“A farmer went out to plant his seed. As he scattered it across his field, some seed fell on a footpath, where it was stepped on, and the birds ate it.
Parallel translations
- WEB “The farmer went out to sow his seed. As he sowed, some fell along the road, and it was trampled under foot, and the birds of the sky devoured it.
- KJV A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it.
- BSB “A farmer went out to sow his seed. And as he was sowing, some seed fell along the path, where it was trampled, and the birds of the air devoured it.
- NKJV “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it.
- NASB “The sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell beside the road, and it was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the sky ate it up.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
A sower scatters seed, some of which falls on the path and is trampled and eaten by birds. This pictures the word reaching hearts that never receive it.
Overview
Jesus opens the parable with seed falling on hard, exposed ground where it is lost at once. The image draws on familiar farming in Galilee. As He will explain, this represents those who hear the word but lose it immediately to the devil, never letting it take root.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Heb 2:1Therefore we ought to pay greater attention to the things that were heard, lest perhaps we drift away.
- Jas 1:23–24For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man looking at his natural face in a mirror;
- Mark 4:15The ones by the road are the ones where the word is sown; and when they have heard, immediately Satan comes, and takes away the word which has been sown in them.
- Luke 8:11–12Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
- Gen 15:11The birds of prey came down on the carcasses, and Abram drove them away.
- Mark 4:26–29He said, “God’s Kingdom is as if a man should cast seed on the earth,
- Ps 119:118You reject all those who stray from your statutes, for their deceit is in vain.
- Matt 5:13“You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost its flavor, with what will it be salted? It is then good for nothing, but to be cast out and trodden under the feet of men.
- Matt 13:3–4He spoke to them many things in parables, saying, “Behold, a farmer went out to sow.
- Matt 13:37He answered them, “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man,
- Matt 13:24–26He set another parable before them, saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field,
- Mark 4:2–4He taught them many things in parables, and told them in his teaching,
- Matt 13:18–19“Hear, then, the parable of the farmer.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 8:5 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.