St Mark 4
4
1AND again he began to teach by the sea side; and a great multitude was gathered together unto him, so that he went up into a ship, and sat in the sea; and all the multitude was upon the land by the sea side.
2And he taught them many things in parables, and said unto them in his doctrine:
3Hear ye: Behold, the sower went out to sow.
4And whilst he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the birds of the air came and ate it up.
5And other some fell upon stony ground, where it had not much earth; and it shot up immediately, because it had no depth of earth.
6And when the sun was risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.
7And some fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.
8And some fell upon good ground; and brought forth fruit that grew up, and increased and yielded, one thirty, another sixty, and another a hundred.
9And he said: He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
10And when he was alone, the twelve that were with him asked him the parable.
11And he said to them: To you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but to them that are without, all things are done in parables:
12That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand: lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.
13And he saith to them: Are you ignorant of this parable? and how shall you know all parables?
14He that soweth, soweth the word.
15And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown, and as soon as they have heard, immediately Satan cometh and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.
16And these likewise are they that are sown on the stony ground: who when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with joy.
17And they have no root in themselves, but are only for a time: and then when tribulation and persecution ariseth for the word they are presently scandalized.
18And others there are who are sown among thorns: these are they that hear the word,
19And the cares of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts after other things entering in choke the word, and it is made fruitless.
20And these are they who are sown upon the good ground, who hear the word, and receive it, and yield fruit, the one thirty, another sixty, and another a hundred.
21And he said to them: Doth a candle come in to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? and not to be set on a candlestick?
22For there is nothing hid, which shall not be made manifest: neither was it made secret, but that it may come abroad.
23If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.
24And he said to them: Take heed what you hear. In what measure you shall mete, it shall be measured to you again, and more shall be given to you.
25For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, that also which he hath shall be taken away from him.
26And he said: So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the earth,
27And should sleep, and rise, night and day, and the seed should spring, and grow up whilst he knoweth not.
28For the earth of itself bringeth forth fruit, first the blade, then the ear, afterwards the full corn in the ear.
29And when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.
30And he said: To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? or to what parable shall we compare it?
31It is as a grain of mustard seed: which when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that are in the earth:
32And when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches, so that the birds of the air may dwell under the shadow thereof.
33And with many such parables, he spoke to them the word, according as they were able to hear.
34And without parable he did not speak unto them; but apart, he explained all things to his disciples.
35And he saith to them that day, when evening was come: Let us pass over to the other side.
36And sending away the multitude, they take him even as he was in the ship: and there were other ships with him.
37And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that the ship was filled.
38And he was in the hinder part of the ship, sleeping upon a pillow; and they awake him, and say to him: Master, doth it not concern thee that we perish?
39And rising up, he rebuked the wind, and said to the sea: Peace, be still. And the wind ceased: and there was made a great calm.
40And he said to them: Why are you fearful? have you not faith yet? And they feared exceedingly: and they said one to another: Who is this (thinkest thou) that both wind and sea obey him?
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St Mark 4: DRC1752
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An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
Mark 4
4
The Parable of the Sower
1Again he began to teach beside the sea. Such a very large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat on the sea and sat there, while the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. 2He began to teach them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: 3“Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil. 6And when the sun rose, it was scorched; and since it had no root, it withered away. 7Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. 8Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.” 9And he said, “Let anyone with ears to hear listen!”
The Purpose of the Parables
10When he was alone, those who were around him along with the twelve asked him about the parables. 11And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret#4.11 Or mystery of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything comes in parables; 12in order that
‘they may indeed look, but not perceive,
and may indeed listen, but not understand;
so that they may not turn again and be forgiven.’ ”
13And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand all the parables? 14The sower sows the word. 15These are the ones on the path where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. 16And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: when they hear the word, they immediately receive it with joy. 17But they have no root, and endure only for a while; then, when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.#4.17 Or stumble 18And others are those sown among the thorns: these are the ones who hear the word, 19but the cares of the world, and the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it yields nothing. 20And these are the ones sown on the good soil: they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.”
A Lamp under a Bushel Basket
21He said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under the bushel basket, or under the bed, and not on the lampstand? 22For there is nothing hidden, except to be disclosed; nor is anything secret, except to come to light. 23Let anyone with ears to hear listen!” 24And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear; the measure you give will be the measure you get, and still more will be given you. 25For to those who have, more will be given; and from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.”
The Parable of the Growing Seed
26He also said, “The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, 27and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. 28The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. 29But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.”
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
30He also said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? 31It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; 32yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”
The Use of Parables
33With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; 34he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.
Jesus Stills a Storm
35On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” 36And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. 37A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. 38But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” 39He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. 40He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” 41And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
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New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.