< Mark 4 >
1 And again he began to teach by the seaside. And a large crowd was gathered to him, so that he entered into a boat in the sea, and sat down. And the whole crowd was on the land by the sea.
耶稣又在海边教导众人,很多人赶来聆听。他走上海中的一条船,坐下来,民众则都站在岸上聆听。
2 And then he taught them many things in parables, and told them in his teaching,
他用了很多比喻故事进行讲授:
3 "Listen. Look, the sower who went out to sow.
他说:“听着!有一个农夫要出去撒种,
4 And it happened, as he sowed, some seed fell by the road, and the birds came and devoured it.
有的种子落在路旁,被过来的小鸟吃掉了。
5 And others fell on the rocky ground, where it had little soil, and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of soil.
有的落在泥土稀薄、石头众多的土地上,在浅薄的土层上,种子很快发芽。
6 And when the sun came up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.
但太阳一出来,就把它晒干了,因为没有实根而枯萎。
7 And others fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.
有的种子落在荆棘丛,荆棘长出来后,把它挤住,它无法结出果实。
8 And others fell into the good ground, and yielded fruit, growing up and increasing; and brought forth thirty times, and sixty times, and one hundred times."
那些落在肥沃土壤中的种子,就会繁茂成长,结出果实,是原来的 30 倍、 60 倍甚至 100 倍之多。
9 And he said, "Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear."
你若有耳可聆听,就听听我所说的讲述。”
10 And when he was alone, those who were around him with the twelve asked him about the parables.
耶稣独自一人的时候,始终跟随他的十二门徒和其他人走过来,询问这些比喻的意义。
11 And he said to them, "To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but to those who are outside, all things are done in parables,
耶稣对他们说:“上帝之国的奥秘,只给你们知道,但对于外人只会讲述比喻。因为
12 that 'seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest perhaps they should turn and be forgiven.'"
他们纵使看见了也不会领悟,听见了也不会明白。不然他们就会找到我,获得原谅。”
13 And he said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? And how will you understand all of the parables?
耶稣问他们:“你们理解这个故事吗?如果不理解,又如何明白其他故事呢?
14 The farmer sows the word.
农夫所撒的种子就是福音。
15 And these are the ones by the road where the word is sown; and when they have heard, immediately Satan comes, and takes away the word which has been sown in them.
落在路旁的种子,就是人们在听福音,撒旦立刻出现,把撒在其心里的福音夺走。
16 And these in a similar way are those who are sown on the rocky places, who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with joy.
撒在石地上的种子,代表人听了福音后立刻欢喜接受,
17 And they have no root in themselves, but are short-lived. Then, when oppression or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they stumble.
但道并未在他们心中落根,只是暂时停留,一旦遇到患难和迫害,他们很快就会沦陷。
18 And others are those who are sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word,
撒在荆棘中的种子则指另一些人,他们虽然听了福音,
19 and the cares of the age, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. (aiōn )
但现世的忧虑、对财富的迷恋和种种的欲望不断滋生,把福音挤出去,结不出果实。 (aiōn )
20 And those which were sown on the good ground are those who hear the word, and accept it, and bear fruit, some thirty times, some sixty times, and some one hundred times."
落在肥沃土壤里的种子,就是人在听到福音后真正接受它,就会结出比原来多 30 倍、 60 倍、甚至 100 倍之多的果实。”
21 And he said to them, "Is the lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed? Is it not put on a stand?
耶稣又对他们说:“人们在点灯之后,不会将其放在水桶或床下,而是会将其放在灯台上。
22 For there is nothing hidden, except that it should be made known; neither was anything made secret, but that it should come to light.
所有隐藏之事最终都会显现,所有秘密都会被公开。
23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear."
有耳朵可以倾听之人,就要听我所说的讲述!”
24 And he said to them, "Consider carefully what you hear. With whatever measure you measure, it will be measured to you, and more will be given to you.
耶稣又对他们说:“要留心你们听到的,因为你们用什么标准衡量别人,上帝就会用什么标准衡量你们,完全相同。
25 For whoever has, more will be given, and he who does not have, even that which he has will be taken away from him."
如果你已经理解,就会得到更多,如果无法理解,现在拥有的也会失去。”
26 And he said, "The Kingdom of God is like someone who scatters seed on the earth,
耶稣说:“上帝的王国就像一个人在地里撒种,
27 and he sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed springs up and grows; he doesn't know how.
他夜里睡觉,白天醒来,日复一日,但并不知道种子如何发芽生长。
28 The earth bears fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.
大地生长作物是自然而为,先长苗,后吐穗,然后穗上结满了谷粒。
29 But when the fruit is ripe, immediately he puts forth the sickle, because the harvest has come."
谷粒成熟后就到了收获时节,农夫用镰刀将其割下。
30 And he said, "To what will we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what parable will we use for it?
我们可以将上帝的王国比做什么?可以用什么比喻来形容它呢?
31 It's like a mustard seed, which, when it is sown upon the soil, though it is less than all the seeds that are upon the soil,
它好像一粒芥菜种,比所有种子都小,
32 And when it is sown, grows up, and becomes greater than all the garden plants, and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the sky can lodge under its shadow."
种子在种下后开始生长,长成的样子却比其他作物都大,它的大枝叶甚至吸引天空的飞鸟在它的树荫下栖息。”
33 And with many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it.
耶稣用了许多这样的比喻,按照人们能够理解的方式讲述故事。
34 And he did not speak to them without a parable; but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.
事实上,他在公开讲道的时候仅使用比喻。只有单独和门徒在一起时,他才会把一切解释给他们听。
35 And on that day, when evening had come, he said to them, "Let us go over to the other side."
当天黄昏,耶稣对门徒说:“我们到海那边去吧。”
36 And leaving the crowd, they took him with them, even as he was, in the boat. And other boats were with him.
门徒们离开民众,跟着耶稣走上船,还有其他的船跟随他们。
37 And a big wind storm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so much that the boat was already filled.
忽然海上刮起狂风,波浪不断拍打船身,船上积满了水。
38 And he himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion, and they woke him up, and told him, "Teacher, do you not care that we are dying?"
耶稣却在船尾靠着垫子睡着了。门徒把他叫醒说:“老师,我们就要淹死了,你不担心吗?”
39 And he awoke, and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace. Be still." And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
耶稣醒来,命令风停止;又对海浪说:“不要出声!安静吧!”风立刻停止,世界平静下来。。
40 And he said to them, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?"
然后耶稣问他们:“你们为什么如此害怕?怎么对我这么没有信心?”
41 And they were greatly afraid, and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?"
门徒心生敬畏,彼此问到:“他到底是谁?连风和海浪都听他的!”