What was sown among thorns: see Matthew 13.7.
Translators can continue to treat in the same way the comparisons Jesus is making. An example is “As for the seed that fell in the place where there were thorn bushes, that is like the case of the person who hears the word…” or “… that is like what happens when someone hears the word….”
Note that the words As for indicate that the focus here changes from the seed that fell on rocky ground to the seed scattered among the thorns. In English, to begin the sentence with he who hears the word would mean that this focus would be lost, so we have not given that as a suggestion. If translators do need to restructure that way, they should be sure to find a way in their language to ensure that the focus is retained on what was sown among thorns.
The phrase hears the word can also be “listens to the message.”
The cares of the world is translated “the worries of this life” by Phillips (Good News Translation “… about this life”). The reference is to the ordinary concerns of daily life which are a part of everyone’s existence. These are not evil in themselves, as New American Bible suggests (“worldly anxiety”), though they may become evil when they dominate a person’s life. One may translate “the concerns of daily life.”
The noun translated delight by Revised Standard Version and “love” by Good News Translation has as its basic meaning “deception” or “deceitfulness.” However, the word may also mean either “pleasure in” or “love for,” which is the generally acknowledged meaning that it has in 2 Peter 2.13. One may translate “… but they worry about this life so much and love riches so much that they choke the message….” Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, 1st edition reverses the order of the last two clauses, “but they produce nothing, because they are completely filled with concerns about daily needs and allow themselves to be lead astray by riches.”
Note that cares and delight are both nouns which are expressed by verbs in these examples we have given. Many translators will find that this renders the verse easier to read. Another example is “but he is so concerned about matters of daily life and he loves riches so much that he doesn’t give the message a chance to grow.” An example using nouns is “but he lets the concerns of daily life and his love for riches take so much of his life that the message cannot survive” or “… that the message has no place.”
It proves unfruitful means that the word or message cannot bear fruit. Fruit is often used as a symbol to represent actions, or it can represent results. In this context, then, the meaning is “and it (the word) does not produce good results (in that person)” or “and the word does not affect the deeds (or, life) of that person.”
Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1988. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .