Bible Strands
Matthew 13:22
The 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.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jesus speaks this explanation to his gathered disciples immediately after describing the rocky-ground hearer in Matthew 13:21. The moment occurs mid-discourse on the parable of the sower, transitioning from the second soil type to the third.
The words — `akanthas` (thorns) and `spareis` (having been sown) anchor the agricultural metaphor, identifying the hostile environment and the passive reception of the message.
The thread — The choking motif recurs in Luke 8:14, while the warning about wealth’s deceitfulness extends to 1 Timothy 6:17 and 1 Timothy 6:9.
Why it lands — The text states that life’s anxieties and money’s deception suppress spiritual growth, leaving the hearer unfruitful. It demands a direct audit of what currently competes for the reader’s attention and trust.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.
Cross-references
- 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 to enjoy.
- 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 not mature.
- 1 Timothy 6:9 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 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.”
- Ecclesiastes 5:10 He who loves money is never satisfied by money, and he who loves wealth is never satisfied by income. This too is futile.
- 2 Timothy 4:10 because Demas, in his love of this world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia.
- Psalms 52:7 “Look at the man who did not make God his refuge, but trusted in the abundance of his wealth and strengthened himself by destruction.”
- 1 John 2:15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
- Matthew 6:24 No one can serve two masters: Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.