Mark 4
4
Parable of the Sower and Soils
1He began to teach again by the sea. And such a very large crowd gathered to Him that He got into a boat in the sea and sat down; and the whole crowd was by the sea on the land. 2And He was teaching them many things in parables, and was saying to them in His teaching, 3“Listen to this! Behold, the sower went out to sow; 4as he was sowing, some seed fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate it up. 5Other seed fell on the rocky ground where it did not have much soil; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of soil. 6And after the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. 7Other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. 8Other seeds fell into the good soil, and as they grew up and increased, they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.” 9And He was saying, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
10As soon as He was alone, His followers, along with the twelve, began asking Him about the parables. 11And He was saying to them, “To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but those who are outside get everything in parables, 12so that while seeing, they may see and not perceive, and while hearing, they may hear and not understand, otherwise they might return and be forgiven.”
Explanation
13And He *said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables? 14The sower sows the word. 15These are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them. 16In a similar way these are the ones on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; 17and they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they fall away. 18And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, 19but the worries of the #Or ageworld, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 20And those are the ones on whom seed was sown on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.”
21And He was saying to them, “A lamp is not brought to be put under a basket, is it, or under a bed? Is it not brought to be put on the lampstand? 22For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light. 23If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” 24And He was saying to them, “Take care what you listen to. By your standard of measure it will be measured to you; and more will be given you besides. 25For whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.”
Parable of the Seed
26And He was saying, “The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; 27and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows—how, he himself does not know. 28The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head. 29But when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
Parable of the Mustard Seed
30And He said, “How shall we #Lit comparepicture the kingdom of God, or by what parable shall we present it? 31It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the soil, though it is smaller than all the seeds that are upon the soil, 32yet when it is sown, it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and forms large branches; so that the birds of the #Or skyair can nest under its shade.”
33With many such parables He was speaking the word to them, so far as they were able to hear it; 34and He did not speak to them without a parable; but He was explaining everything privately to His own disciples.
Jesus Stills the Sea
35On that day, when evening came, He *said to them, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36Leaving the crowd, they *took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him. 37And there *arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up. 38Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they *woke Him and *said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” 39And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. 40And He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” 41They became very much afraid and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”
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Mark 4: NASB1995
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Mark 4
4
A Story About Planting Seed
1Another time Jesus began teaching by the lake. A great crowd gathered around him. So he got into a boat and went out on the lake. All the people stayed on the shore close to the water. 2Jesus used many stories to teach them. He said, 3“Listen! A farmer went out to plant his seed. 4While the farmer was planting, some seed fell by the road. The birds came and ate all that seed. 5Some seed fell on rocky ground where there wasn’t much dirt. The seed grew very fast there because the ground was not deep. 6But when the sun rose, the plants withered. The plants died because they did not have deep roots. 7Some other seed fell among thorny weeds. The weeds grew and choked the good plants. So those plants did not make grain. 8Some other seed fell on good ground. In the good ground, the seed began to grow. It grew and made a crop of grain. Some plants made 30 times more grain, some 60 times more grain, and some 100 times more grain.”
9Then Jesus said, “Let those with ears use them and listen!”
Jesus Tells Why He Used Stories
10Later, when Jesus was alone, the 12 apostles and others around him asked him about the stories.
11Jesus said, “Only you can know the secret truth about the kingdom of God. But to other people I tell everything by using stories. 12I do this so that:
‘They will look and look, but they will not learn.
They will listen and listen, but they will not understand.
If they did learn and understand,
they would come back to me and be forgiven.’” Isaiah 6:9-10
Jesus Explains the Seed Story
13Then Jesus said to the followers, “Do you understand this story? If you don’t, then how will you understand any story? 14The farmer is like a person who plants God’s teaching in people. 15Sometimes the teaching falls on the road. This is like some people. They hear the teaching of God. But Satan quickly comes and takes away the teaching that was planted in them. 16Others are like the seed planted on rocky ground. They hear the teaching and quickly accept it with joy. 17But they don’t allow the teaching to go deep into their lives. They keep it only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the teaching, they quickly give up. 18Others are like the seed planted among the thorny weeds. They hear the teaching. 19But then other things come into their lives: worries, the love of money, and wanting all kinds of other things. These things stop the teaching from growing. So that teaching does not produce fruit# To produce fruit means to have in your life the good things God wants. in their lives. 20Others are like the seed planted in the good ground. They hear the teaching and accept it. Then they grow and produce fruit—sometimes 30 times more, sometimes 60 times more, and sometimes 100 times more.”
Use What You Have
21Then Jesus said to them, “Do you hide a lamp under a bowl or under a bed? No! You put the lamp on a lampstand. 22Everything that is hidden will be made clear. Every secret thing will be made known. 23Let those with ears use them and listen!
24“Think carefully about the things you hear. The way you give to others is the way God will give to you. But God will give you more than you give. 25The person who has something will be given more. But the person who does not have much, even what he has will be taken from him.”
Jesus Uses a Story About Seed
26Then Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is like a man who plants seed in the ground. 27The seed comes up and grows night and day. It doesn’t matter whether the man is asleep or awake; the seed still grows. The man does not know how it grows. 28Without any help, the earth produces grain. First the plant grows, then the head, and then all the grain in the head. 29When the grain is ready, the man cuts it. This is the harvest time.”
A Story About Mustard Seed
30Then Jesus said, “How can I show you what the kingdom of God is like? What story can I use to explain it? 31The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed. The mustard seed is the smallest seed you plant in the ground. 32But when you plant this seed, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants. It produces large branches. Even the wild birds can make nests in it and be protected from the sun.”
33Jesus used many stories like these to teach them. He taught them all that they could understand. 34He always used stories to teach them. But when he and his followers were alone together, Jesus explained everything to them.
Jesus Stops a Storm
35That evening, Jesus said to his followers, “Come with me across the lake.” 36He and the followers left the people there. They went in the boat that Jesus was already sitting in. There were also other boats with them. 37A very strong wind came up on the lake. The waves began coming over the sides and into the boat. It was almost full of water. 38Jesus was at the back of the boat, sleeping with his head on a pillow. The followers went to him and woke him. They said, “Teacher, do you care about us? We will drown!”
39Jesus stood up and commanded the wind and the waves to stop. He said, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind stopped, and the lake became calm.
40Jesus said to his followers, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
41The followers were very afraid and asked each other, “What kind of man is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”
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