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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?
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It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth;
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but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade."