Mark 4
4
1 And again, he began to teach by the sea. And a great crowd was gathered to him, so much so that, climbing into a boat, he was seated on the sea. And the entire crowd was on the land along the sea.
2 And he taught them many things in parables, and he said to them, in his doctrine:
3 "Listen. Behold, the sower went out to sow.
4 And while he was sowing, some fell along the way, and the birds of the air came and ate it.
5 Yet truly, others fell upon stony ground, where it did not have much soil. And it rose up quickly, because it had no depth of soil.
6 And when the sun was risen, it was scorched. And because it had no root, it withered away.
7 And some fell among thorns. And the thorns grew up and suffocated it, and it did not produce fruit.
8 And some fell on good soil. And it brought forth fruit that grew up, and increased, and yielded: some thirty, some sixty, and some one hundred."
9 And he said, "Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear."
10 And when he was alone, the twelve, who were with him, questioned him about the parable.
11 And he said to them: "To you, it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God. But to those who are outside, everything is presented in parables:
12 'so that, seeing, they may see, and not perceive; and hearing, they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they may be converted, and their sins would be forgiven them.' "
13 And he said to them: "Do you not understand this parable? And so, how will you understand all the parables?
14 He who sows, sows the word.
15 Now there are those who are along the way, where the word is sown. And when they have heard it, Satan quickly comes and takes away the word, which was sown in their hearts.
16 And similarly, there are those who were sown upon stony ground. These, when they have heard the word, immediately accept it with gladness.
17 But they have no root in themselves, and so they are for a limited time. And when next tribulation and persecution arises because of the word, they quickly fall away.
18 And there are others who are sown among thorns. These are those who hear the word,
19 but worldly tasks, and the deception of riches, and desires about other things enter in and suffocate the word, and it is effectively without fruit.
20 And there are those who are sown upon good soil, who hear the word and accept it; and these bear fruit: some thirty, some sixty, and some one hundred."
21 And he said to them: "Would someone enter with a lamp in order to place it under a basket or under a bed? Would it not be placed upon a lampstand?
22 For there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed. Neither was anything done in secret, except that it may be made public.
23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear."
24 And he said to them: "Consider what you hear. With whatever measure you have measured out, it shall be measured back to you, and more shall be added to you.
25 For whoever has, to him it shall be given. And whoever has not, from him even what he has shall be taken away."
26 And he said: "The kingdom of God is like this: it is as if a man were to cast seed on the land.
27 And he sleeps and he arises, night and day. And the seed germinates and grows, though he does not know it.
28 For the earth bears fruit readily: first the plant, then the ear, next the full grain in the ear.
29 And when the fruit has been produced, immediately he sends out the sickle, because the harvest has arrived."
30 And he said: "To what should we compare the kingdom of God? Or to what parable should we compare it?
31 It is like a grain of mustard seed which, when it has been sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds which are in the earth.
32 And when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all the plants, and it produces great branches, so much so that the birds of the air are able to live under its shadow."
33 And with many such parables he spoke the word to them, as much as they were able to hear.
34 But he did not speak to them without a parable. Yet separately, he explained all things to his disciples.
35 And on that day, when evening had arrived, he said to them, "Let us cross over."
36 And dismissing the crowd, they brought him, so that he was in one boat, and other boats were with him.
37 And a great wind storm occurred, and the waves broke over the boat, so that the boat was being filled.
38 And he was in the stern of the boat, sleeping on a pillow. And they woke him and said to him, "Teacher, does it not concern you that we are perishing?"
39 And rising up, he rebuked the wind, and he said to the sea: "Silence. Be stilled." And the wind ceased. And a great tranquility occurred.
40 And he said to them: "Why are you afraid? Do you still lack faith?" And they were struck with a great fear. And they said to one another, "Who do you think this is, that both wind and sea obey him?"
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Mark 4
4
Storytelling Opens Hearts
1Again Yeshua began to teach by the sea. A large crowd gathered around Him, so He got into a boat on the sea and sat down. And the crowd was by the sea on the land.
2He began teaching them many things by parables, and in His teaching, He said to them:
3“Listen! Behold, a sower went out to spread some seed.
4It happened that as he sowed, some fell beside the road; and the birds came and ate it up.
5“Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it didn’t have much soil. It sprang up immediately, because the soil wasn’t deep.
6But when the sun came up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.
7“Other seed fell among the thorns; and the thorns grew and choked it, and it yielded no crop.
8“And others fell into the good soil and were producing fruit, springing up and increasing. They yielded a crop, producing thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.”
9And He said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
10When Yeshua was alone, those around Him with the Twelve started asking Him about the parables.
11And He told them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God. But for those who are outside, everything is in parables, so that
12‘Seeing, they may see and not perceive, and hearing, they may hear and not understand, so they may not turn back and be forgiven.’”
13He said to them, “Don’t you grasp this parable? Then how will you understand all the parables?
14The sower sows the word.
15These are the ones beside the road where the word is sown. Whenever they hear, satan comes quickly and takes away the word that has been sown in them.
16“These are the ones sown on rocky ground. When they hear the word, immediately they receive it with joy.
17And they have no root in themselves but last only a short while. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, immediately they fall away.
18“And others are the ones sown among the thorns. They have heard the word;
19but the worries of the world, the seduction of wealth, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
20“And those are the ones sown on the good soil. They hear the word and accept it and produce fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.”
Reaping What You Sow
21He also was saying to them, “Is a lamp put under a basket or a bed? No, shouldn’t it be placed on a lampstand?
22For there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed, nor anything kept secret except that it would come to light.
23If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”
24Then He continued, “Pay attention to what you hear. With the measure you use, it will be measured to you; and more will be added to you.
25For whoever has, to him more will be given. And whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”
What Is the Kingdom of God Like?
26And He was saying, “The kingdom of God is like when a man spreads seed on the soil
27and falls asleep at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows. He himself doesn’t know how.
28Automatically, the earth brings forth a crop—first the blade, then the head, then the full grain in the head.
29But when the grain is ready, at once he sends in the sickle, for the harvest has come.”
30Yeshua also said, “How should we picture the kingdom of God? Or by what story shall we present it?
31It is like a mustard seed when it’s planted in the ground. Though the smallest of all seeds in the earth, yet when planted it grows up and becomes the largest of all the herbs.
32It puts forth big branches, so the birds of the air can nest in its shade.”
33With many such parables He used to tell them the word, as much as they were able to hear.
34But apart from a parable, He wasn’t speaking to them. Yet when they were alone, to His own disciples He would explain everything.
Power Over Nature
35Now on that same day in the evening, He says to them, “Let’s cross over to the other side.”
36After leaving the crowd, they take Him along in the boat, just as He was. And other boats were with Him.
37A great windstorm arises, and the waves were rushing into the boat. The boat was beginning to fill up.
38But Yeshua was in the back of the boat, sleeping on a pillow. They wake Him up and say to Him, “Teacher, don’t you care that we are perishing?”
39So He woke up and rebuked the wind. And He said to the sea, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind stopped, and it became totally calm.
40And He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Even now you have no faith?”
41They were struck with awe and said to one another, “Who is this? Even the wind and the sea obey Him!”
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