New Testament · Gospel

Luke 8:6

Power Over Chaos

Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the seedlings withered because they had no moisture. Luke 8:6 · Berean Standard Bible

What It Means

Luke 8:6, in plain English

Some seed fell on rocky ground and sprouted quickly, but without moisture, the young plants dried up and died. A fast start means nothing without deep roots.

Why it's here

This part of the parable warns about shallow enthusiasm. It is easy to get excited at first, but without depth, that excitement fades when things get tough.

Who's speaking

Jesus continues His story about the farmer and the different soils.

Where it sits in the story

The seed on rocky ground sprang up fast but had nowhere to send roots. Without water to sustain it, the little plant shriveled up and died.

A Closer Look

The scholar's commentary

Seed falling on petran (rocky ground) sprouts but withers due to lack of ikmaда (moisture). Luke substitutes 'moisture' for Mark's 'depth of earth,' reflecting a Greco-Roman agricultural perspective.

Language and setting

The rocky ground represents shallow reception. Luke's use of 'moisture' rather than Mark's 'root' and 'sun' imagery adapts the parable for his likely Gentile audience more familiar with irrigation concerns.

Voice

Jesus continues the parable, describing the second type of soil.

Significance

Some seed lands on thin soil over rock. The sprouts emerge quickly but, lacking moisture to sustain them, wither and die under the sun's heat.

In context

Luke 8:4–8

4While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, He told them this parable:

5“A farmer went out to sow his seed. And as he was sowing, some seed fell along the path, where it was trampled, and the birds of the air devoured it.

6Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the seedlings withered because they had no moisture.

7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the seedlings.

8Still other seed fell on good soil, where it sprang up and produced a crop—a hundredfold.”

Read all of Luke 8 — A storm, a legion of demons, a bleeding woman, and a dead girl — Jesus moves through a world of chaos and brings order with a word or a touch.

Understand every verse, not just this one

This page covers one. BibleKey does all 31,102 — tap any verse for its meaning, any word for its Hebrew or Greek root, and keep reading without leaving the chapter.

Get BibleKey

In the App

What's in the app that isn't here.

Seven translations

NIV, NLT, NKJV, KJV and the Berean — plus the Catholic NLT-CE and Douay-Rheims, with the full deuterocanon in the reading order.

Every verse, as you read

Tap any of the 31,102 for what it means, and any word for its Hebrew or Greek root, without leaving the chapter.

Selah

Start recording at church and put your phone away. You get the transcript, the key moments, and every verse referenced.

Prayer Maker

Say what's sitting on your heart and hear it back as a real prayer, in a warm voice. Keep the ones that land.

Every Word

The whole Bible in a year — five chapters a day, five days a week, weekends off. Built to be finished.

Today's Light

A verse each morning with its meaning, how it lands today, something to sit with, and a prayer to close it.

Understand every verse.

Not just the famous ones. BibleKey is free on iPhone and iPad.

Download on the App Store

Free on iPhone & iPad