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.
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 then he taught them many things in parables, and told them in his teaching,
And He taught them many things in parables, and in His teaching He said,
3 "Listen. Look, the sower who went out to sow.
“Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed.
4 And it happened, as he sowed, some seed fell by the road, 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 others fell on the rocky ground, where it had little soil, and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of soil.
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 came up, 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 others 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 thirty times, and sixty times, and one hundred times."
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, "Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear."
Then Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
10 And when he was alone, those who were around him with the twelve asked him about 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 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,
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 perhaps they should turn and be forgiven.'"
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 said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? And how will you understand all of the parables?
Then Jesus said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand any of the parables?
14 The farmer sows the word.
The farmer sows the word.
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.
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 a similar way are those who are sown on the rocky places, who, when they have heard the word, immediately 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 are short-lived. Then, when oppression or persecution arises because of the word, immediately 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 those who are sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word,
Others are like the seeds sown among the thorns. They hear the word,
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 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 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."
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 to them, "Is the lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed? Is it not put on a 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 hidden, except that it should be made known; 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 anyone has ears to hear, let him hear."
If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”
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.
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 whoever has, more will be given, and he who does not have, even that which he has will be taken away from him."
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, "The Kingdom of God is like someone who scatters seed on the earth,
Jesus also said, “The kingdom of God is like a man who scatters seed on the ground.
27 and he sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed springs up and grows; he doesn't know how.
Night and day he sleeps and wakes, and the seed sprouts and grows, though he knows not how.
28 The earth bears fruit, 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, immediately he puts forth the sickle, because the harvest has come."
And as soon as the grain is ripe, he swings the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
30 And he said, "To what will we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what parable will we use for it?
Then He asked, “To what can we compare the kingdom of God? With what parable shall we present it?
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,
It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds sown upon the earth.
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."
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 he spoke the word to 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 he did not speak to them without a parable; but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.
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 evening had come, he said to them, "Let us go over to the other side."
When that evening came, He said to His disciples, “Let us cross to the other side.”
36 And leaving the crowd, they took 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 a big wind storm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so much that the boat was already filled.
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 woke him up, and told him, "Teacher, do you not care that we are dying?"
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 to 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 to them, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?"
“Why are you so afraid?” He asked. “Do you still have no faith?”
41 And they were greatly afraid, and said to one 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?”
