Mark 4
1 And again he began to teach by the sea side. And there is gathered unto him a very great multitude, so that he entered into a boat, and sat in the sea; and all the multitude were by the sea on the land.
Once again Jesus began to teach beside the sea, and such a large crowd gathered around Him that He got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people crowded along the shore.
2 And he taught them many things in parables, and said unto them in his teaching,
And He taught them many things in parables, and in His teaching He said,
3 Hearken: Behold, the sower went forth to sow:
“Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed.
4 and it came to pass, as he sowed, some [seed] fell by the way side, and the birds came and devoured it.
And as he was sowing, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.
5 And other fell on the rocky [ground], where it had not much earth; and straightway it sprang up, because it had no deepness of earth:
Some fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly because the soil was shallow.
6 and when the sun was risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.
But when the sun rose, the seedlings were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.
7 And other fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.
Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the seedlings, and they yielded no crop.
8 And others fell into the good ground, and yielded fruit, growing up and increasing; and brought forth, thirtyfold, and sixtyfold, and a hundredfold.
Still other seed fell on good soil, where it sprouted, grew up, and produced a crop—one bearing thirtyfold, another sixtyfold, and another a hundredfold.”
9 And he said, Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Then Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
10 And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parables.
As soon as Jesus was alone with the Twelve and those around Him, they asked Him about the parable.
11 And he said unto them, Unto you is given the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all things are done in parables:
He replied, “The mystery of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to those on the outside everything is expressed in parables,
12 that seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest haply they should turn again, and it should be forgiven them.
so that, ‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven.’”
13 And he saith unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how shall ye know all the parables?
Then Jesus said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand any of the parables?
14 The sower soweth the word.
The farmer sows the word.
15 And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; and when they have heard, straightway cometh Satan, and taketh away the word which hath been sown in them.
Some are like the seeds along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.
16 And these in like manner are they that are sown upon the rocky [places], who, when they have heard the word, straightway receive it with joy;
Some are like the seeds sown on rocky ground. They hear the word and at once receive it with joy.
17 and they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, straightway they stumble.
But they themselves have no root, and they remain for only a season. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.
18 And others are they that are sown among the thorns; these are they that have heard the word,
Others are like the seeds sown among the thorns. They hear the word,
19 and the cares of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. (aiōn g165)
but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. (aiōn g165)
20 And those are they that were sown upon the good ground; such as hear the word, and accept it, and bear fruit, thirtyfold, and sixtyfold, and a hundredfold.
Still others are like the seeds sown on good soil. They hear the word, receive it, and produce a crop—thirtyfold, sixtyfold, or a hundredfold.”
21 And he said unto them, Is the lamp brought to be put under the bushel, or under the bed, [and] not to be put on the stand?
Jesus also said to them, “Does anyone bring in a lamp to put it under a basket or under a bed? Doesn’t he set it on a stand?
22 For there is nothing hid, save that it should be manifested; neither was [anything] made secret, but that it should come to light.
For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be brought to light.
23 If any man hath ears to hear, let him hear.
If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”
24 And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete it shall be measured unto you; and more shall be given unto you.
He went on to say, “Pay attention to what you hear. With the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and even more will be added to you.
25 For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken away even that which he hath.
For whoever has will be given more. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”
26 And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed upon the earth;
Jesus also said, “The kingdom of God is like a man who scatters seed on the ground.
27 and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should spring up and grow, he knoweth not how.
Night and day he sleeps and wakes, and the seed sprouts and grows, though he knows not how.
28 The earth beareth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.
All by itself the earth produces a crop—first the stalk, then the head, then grain that ripens within.
29 But when the fruit is ripe, straightway he putteth forth the sickle, because the harvest is come.
And as soon as the grain is ripe, he swings the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
30 And he said, How shall we liken the kingdom of God? or in what parable shall we set it forth?
Then He asked, “To what can we compare the kingdom of God? With what parable shall we present it?
31 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown upon the earth, though it be less than all the seeds that are upon the earth,
It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds sown upon the earth.
32 yet when it is sown, groweth up, and becometh greater than all the herbs, and putteth out great branches; so that the birds of the heaven can lodge under the shadow thereof.
But after it is planted, it grows to be the largest of all garden plants and puts forth great branches, so that the birds of the air nest in its shade.”
33 And with many such parables spake he the word unto them, as they were able to hear it;
With many such parables Jesus spoke the word to them, to the extent that they could understand.
34 and without a parable spake he not unto them: but privately to his own disciples he expounded all things.
He did not tell them anything without using a parable. But privately He explained everything to His own disciples.
35 And on that day, when even was come, he saith unto them, Let us go over unto the other side.
When that evening came, He said to His disciples, “Let us cross to the other side.”
36 And leaving the multitude, they take him with them, even as he was, in the boat. And other boats were with him.
After they had dismissed the crowd, they took Jesus with them, since He was already in the boat. And there were other boats with Him.
37 And there ariseth a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the boat, insomuch that the boat was now filling.
Soon a violent windstorm came up, and the waves were breaking over the boat, so that it was being swamped.
38 And he himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion: and they awake him, and say unto him, Teacher, carest thou not that we perish?
But Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on the cushion. So they woke Him and said, “Teacher, don’t You care that we are perishing?”
39 And he awoke, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
Then Jesus got up and rebuked the wind and the sea. “Silence!” He commanded. “Be still!” And the wind died down, and it was perfectly calm.
40 And he said unto them, Why are ye fearful? have ye not yet faith?
“Why are you so afraid?” He asked. “Do you still have no faith?”
41 And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?
Overwhelmed with fear, they asked one another, “Who is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”
