" Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.

Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: "Behold, a sower went out to sow.

"And as he sowed, some [seed] fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.

" Therefore hear the parable of the sower:

"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.

Another parable He put forth to them, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field;

"But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared.

Then He taught them many things by parables, and said to them in His teaching:

"And it happened, as he sowed, [that] some [seed] fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it.

And He said, "The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground,

"For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head.

"Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.

Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.

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.

You reject all those who stray from Your statutes, For their deceit [is] falsehood.

" You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.

And when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.