and it happened that as he was sowing, some seed fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate it up.

And other seed fell on the rocky ground where it did not have much soil; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of soil.

And other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no crop.

And other seeds fell into the good soil, and as they grew up and increased, they were yielding a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.”

And He was saying, “The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil;

and he sleeps and rises, night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows—how, he himself does not know.

It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the soil, though it is smallest of all the seeds that are upon the soil,

“Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves behind a wife and leaves no child, his brother should marry the wife and raise up a seed for his brother.

There were seven brothers; and the first married a wife, and died leaving no seed.

And the second one married her, and died leaving behind no seed; and the third likewise;

and so all seven left no seed. Last of all the woman died also.