Mark 4
1 And again he began to teach by the lake. And a large crowd was gathered to him, so that he entered into a boat on the lake, and sat down. And the whole crowd was on the land by the lake.
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 then he taught them many things in parables, and told them in his teaching,
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. Look, the sower who went out to sow.
A man went out to put seed in the earth:
4 And it happened, as he sowed, some seed fell by the road, 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 And others fell on the rocky ground, where it had little soil, and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of soil.
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 And when the sun came up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.
And when the sun was high, it was burned; and because it had no root, it became dry and dead.
7 And others fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.
And some went among the thorns, and the thorns came up, and it had no room for growth and gave no fruit.
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."
And some, falling on good earth, gave fruit, coming up and increasing, and giving thirty, sixty, and a hundred times as much.
9 And he said, "Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear."
And he said to them, Whoever has ears, let him give ear.
10 And when he was alone, those who were around him with the twelve asked him about the parables.
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 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,
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 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 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 And he said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? And how will you understand all 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 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.
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 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.
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 And they have no root in themselves, but are short-lived. Then, when oppression or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they stumble.
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 And others are those who are sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word,
And others are those planted among the thorns; these are they who have given ear to 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)
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 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."
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 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?
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, except that it should be made known; neither was anything made secret, but that it should come 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 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.
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, more will be given, and he who does not have, even that which 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 And he said, "The Kingdom of God is like someone who scatters seed on the earth,
And he said, Such is the kingdom of God, as if a man put seed in the earth,
27 and he sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed springs up and grows; he doesn't know how.
And went to sleep and got up, night and day, and the seed came to growth, though he had no idea how.
28 The earth bears fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.
The earth gives fruit by herself; first the leaf, then the head, then the full grain.
29 But when the fruit is ripe, immediately he puts forth 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 And he said, "To what will we liken the Kingdom of God? Or with what parable will we use for 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'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 grain of mustard seed, which, when it is put in the earth, is smaller than all the seeds on 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 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 And with many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it.
And with a number of such stories he gave them his teaching, as they were able to take it:
34 And he did not speak to them without a parable; but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.
And without a story he said nothing to them: but privately to his disciples he made all things clear.
35 And on that day, when evening had come, he said to them, "Let us go over 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 And leaving the crowd, they took him with them, even as he was, in the boat. And other boats were 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 And a big wind storm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so much that the boat was already filled.
And a great storm of wind came up, and the waves came into the boat, so that the boat was now becoming full.
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?"
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 And he awoke, and rebuked the wind, and said to the lake, "Peace. Be still." And the wind ceased, and there was a great 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 And he said to them, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?"
And he said to them, Why are you full of fear? have you still no faith?
41 And they were greatly afraid, and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the lake 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?
