He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. | For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you. |
And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food.” | Then God said, “Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food.” |
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Since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God. | For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God. |
He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” | “You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.” |
As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. | The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced. |
I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. | I will cause your descendants to become as numerous as the stars of the sky, and I will give them all these lands. And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed. I will do this because Abraham listened to me and obeyed all my requirements, commands, decrees, and instructions. |
By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. | It was by faith that even Sarah was able to have a child, though she was barren and was too old. She believed that God would keep his promise. |
For the Lord loves justice; he will not forsake his saints. They are preserved forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off. | For the Lord loves justice, and he will never abandon the godly. He will keep them safe forever, but the children of the wicked will die. |
A dishonest man spreads strife, and a whisperer separates close friends. | A troublemaker plants seeds of strife; gossip separates the best of friends. |
And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. | And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness. |
The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. | Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. |