Matthew 13:7
in Matthew 13Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the seedlings.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And others fell upon the thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked them:
KJV
And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:
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This verse in Matthew 13
Commentary
15 notes on this verseFor who would ever have believed me if I had wished to interpret thorns as riches, especially since the former prick while the latter delight? And yet they are thorns, because they tear the mind with the prickings of their thoughts, and when they drag it all the way to sin, they cause it to bleed as if by an inflicted wound. These, in this passage, as another evangelist attests, the Lord calls not simply riches, but deceitful riches, and rightly so.
This site's exposition
a sower went forth to sow
on Matthew 13:3-9
A sower went forth to sow pictures Palestinian farming where seed was often scattered before plowing, so that the path across the field, the shallow limestone shelf beneath a thin skin of soil, and the roots of uncleared thorns each claimed part of the seed before the plow ever turned it under. The bench reads the parable's climax in the last soil alone, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold, an ordinary yield made extraordinary against three prior failures, the harvest guaranteed despite the loss along the way. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear closes the parable with a call that separates the merely curious crowd from the disciple willing to ask what it means.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
This parable Valentinus lays hold of to establish his heresy, bringing in three different natures; the spiritual, the natural or the animal, and the earthly. But there are here four named, one by the wayside, one stony, one thorny, and a fourth the good ground.
(Verse 5 and following) Some fell by the wayside: and the birds of the air came and devoured them. Others fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil. But when the sun rose, they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Others fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Others fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
A commentator
John ChrysostomHomily on the Gospel of Matthew 44 · Written in the 5th century.
proposed
What then comes of this seed? Three parts perish, and one is saved. "And when He sowed, some seeds fell," He saith, "by the way side; and the fowls came and devoured them up." He said not, that He cast them, but that "they fell." A fourth part is saved; and not this all alike, but even here great is the difference. Now these things He said, manifesting that He discoursed to all without grudging. For as the sower makes no distinction in the land submitted to him, but simply and indifferently casts his seed; so He Himself too makes no distinction of rich and poor, of wise and unwise, of slothful or diligent, of brave or cowardly; but He discourses unto all, fulfilling His part, although foreknowing the results; that it may be in His power to say, "What ought I to have done, that I have not done?" And the prophets speak of the people as of a vine; "For my beloved," it is said, "had a vineyard;" and, "He brought a vine out of Egypt;" but He, as of seed. What could this be to show? That obedience now will be quick and easier, and will presently yield its fruit. But when thou hearest, "The sower went forth to sow," think it not a needless repetition. For the sower frequently goes forth for some other act also, either to plough, or to cut out the evil herbs, or to pluck up thorns, or to attend to some such matter; but He went forth to sow. Whence then, tell me, was the greater part of the seed lost? Not through the sower, but through the ground that received it; that is, the soul that did not hearken. And wherefore doth He not say, Some the careless received, and lost it; some the rich, and choked it, and some the superficial, and betrayed it? […]
The Medieval Church2 voices
But those things which He silently left to our understanding, should be shortly noticed. The wayside is the mind trodden and hardened by the continual passage of evil thoughts; the rock, the hardness of the self-willed mind; the good soil, the gentleness of the obedient mind, the sun, the heat of a raging persecution. The depth of soil, is the honesty of a mind trained by heavenly discipline. But in thus expounding them we should add, that the same things are not always put in one and the same allegorical signification.
And others fell among thorns. Now thorns are anxieties, angers, quarrels, and things of this kind; Jeremiah 4:3: do not sow upon thorns; Proverbs 24:30: I passed by the field of the slothful man; and there follows: and thorns had covered its surface. And the …
8 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church1 voice
These are they who choke the word with worldly thoughts. For though a rich man thinks he is doing a good deed, yet the deed does not grow and flourish, hindered as it is by worldly cares.
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
The place where Christ's hearers now stood represented the characters of most of them, the sand on the sea-shore, which was to the seed like the highway ground. Observe First, What kind of hearers are compared to the highway ground; such as hear the word and understand it not; and it is their own fault that they do not.
First, The cares of this world. Care for another world would quicken the springing of this seed, but care for this world chokes it. Worldly cares are fitly compared to thorns, for they came in with sin, and are a fruit of the curse; they are good in their place to stop a gap, but a man must be well armed that deals much in them ( 2 Sam. xxiii.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The exposition of it we have from Christ himself, who knew best what was his own meaning. The disciples, when they asked, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And some fell among thorns,.... On a spot of ground which was full of the roots of thorns, and briars, which was not cleared of them as it should be.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
The chapter which these verses begin is remarkable for the number of parables which it contains. Seven striking illustrations of spiritual truth are here drawn by the great head of the church from the book of nature. By so doing he shows us that religious teaching may draw help from everything in creation. Those that would “find out acceptable words” should not forget this.(Eccl 12:10) The parable of the sower, which begins this chapter, is one of those parables which admit of a very wide application. It is being continually verified under our own eyes.
The chapter which these verses begin is remarkable for the number of parables which it contains. Seven striking illustrations of spiritual truth are here drawn by the great head of the church from the book of nature. By so doing he shows us that religious teaching may draw help from everything in creation. Those that would “find out acceptable words” should not forget this.(Eccl 12:10) The parable of the sower, which begins this chapter, is one of those parables which admit of a very wide application. It is being continually verified under our own eyes. Wherever the Word of God is preached or expounded and people are assembled to hear it, the sayings of our Lord in this parable are found to be true. It describes what goes on, as a general rule, in all congregations. Let us learn in the first place, from this parable that the work of the preacher resembles that of the sower. Like the sower, the preacher must sow good seed if he wants to see fruit. He must sow the pure Word of God, and not the traditions of the church or the doctrines of men. Without this, his labor will be vain. He may go to and fro, and seem to say much, and to work much in his weekly round of ministerial duty, but there will be no harvest of souls for heaven, no living results, and no conversions. Like the sower, the preacher must be diligent. He must spare no pains; he must use every possible means to make his work prosper; he must patiently sow beside all waters, and sow in hope. He must “instant in season and out of season,” he must not be deterred by difficulties and discouragements; “he that observeth the wind shall not sow.” No doubt his success does not entirely depend upon his labor and diligence, but without labor and diligence success will not be obtained.(Isa 32:20 2 Tim 4:2 Eccl 11:4 ) Like the sower, the preacher cannot give life.
Among thorns - Where the earth was ploughed up, but the brambles and weeds had not been cleared away.
The words behind it
13 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἄλλα | alla | Other | G243 → | 155 times |
| δὲ | de | now | G1161 → | 2765 times |
| ἔπεσεν | epesen | fell | G4098 → | 90 times |
| ἐπὶ | epi | upon | G1909 → | 883 times |
| τὰς | tas | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἀκάνθας, | akanthas | thorns, | G173 → | 14 times |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| ἀνέβησαν | anebesan | grew up | G305 → | 82 times |
| αἱ | hai | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἄκανθαι | akanthai | thorns | G173 → | 14 times |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| ἔπνιξαν | epnixan | choked | G4155 → | |
| αὐτά. | auta | them. | G846 → | 5565 times |
ἄλλαOther
allaG243 →155 times
δὲnow
deG1161 →2765 times
ἔπεσενfell
epesenG4098 →90 times
ἐπὶupon
epiG1909 →883 times
τὰςthe
tasG3588 →19766 times
ἀκάνθας,thorns,
akanthasG173 →14 times
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
ἀνέβησανgrew up
anebesanG305 →82 times
αἱthe
haiG3588 →19766 times
ἄκανθαιthorns
akanthaiG173 →14 times
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
ἔπνιξανchoked
epnixanG4155 →
αὐτά.them.
autaG846 →5565 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Matthew 13:22The seed sown among the thorns is the one who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
it leads to
- 1 Timothy 6:17
Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be conceited and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of wealth, but in God, who richly provides all things for us…
- Luke 8:14
The seeds that fell among the thorns are those who hear, but as they go on their way, they are choked by the worries, riches, and pleasures of this life, and their fruit does…
- 1 Timothy 6:9–10
Those who want to be rich, however, fall into temptation and become ensnared by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction.
- Mark 4:18–19
Others are like the seeds sown among the thorns. They hear the word,
- Luke 12:15
And He said to them, “Watch out! Guard yourselves against every form of greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
- 1 Timothy 6:17
Through
Genesis 3:18Both thorns and thistles it will yield for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.
it leads to
- Isaiah 7:23
And on that day, in every place that had a thousand vines worth a thousand shekels of silver, only briers and thorns will be found.
- Job 5:5
The hungry consume his harvest, taking it even from the thorns, and the thirsty pant after his wealth.
- Psalms 104:14–15
He makes the grass grow for the livestock and provides crops for man to cultivate, bringing forth food from the earth:
- Isaiah 7:23
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Matthew
This page draws on 12 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Gregory the Dialogist, Forty Gospel Homilies, Homily 15; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Matthew; Jerome, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Jerome, Commentary on Matthew; John Chrysostom, Homily on the Gospel of Matthew 44; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Rabanus Maurus, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Matthew and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Matthew.