At that time when a very great crowd was gathering together and men were resorting to Jesus, He said in a parable: "The sower when out to sow his seed, And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside and was trodden under foot, and the birds of the air ate it up. And other seed fell upon the rock, and as soon as it sprung up it withered away, because he had no moisture. And other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. And other seed feel upon good ground and sprang up and yielded fruit a hundredfold." As He said these things He cried out, " He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" But His disciples then began to ask Him what this parable meant. He said to them, To you is given to know the mystery of the Kingdom of God, but to the rest in parables, that 'Seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.' Now the parable is this: the seed is the word of God. And those by the wayside are they who have heard; the the devil comes and takes away the word of God from their heart, that they may not believe and be saved. Now those upon the rock are they who, when they heard, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, but believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away. And that which feel among the thorns, these are they who have heard, and as they go their way are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not ripen.