When anyone hears the word of the Kingdom, and doesn’t understand it, the evil one comes, and snatches away that which has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown by the roadside.
Parallel Translations
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When anyone hears the word of the Kingdom, and doesn’t understand it, the evil one comes, and snatches away that which has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown by the roadside.
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Whosoever heareth the worde of the kingdome and vnderstondeth it not ther cometh the evyll man and catcheth awaye that which was sowne in his hert. And this is he which was sowne by the wayesyde.
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Whensoeuer any man heareth the woorde of that kingdome, and vnderstandeth it not, that euil one commeth, and catcheth away that which was sowen in his heart: and this is he which hath receiued the seede by the way side.
Cross-references (33)
Passages linked to Matthew 13:19 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Luke 8:11-15 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those along the road are those who hear, then the devil comes, and takes away the word from their heart, that they may not believe and be saved. Those on the rock are they who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; but these have no root, who believe for a while, then fall away in time of temptation. That which fell among the thorns, these are those who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. Those in the good ground, these are those who with an honest and good heart, having heard the word, hold it tightly, and produce fruit with perseverance.
- Matthew 13:38 the field is the world; and the good seed, these are the children of the Kingdom; and the darnel weeds are the children of the evil one.
- Hebrews 2:1 Therefore we ought to pay greater attention to the things that were heard, lest perhaps we drift away.
- 1 John 5:18 We know that whoever is born of God doesn’t sin, but he who was born of God keeps himself, and the evil one doesn’t touch him.
- Matthew 4:23 Jesus went about in all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the Good News of the Kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness among the people.
- 1 John 3:12 unlike Cain, who was of the evil one, and killed his brother. Why did he kill him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother’s righteous.
- Proverbs 1:7 The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge; but the foolish despise wisdom and instruction.
- Proverbs 2:1-6 My son, if you will receive my words, and store up my commandments within you, so as to turn your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding; if you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures: then you will understand the fear of Yahweh, and find the knowledge of God. For Yahweh gives wisdom. Out of his mouth comes knowledge and understanding.
- Proverbs 17:16 Why is there money in the hand of a fool to buy wisdom, since he has no understanding?
- Proverbs 18:1-2 A man who isolates himself pursues selfishness, and defies all sound judgment. A fool has no delight in understanding, but only in revealing his own opinion.
- Matthew 5:37 But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’ and your ‘No’ be ‘No.’ Whatever is more than these is of the evil one.
- Mark 4:15 The 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.
- John 8:43 Why don’t you understand my speech? Because you can’t hear my word.
- Acts 17:32 Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked; but others said, “We want to hear you again concerning this.”
- Romans 1:28 Even as they refused to have God in their knowledge, God gave them up to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not fitting;
- 1 John 2:13-14 I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, little children, because you know the Father. I have written to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God remains in you, and you have overcome the evil one.
- Proverbs 1:20-22 Wisdom calls aloud in the street. She utters her voice in the public squares. She calls at the head of noisy places. At the entrance of the city gates, she utters her words: “How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity? How long will mockers delight themselves in mockery, and fools hate knowledge?
- Luke 9:2 He sent them out to preach God’s Kingdom and to heal the sick.
- Luke 10:9 Heal the sick who are there, and tell them, ‘God’s Kingdom has come near to you.’
- John 3:19-20 This is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their works were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the light, and doesn’t come to the light, lest his works would be exposed.
- John 18:38 Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” When he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, “I find no basis for a charge against him.
- Acts 18:15 but if they are questions about words and names and your own law, look to it yourselves. For I don’t want to be a judge of these matters.”
- Acts 20:25 “Now, behold, I know that you all, among whom I went about preaching God’s Kingdom, will see my face no more.
- Acts 24:25-26 As he reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was terrified, and answered, “Go your way for this time, and when it is convenient for me, I will summon you.” Meanwhile, he also hoped that money would be given to him by Paul, that he might release him. Therefore also he sent for him more often and talked with him.
- Acts 25:19-20 but had certain questions against him about their own religion, and about one Jesus, who was dead, whom Paul affirmed to be alive. Being perplexed how to inquire concerning these things, I asked whether he was willing to go to Jerusalem and there be judged concerning these matters.
- Acts 26:31-32 When they had withdrawn, they spoke to one another, saying, “This man does nothing worthy of death or of bonds.” Agrippa said to Festus, “This man might have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”
- Acts 28:23 When they had appointed him a day, many people came to him at his lodging. He explained to them, testifying about God’s Kingdom, and persuading them concerning Jesus, both from the law of Moses and from the prophets, from morning until evening.
- Romans 2:8 but to those who are self-seeking, and don’t obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, will be wrath, indignation,
- Romans 14:17 for God’s Kingdom is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.
- 2 Corinthians 4:2-3 But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by the manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. Even if our Good News is veiled, it is veiled in those who are dying,
- 2 Thessalonians 2:12 that they all might be judged who didn’t believe the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
- 1 John 5:20 We know that the Son of God has come, and has given us an understanding, that we know him who is true, and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.
- Ephesians 3:8 To me, the very least of all saints, was this grace given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (12 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Though there be mention made of the heart yet…
Though there be mention made of the heart yet this sowing is referred to hearing without understanding. For whether the seed be received in the heart or no, yet he that soweth, soweth to the heart.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 19 When any one heareth the word of the…
19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.
Ver. 19. The word of the kingdom] So called, because it points to and paints out the way to the kingdom, and is therefore also called "The word of life, the power of God to salvation:" heaven is potentially in it, as the harvest is in the seed, as above I noted.
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And understandeth it not] Considereth it not, as the Syriac here hath it, using the same word that David doth, Psa 41:1; "Blessed is the man that wisely considereth the poor and needy." Consideration sets on the word when it hath been heard (which else lies loose, and is driven away as chaff before the wind), maketh it to become an ingrafted word (λογος εμφυτος, Jas 1:21), as the scions grafted into the stock, or as a tree rooted by the river’s side, that removes not.
Then cometh the wicked one] The troubler of Israel, the master of misrule (ο πονηρος); he is one at church, whosoever is the other. A Doeg, a devil may set his foot as far within the sanctuary as a David. The sons of God cannot present themselves before the Lord but Satan comes also among them to do ill offices, Job 1:6.
And catcheth away that which was sown in his heart] That is, upon his heart (εν τη καρδια, pro επι τη καρδια); for into his heart the seed never came, because the devil had made a pathway over it. People are now so sermon trodden many of them, that their hearts, like footpaths, grow hard by the word, which takes no more impression than rain doth upon a rock: they have brawny breasts, horny heart-strings, dead and dedolent dispositions. Hence they become a prey to the devil, as Abraham’s sacrifice would have been to the fowls of the air, had he not huffed them away, Gen 15:11.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Mark hath this thus, Mar 4:14,15, The sower soweth…
Mark hath this thus, Mar 4:14,15, The sower soweth the word. And these are they by the way-side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts. Luke hath it thus, Luk 8:11,12, The seed is the word of God. Those by the wayside are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. From Luke we learn that the seed is the word; from Mark, that the sower is the preacher, Christ in the first place, then all who derive from him as his ministers, and are exercised in preaching the gospel, which Matthew calleth
the word of the kingdom, because it is the instrument by which God raised up Christ’s kingdom on earth, both in the church, and in particular souls, and by which he prepareth men for the kingdom of glory. This is a mighty commendation of the word. The soil is the heart, the soul of man. Now there are some hearers to whom the word preached is like seed that a sower throws upon some footpath, or highway, the plough never turneth the earth upon it, or the harrow never goeth over it; so it lieth bare, and is trodden down by the feet of passengers, and the fowls of the air come and pick it up. So, saith our Saviour, there are some that hear the word, but never meditate upon it, never lay it to their hearts, never cover it with second thoughts; the wicked ones, the devils, who are afraid of the power of the word digested, (like the fowls of the air), by suggesting other thoughts, or by presenting other objects to them, catch away the word that was sown in their hearts. These are they whom I compared to the highway ground receiving the seed.
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But some may say, how was it sown in their hearts, if the devil could thus catch it away?
Answer: By the heart here is meant the soul, which hath several powers and faculties. Every thing we hear goeth into our heart, in some sense. As the heart may signify the imaginative power of our soul, or that power by which we take the notion of a thing, the word doth enter into sinners’ hearts, so far as they spend some thoughts upon it, and gain some knowledge and notion of it, yea, they may entertain it with some sudden and temporary affection and passion: indeed it is never so in their hearts, as that they truly believe it, or that their wills are conquered into the obedience of it.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Yet hath he not root in himself,.... Nor in…
Yet hath he not root in himself,.... Nor in Christ; the word is not rooted in him, nor has he the root of the matter, or the truth of grace in him:
but dureth for a while; a hearer of the word, a professor of religion, showing some outward respect to the word, and to the preachers of it:
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for when tribulation or persecution ariseth, because of the word; which is often the case, and must be expected by those who embrace the Gospel, profess the name of Christ, and are willing to live godly in him. Tribulation may intend some lesser and lighter troubles for the sake of Christ, and his Gospel; such as the revilings and reproaches of men, loss of character, and trade, &c. and persecution may design something more public and vehement; such as confiscation of goods, imprisonment, and danger of life, the most exquisite tortures, and death in the most cruel form and shape; things very disagreeable to flesh and blood, and which cannot be endured, and submitted to, by persons without a principle of grace, by one that has no root in himself. Luke calls this a time "of temptation", or trial, as it is either way, both by private troubles, and more public persecutions: these try men's principles and professions, and whether the truth of grace is in them or not; and where it is not in any person,
by and by he is offended; at the cross; he shrinks back from it, does not care to take it up, and follow Christ; but drops his religion, and the profession of it; apostatises, falls away, and comes to nothing.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain When any one heareth the word, and considereth it…
When any one heareth the word, and considereth it not - The first and most general cause of unfruitfulness. The wicked one cometh - Either inwardly; filling the mind with thoughts of other things; or by his agent. Such are all they that introduce other subjects, when men should be considering what they have heard.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 19. When any one heareth the word of…
Verse 19. When any one heareth the word of the kingdom] Viz. the preaching of the Gospel of Christ.
And understandeth it not] μη συνιεντος, perhaps more properly, regardeth it not, does not lay his heart to it.
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The wicked one] ο πονηρος, from πονος, labour, toil, he who distresses and torments the soul. Mark, Mr 4:15, calls him οσατανας, the adversary or opposer, because he resists men in all their purposes of amendment, and, to the utmost of his power opposes, in order to frustrate, the influences of Divine grace upon the heart. In the parallel place in Luke, Lu 8:12, he is called ο διαβολος, the devil, from διαβαλλειν, to shoot, or dart through. In allusion to this meaning of the name, St. Paul, Eph 6:16, speaks of the fiery DARTS of the wicked one. It is worthy of remark, that the three evangelists should use each a different appellative of this mortal enemy of mankind; probably to show that the devil, with all his powers and properties, opposes every thing that tends to the salvation of the soul.
Catcheth away] Makes the utmost haste to pick up the good seed, lest it should take root in the heart.
A careless inattentive hearer is compared to the way side-his heart is an open road, where evil affections, and foolish and hurtful desires, continually pass and repass, without either notice or restraint. "A heart where Satan has" (as one terms it) "ingress, egress, regress, and progress: in a word, the devil's thoroughfare."
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain When any one heareth. This seed faileth upon four…
When any one heareth. This seed faileth upon four different kinds of soil, which represent four different sorts of persons. The 1st, such as continue obdurate in vice; the 2d, such as are unsteady and inconstant in their good resolutions; the 3d, such as are absorbed in the cares and pleasures of life; the 4th, such as have every proper disposition for receiving the word of God with fruit. --- There cometh the wicked one, Greek: o poneros, the devil, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts, lest believing they should be saved. (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 19. Heareth… and understandeth it not — So the…
19. Heareth… and understandeth it not — So the Jewish outsider heard the parable, but it was a mere tale to him. He penetrated not the interior meaning and power. And it is wonderful how little the careless hearer of the Gospel in a Christian land, who attends church, as a form, from Sabbath to Sabbath, really understands the Gospel. When he afterwards becomes convicted of sin, the simplest truths have to be repeated and explained, which he has heard with his ear a hundred times. The truth has indeed fallen upon his ear like seed on the solid surface of a beaten path; it has lain ready for the devil to carry off and leave not a trace behind.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (19) When any one heareth the word.—The explanation has…
(19) When any one heareth the word.—The explanation has become so familiar to us that it is hard to place ourselves in the position of those to whom it was the unveiling of new truths—the holding up a mirror in which they might see, it might be, their own likeness. Our interest in it may, perhaps, be quickened if we think of it as reflecting what had actually been our Lord’s experience. The classes of hearers who had gathered round Him were represented, roughly and generally, by the four issues of the seed scattered by the sower, and all preachers of the truth, from that day to this, have felt that their own experience has presented analogous phenomena.
The ethical sequence described runs thus: The man hears “the word of the kingdom,” a discourse, say, like the Sermon on the Mount, or that at Nazareth (Luk_4:16-21). He does not “understand” it (the fault being moral rather than intellectual), does not attend to it or “take it in.” The “wicked one” (note the connection with the clause in the Lord’s Prayer, “Deliver us from evil,” or the evil one) snatches it away even from his memory. At first it seems strange that “the birds of the air” in their multitude should represent the Tempter in his unity; and yet there is a terrible truth in the fact that everything which leads men to forget the truth is, in very deed, doing the work of the great enemy. On the other hand, the birds, in their rapid flight and their gathering flocks, may well represent the light and foolish thoughts that are as the Tempter’s instruments. The “way-side” thus answers to the character, which is hardened by the wear and tear of daily life, what we well call its routine, so that the words of Truth make hardly even the most transient impression on it.
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This is he which received seed.—Our translators try, unsuccessfully, to combine the parable with its interpretation. Literally, and far better, here and in the following verses, this man it is that is (the seed) sown by the way side.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain When any one heareth the word of the kingdom,…
When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not. Understandeth. The form of the explanation here is influenced by the language of vers. 14, 15. Then (not in the Greek) cometh the wicked one; the evil one (Revised Version); Mat_6:13, note. And catcheth (snatcheth, Revised Version) away seizeth for himself (arpazei , Mat_11:12, note) that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed. That was sown (Revised Version, o spareiv). And so throughout. The masculine is not merely concise, but also expresses the fact that, as even with land, the man who receives the seed does not put forth in turn merely the seed as something alien, but rather himself so far as he is influenced by the seed; or (regarding the subject from another point of view) he puts forth the new life and energy of the seed as conditioned by that which makes up himself.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain kingdom (See Scofield "Mat 3:2").
kingdom (See Scofield "Mat 3:2").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 13:19 don’t understand it: Responding to the message of…
13:19 don’t understand it: Responding to the message of the Kingdom is directly related to discerning its significance.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.