"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.

Because I have called and you refused, I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded,

I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your terror comes,

"When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand [it,] then the wicked [one] comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside.

"And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts.

For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror;

for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.

Get wisdom! Get understanding! Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth.

"But you [are] those who forsake the LORD, Who forget My holy mountain, Who prepare a table for Gad, And who furnish a drink offering for Meni.

The coming of the [lawless one] is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders,

And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie,

But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth,

So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.