach.
3. And He spoke to them much in parables, saying, “See, the sower went out to sow.
4. “And as he sowed, some indeed fell by the wayside, and the birds came and devoured them.
5. “And others fell on rocky places, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil.
6. “But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered.
7. “And others fell among thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them.
8. “And others fell on good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
9. “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
10. And the taught ones came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”
11. And He answering, said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the secrets of the reign of the heavens, but to them it has not been given.
12. “For whoever possesses, to him more shall be given, and he shall have overflowingly; but whoever does not possess, even what he possesses shall be taken away from him.
13. “Because of this I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.
14. “And in them the prophecy of Yeshayahu is completely filled, which says, ‘Hearing you shall hear and by no means understand, and seeing you shall see and by no means perceive,
15. for the heart of this people has become thickened, and their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their heart, and turn back, and I heal them.’