Synoptic Gospels Primer - Parable of the Sower (English)

Parallel Texts in Matthew, Mark & Luke

2. The Sower
Matt 13:1-9 // Mark 4:1-9 // Luke 8:4-8

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English synopsis

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Texts

PARABLE of the SOWER
Matthew 13		Mark 4		Luke 8
1	That same day
	Jesus went out of the house
	and sat	1	And again
			he began to teach
.	beside the sea.		beside the sea.
2	And great crowds		And a very large crowd	4	When a great crowd
	gathered about him,		gathered about him,		came together
	so that		so that
	he got into a boat		he got into a boat
	and sat there;		and sat in it on the sea;
	and the whole crowd		and the whole crowd		and people
	stood		was beside the sea
	on the beach.		on the land.		from town after town
					came to him,
3	And he told them	2	And he taught them
	many things		many things
	in parables,		in parables,
			and in his teaching
	saying:		he said to them:		he said
					in a parable:
		3	"Listen!
	"A sower went out		A sower went out	5	"A sower went out
	to sow.		to sow.		to sow his seed;
4	And as he sowed,	4	And as he sowed,		and as he sowed,
	some [seeds] fell		some [seed] fell		some fell
	along the path,		along the path,		along the path,
					and was trodden
					under foot,
	and the birds came		and the birds came		and the birds of the air
	and devoured them.		and devoured it.		devoured it.
5	Other [seeds] fell	5	Other [seed] fell	6	And some fell
	on rocky ground,		on rocky ground,		on the rock;
	where they had		where it had
	not much soil,		not much soil,
	and immediately		and immediately
	they sprang up,		it sprang up,		and as it grew up,
	since they had		since it had
	no depth of soil,		no depth of soil;
6	but when the sun rose	6	and when the sun rose
	they were scorched;		it was scorched,
	and since they had no root		and since it had no root
	they withered away.		it withered away.		it withered away,
					because it had
					no moisture.
7	Other [seeds] fell	7	Other [seed] fell	7	And some fell
	upon thorns,		into thorns		among thorns;
	and the thorns grew up		and the thorns grew up		and the thorns grew
					with it
	and choked them.		and choked it,		and choked it.
.			and it yielded no grain.
8	Other [seeds] fell	8	And other [seeds] fell	8	And some fell
	on fine soil		into fine soil		into good soil
	and brought forth grain,		and brought forth grain,
			growing up		and grew,
			and increasing
			and yielding		and yielded
	some a hundredfold,*		thirtyfold*
	some sixty,		and sixtyfold
	some thirty.*		and a hundredfold."*		a hundredfold."
		9	And he said,		As he said this,
					he called out,
9	He who has ears		"He who has ears		"He who has ears
**	[to hear]		to hear,		to hear,
	let him hear."		let him hear."		let him hear."

** Note: The infinitive "to hear" is not in Matt 13:9 in the two earliest codices (before 400 CE): Sinaiticus & Vaticanus. But it is found in most mss. after 400 CE. Which explanation of these facts is more plausible?

It was omitted by accident. Scribes copying a ms. with redundant words sometimes dropped one. Note that there are two forms of the verb "hear" in Matt 13:9. Or...

It was added by later scribes to bring Matthew in line with the other synoptic versions of this saying.

If this verb was missing from later mss., a scribal lapse would be clear. But since it is lacking in both of the oldest mss., accidental omission is less likely. The Diatesseron, a 2nd c. harmony of the four gospels included the infinitive in this saying. But there is no evidence for it in Greek mss. of Matthew before the 5th c. CE.

Color Code

Blue Three gospels use same vocabulary.

Teal Two gospels use same vocabulary.

Black Words unique to a particular gospel.

[it] RSV wording added to Greek text.

* Same wording, different order.

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last revised 01 March 2023