Mark 4
1 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.
And again he was teaching by the seaside. And a very great number of people had come to him, so that he got into a boat on the sea and took his seat; and all the people were on the land by the seaside.
2 And He taught them many things in parables, and in His teaching He said,
And he gave them teaching about a number of things in the form of stories, and said to them in his teaching, Give ear:
3 “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed.
A man went out to put seed in the earth:
4 And as he was sowing, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.
And while he was doing it, some was dropped by the wayside, and the birds came and took it for food.
5 Some fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly because the soil was shallow.
And some went on the stones, where it had not much earth; and it came up straight away, because the earth was not deep:
6 But when the sun rose, the seedlings were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.
And when the sun was high, it was burned; and because it had no root, it became dry and dead.
7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the seedlings, and they yielded no crop.
And some went among the thorns, and the thorns came up, and it had no room for growth and gave no fruit.
8 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.”
And some, falling on good earth, gave fruit, coming up and increasing, and giving thirty, sixty, and a hundred times as much.
9 Then Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
And he said to them, Whoever has ears, let him give ear.
10 As soon as Jesus was alone with the Twelve and those around Him, they asked Him about the parable.
And when he was by himself, those who were round him with the twelve put questions to him about the purpose of the stories.
11 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,
And he said to them, To you is given the secret of the kingdom of God, but to those who are outside, all things are given in the form of stories;
12 so that, ‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven.’”
So that seeing they may see, and it will not be clear to them; and hearing it, they will not get the sense; for fear that they may be turned again to me and have forgiveness.
13 Then Jesus said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand any of the parables?
And he said to them, If you are not clear about this story, how will you be clear about the others?
14 The farmer sows the word.
The seed is the word.
15 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.
And these are they by the wayside, where the word is planted; and when they have given ear, the Evil One comes straight away and takes away the word which has been planted in them.
16 Some are like the seeds sown on rocky ground. They hear the word and at once receive it with joy.
And in the same way, these are they who are planted on the stones, who, when the word has come to their ears, straight away take it with joy;
17 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.
And they have no root in themselves, but go on for a time; then, when trouble comes or pain, because of the word, they quickly become full of doubts.
18 Others are like the seeds sown among the thorns. They hear the word,
And others are those planted among the thorns; these are they who have given ear to the word,
19 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)
And the cares of this life, and the deceits of wealth, and the desire for other things coming in, put a stop to the growth of the word, and it gives no fruit. (aiōn g165)
20 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.”
And these are they who were planted on the good earth; such as give ear to the word, and take it into their hearts, and give fruit, thirty and sixty and a hundred times as much.
21 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?
And he said to them, When the light comes in, do people put it under a vessel, or under the bed, and not on its table?
22 For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be brought to light.
There is nothing covered which will not be seen openly, and nothing has been made secret which will not come to light.
23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”
If any man has ears, let him give ear.
24 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.
And he said to them, Take care what you give ear to: in the same measure as you give you will get, and more will be given to you.
25 For whoever has will be given more. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”
He who has, to him will be given: and he who has not, from him will be taken even that which he has.
26 Jesus also said, “The kingdom of God is like a man who scatters seed on the ground.
And he said, Such is the kingdom of God, as if a man put seed in the earth,
27 Night and day he sleeps and wakes, and the seed sprouts and grows, though he knows not how.
And went to sleep and got up, night and day, and the seed came to growth, though he had no idea how.
28 All by itself the earth produces a crop—first the stalk, then the head, then grain that ripens within.
The earth gives fruit by herself; first the leaf, then the head, then the full grain.
29 And as soon as the grain is ripe, he swings the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
But when the grain is ready, he quickly sends men to get it cut, because the time for cutting has come.
30 Then He asked, “To what can we compare the kingdom of God? With what parable shall we present it?
And he said, What picture may we give of the kingdom of God, or with what story may we make it clear?
31 It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds sown upon the earth.
It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is put in the earth, is smaller than all the seeds on the earth,
32 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.”
But when it is planted, it comes up, and becomes taller than all the plants, and puts out great branches, so that the birds of heaven are able to take rest in its shade.
33 With many such parables Jesus spoke the word to them, to the extent that they could understand.
And with a number of such stories he gave them his teaching, as they were able to take it:
34 He did not tell them anything without using a parable. But privately He explained everything to His own disciples.
And without a story he said nothing to them: but privately to his disciples he made all things clear.
35 When that evening came, He said to His disciples, “Let us cross to the other side.”
And on that day, when the evening had come, he said to them, Let us go over to the other side.
36 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.
And going away from the people, they took him with them, as he was, in the boat. And other boats were with him.
37 Soon a violent windstorm came up, and the waves were breaking over the boat, so that it was being swamped.
And a great storm of wind came up, and the waves came into the boat, so that the boat was now becoming full.
38 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?”
And he himself was in the back of the boat, sleeping on the cushion: and they, awaking him, said, Master, is it nothing to you that we are in danger of destruction?
39 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.
And he came out of his sleep, and gave strong orders to the wind, and said to the sea, Peace, be at rest. And the wind went down, and there was a great calm.
40 “Why are you so afraid?” He asked. “Do you still have no faith?”
And he said to them, Why are you full of fear? have you still no faith?
41 Overwhelmed with fear, they asked one another, “Who is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”
And their fear was great, and they said one to another, Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea do his orders?
