Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the seedlings withered because they had no moisture.
Parallel translations
- WEB Other seed fell on the rock, and as soon as it grew, it withered away, because it had no moisture.
- KJV And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture.
- NKJV Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture.
- NASB Other seed fell on rocky soil, and when it came up, it withered away because it had no moisture.
- NLT Other seed fell among rocks. It began to grow, but the plant soon wilted and died for lack of moisture.
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
Seed on rocky ground sprouts quickly but withers for lack of moisture. It pictures shallow, short-lived response to the word.
Overview
The seed on thin soil over rock springs up fast but cannot endure because it has no depth. This stands for hearers who receive the word with initial joy but have no root. Their faith, lacking a settled foundation, fails when trial comes.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Luke 8:13The seeds on rocky ground are those who hear the word and receive it with joy, but they have no root. They believe for a season, but in the time of testing, they fall away.
- Heb 3:7–8Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear His voice,
- Mark 4:5–6Some fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly because the soil was shallow.
- Rom 2:4–5Or do you disregard the riches of His kindness, tolerance, and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you to repentance?
- Ezek 36:26I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
- Matt 13:20–21The seed sown on rocky ground is the one who hears the word and at once receives it with joy.
- Jer 5:3O LORD, do not Your eyes look for truth? You struck them, but they felt no pain. You finished them off, but they refused to accept discipline. They have made their faces harder than stone and refused to repent.
- Amos 6:12“Do horses gallop on the cliffs? Does one plow the sea with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood—
- Heb 3:15As it has been said: “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as you did in the rebellion.”
- Mark 4:16–17Some are like the seeds sown on rocky ground. They hear the word and at once receive it with joy.
- Matt 13:5–6Some fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly because the soil was shallow.
- Ezek 11:19And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them; I will remove their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 8:6 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.