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But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable.
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And He said to them, "To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables,
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so that 'Seeing they may see and not perceive, And hearing they may hear and not understand; Lest they should turn, And their sins be forgiven them.' "
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And He said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?
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The sower sows the word.
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And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts.
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These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness;
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and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word's sake, immediately they stumble.
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Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word,
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and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
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But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred."
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Also He said to them, "Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed? Is it not to be set on a lampstand?
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For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light.
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If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear."
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Then He said to them, "Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given.
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For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him."
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And He said, "The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground,
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and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how.
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For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head.
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But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come."
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Then He said, "To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what parable shall we picture it?