Sabbath Regulations

35 Moses assembled all the congregation of the people of Israel and said to them, (A)“These are the things that the Lord has commanded you to do. (B)Six days work shall be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on it shall be put to death. (C)You shall kindle no fire in all your dwelling places on the Sabbath day.”

Contributions for the Tabernacle

Moses said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, “This is the thing that the Lord has commanded. (D)Take from among you a contribution to the Lord. (E)Whoever is of a generous heart, let him bring the Lord's contribution: gold, silver, and bronze; blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen; goats' hair, tanned rams' skins, and goatskins;[a] acacia wood, oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, and onyx stones and stones for setting, for the ephod and for the breastpiece.

10 “Let (F)every skillful craftsman among you come and make all that the Lord has commanded: 11 (G)the tabernacle, its tent and its covering, its hooks and its frames, its bars, its pillars, and its bases; 12 (H)the ark with its poles, the mercy seat, and the (I)veil of the screen; 13 (J)the table with its poles and all its utensils, and the (K)bread of the Presence; 14 (L)the lampstand also for the light, with its utensils and its lamps, and the (M)oil for the light; 15 (N)and the altar of incense, with its poles, (O)and the anointing oil and the (P)fragrant incense, and (Q)the screen for the door, at the door of the tabernacle; 16 (R)the altar of burnt offering, with its grating of bronze, its poles, and all its utensils, the (S)basin and its stand; 17 (T)the hangings of the court, its pillars and its bases, and the screen for the gate of the court; 18 (U)the pegs of the tabernacle and the pegs of the court, and their (V)cords; 19 the (W)finely worked garments for ministering[b] in the Holy Place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, for their service as priests.”

20 Then all the congregation of the people of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. 21 And they came, (X)everyone whose heart stirred him, and everyone whose spirit moved him, (Y)and brought the Lord's contribution to be used for the tent of meeting, and for all its service, and for the holy garments. 22 So they came, both men and women. All who were of a willing heart brought brooches and earrings and signet rings and armlets, all sorts of gold objects, every man dedicating an offering of gold to the Lord. 23 And (Z)every one who possessed (AA)blue or purple or scarlet yarns or fine linen or goats' hair or tanned rams' skins or goatskins brought them. 24 (AB)Everyone who could make a contribution of silver or bronze brought it as the Lord's contribution. And every one who possessed acacia wood of any use in the work brought it. 25 And every (AC)skillful woman spun with her hands, and they all brought what they had spun in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. 26 All the women (AD)whose hearts stirred them to use their skill spun the goats' hair. 27 And the (AE)leaders brought onyx stones and stones to be set, for the ephod and for the breastpiece, 28 and spices and oil for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the fragrant incense. 29 (AF)All the men and women, the people of Israel, whose heart moved them to bring anything for the work that the Lord had commanded by Moses to be done brought it as a freewill offering to the Lord.

Construction of the Tabernacle

30 (AG)Then Moses said to the people of Israel, “See, the Lord has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; 31 and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with (AH)skill, with intelligence, with knowledge, and with all craftsmanship, 32 to devise artistic designs, to work in gold and silver and bronze, 33 in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, for work in every skilled craft. 34 And he has inspired him to teach, both him and Oholiab the son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan. 35 He has (AI)filled them with skill to do every sort of work done by an engraver or by a designer or by an embroiderer in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, or by a weaver—by any sort of workman or skilled designer.

36 “Bezalel and Oholiab and (AJ)every craftsman in whom the Lord has put skill and intelligence to know how to do any work in the construction of the sanctuary shall work in accordance with all that the Lord has commanded.”

And Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whose mind the Lord had put skill, everyone (AK)whose heart stirred him up to come to do the work. And they received from Moses all the (AL)contribution that the people of Israel had brought for doing the work on the sanctuary. They still kept bringing him (AM)freewill offerings every morning, so that all the craftsmen who were doing every sort of task on the sanctuary came, each from the task that he was doing, and said to Moses, (AN)“The people bring much more than enough for doing the work that the Lord has commanded us to do.” So Moses gave command, and word was proclaimed throughout the camp, “Let no man or woman do anything more for the (AO)contribution for the sanctuary.” So the people were restrained from bringing, for the material they had was sufficient to do all the work, and more.

(AP)And all the craftsmen among the workmen made the tabernacle with ten curtains. They were made of fine twined linen and blue and purple and scarlet yarns, with cherubim skillfully worked. The length of each curtain was twenty-eight cubits,[c] and the breadth of each curtain four cubits. All the curtains were the same size.

10 He[d] coupled five curtains to one another, and the other five curtains he coupled to one another. 11 He made loops of blue on the edge of the outermost curtain of the first set. Likewise he made them on the edge of the outermost curtain of the second set. 12 He made fifty loops on the one curtain, and he made fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that was in the second set. The loops were opposite one another. 13 And he made fifty clasps of gold, and coupled the curtains one to the other with clasps. So the tabernacle was a single whole.

14 He also made curtains of goats' hair for a tent over the tabernacle. He made eleven curtains. 15 The length of each curtain was thirty cubits, and the breadth of each curtain four cubits. The eleven curtains were the same size. 16 He coupled five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves. 17 And he made fifty loops on the edge of the outermost curtain of the one set, and fifty loops on the edge of the other connecting curtain. 18 And he made fifty clasps of bronze to couple the tent together that it might be a single whole. 19 And he made for the tent a covering of tanned rams' skins and goatskins.

20 (AQ)Then he made the upright frames for the tabernacle of (AR)acacia wood. 21 Ten cubits was the length of a frame, and a cubit and a half the breadth of each frame. 22 Each frame had two tenons for fitting together. He did this for all the frames of the tabernacle. 23 The frames for the tabernacle he made thus: twenty frames for the south side. 24 And he made forty bases of silver under the twenty frames, two bases under one frame for its two tenons, and two bases under the next frame for its two tenons. 25 For the second side of the tabernacle, on the north side, he made twenty frames 26 and their forty bases of silver, two bases under one frame and two bases under the next frame. 27 For the rear of the tabernacle westward he made six frames. 28 He made two frames for corners of the tabernacle in the rear. 29 And they were separate beneath but joined at the top, at the first ring. He made two of them this way for the two corners. 30 There were eight frames with their bases of silver: sixteen bases, under every frame two bases.

31 He made bars of acacia wood, five for the frames of the one side of the tabernacle, 32 and five bars for the frames of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the frames of the tabernacle at the rear westward. 33 And he made the middle bar to run from end to end halfway up the frames. 34 And he overlaid the frames with gold, and made their rings of gold for holders for the bars, and overlaid the bars with gold.

35 (AS)He made the veil of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen; with cherubim skillfully worked into it he made it. 36 And for it he made four pillars of acacia and overlaid them with gold. Their hooks were of gold, and he cast for them four bases of silver. 37 He also made a screen for the entrance of the tent, of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, embroidered with needlework, 38 and its five pillars with their hooks. He overlaid their capitals, and their fillets were of gold, but their five bases were of bronze.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 35:7 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain; also verse 23; compare 25:5
  2. Exodus 35:19 Or garments for worship; see 31:10
  3. Exodus 36:9 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters
  4. Exodus 36:10 Probably Bezalel (compare 35:30; 37:1)

Sabbath Regulations

35 Moses assembled the whole Israelite community and said to them, “These are the things the Lord has commanded(A) you to do: For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a day of sabbath(B) rest to the Lord. Whoever does any work on it is to be put to death.(C) Do not light a fire in any of your dwellings on the Sabbath day.(D)

Materials for the Tabernacle(E)(F)

Moses said to the whole Israelite community, “This is what the Lord has commanded: From what you have, take an offering for the Lord. Everyone who is willing is to bring to the Lord an offering of gold, silver and bronze; blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen; goat hair; ram skins dyed red and another type of durable leather[a]; acacia wood; olive oil(G) for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; and onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece.

10 “All who are skilled among you are to come and make everything the Lord has commanded:(H) 11 the tabernacle(I) with its tent and its covering, clasps, frames, crossbars, posts and bases; 12 the ark(J) with its poles and the atonement cover and the curtain(K) that shields it; 13 the table(L) with its poles and all its articles and the bread of the Presence; 14 the lampstand(M) that is for light with its accessories, lamps and oil for the light; 15 the altar(N) of incense with its poles, the anointing oil(O) and the fragrant incense;(P) the curtain for the doorway at the entrance to the tabernacle;(Q) 16 the altar(R) of burnt offering with its bronze grating, its poles and all its utensils; the bronze basin(S) with its stand; 17 the curtains of the courtyard with its posts and bases, and the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard;(T) 18 the tent pegs(U) for the tabernacle and for the courtyard, and their ropes; 19 the woven garments worn for ministering in the sanctuary—both the sacred garments(V) for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons when they serve as priests.”

20 Then the whole Israelite community withdrew from Moses’ presence, 21 and everyone who was willing and whose heart moved them came and brought an offering to the Lord for the work on the tent of meeting, for all its service, and for the sacred garments. 22 All who were willing, men and women alike, came and brought gold jewelry of all kinds: brooches, earrings, rings and ornaments. They all presented their gold as a wave offering to the Lord. 23 Everyone who had blue, purple or scarlet yarn(W) or fine linen, or goat hair, ram skins dyed red or the other durable leather brought them. 24 Those presenting an offering of silver or bronze brought it as an offering to the Lord, and everyone who had acacia wood for any part of the work brought it. 25 Every skilled woman(X) spun with her hands and brought what she had spun—blue, purple or scarlet yarn or fine linen. 26 And all the women who were willing and had the skill spun the goat hair. 27 The leaders(Y) brought onyx stones and other gems(Z) to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece. 28 They also brought spices and olive oil for the light and for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense.(AA) 29 All the Israelite men and women who were willing(AB) brought to the Lord freewill offerings(AC) for all the work the Lord through Moses had commanded them to do.

Bezalel and Oholiab(AD)

30 Then Moses said to the Israelites, “See, the Lord has chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, 31 and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills(AE) 32 to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, 33 to cut and set stones, to work in wood and to engage in all kinds of artistic crafts. 34 And he has given both him and Oholiab(AF) son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan, the ability to teach(AG) others. 35 He has filled them with skill to do all kinds of work(AH) as engravers, designers, embroiderers in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen, and weavers—all of them skilled workers and designers. 36 So Bezalel, Oholiab and every skilled person(AI) to whom the Lord has given skill and ability to know how to carry out all the work of constructing the sanctuary(AJ) are to do the work just as the Lord has commanded.”

Then Moses summoned Bezalel(AK) and Oholiab(AL) and every skilled person to whom the Lord had given ability and who was willing(AM) to come and do the work. They received from Moses all the offerings(AN) the Israelites had brought to carry out the work of constructing the sanctuary. And the people continued to bring freewill offerings morning after morning. So all the skilled workers who were doing all the work on the sanctuary left what they were doing and said to Moses, “The people are bringing more than enough(AO) for doing the work the Lord commanded to be done.”

Then Moses gave an order and they sent this word throughout the camp: “No man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary.” And so the people were restrained from bringing more, because what they already had was more(AP) than enough to do all the work.

The Tabernacle(AQ)

All those who were skilled among the workers made the tabernacle with ten curtains of finely twisted linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, with cherubim woven into them by expert hands. All the curtains were the same size—twenty-eight cubits long and four cubits wide.[b] 10 They joined five of the curtains together and did the same with the other five. 11 Then they made loops of blue material along the edge of the end curtain in one set, and the same was done with the end curtain in the other set. 12 They also made fifty loops on one curtain and fifty loops on the end curtain of the other set, with the loops opposite each other. 13 Then they made fifty gold clasps and used them to fasten the two sets of curtains together so that the tabernacle was a unit.(AR)

14 They made curtains of goat hair for the tent over the tabernacle—eleven altogether. 15 All eleven curtains were the same size—thirty cubits long and four cubits wide.[c] 16 They joined five of the curtains into one set and the other six into another set. 17 Then they made fifty loops along the edge of the end curtain in one set and also along the edge of the end curtain in the other set. 18 They made fifty bronze clasps to fasten the tent together as a unit.(AS) 19 Then they made for the tent a covering of ram skins dyed red, and over that a covering of the other durable leather.[d]

20 They made upright frames of acacia wood for the tabernacle. 21 Each frame was ten cubits long and a cubit and a half wide,[e] 22 with two projections set parallel to each other. They made all the frames of the tabernacle in this way. 23 They made twenty frames for the south side of the tabernacle 24 and made forty silver bases to go under them—two bases for each frame, one under each projection. 25 For the other side, the north side of the tabernacle, they made twenty frames 26 and forty silver bases—two under each frame. 27 They made six frames for the far end, that is, the west end of the tabernacle, 28 and two frames were made for the corners of the tabernacle at the far end. 29 At these two corners the frames were double from the bottom all the way to the top and fitted into a single ring; both were made alike. 30 So there were eight frames and sixteen silver bases—two under each frame.

31 They also made crossbars of acacia wood: five for the frames on one side of the tabernacle, 32 five for those on the other side, and five for the frames on the west, at the far end of the tabernacle. 33 They made the center crossbar so that it extended from end to end at the middle of the frames. 34 They overlaid the frames with gold and made gold rings to hold the crossbars. They also overlaid the crossbars with gold.

35 They made the curtain(AT) of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen, with cherubim woven into it by a skilled worker. 36 They made four posts of acacia wood for it and overlaid them with gold. They made gold hooks for them and cast their four silver bases. 37 For the entrance to the tent they made a curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen—the work of an embroiderer;(AU) 38 and they made five posts with hooks for them. They overlaid the tops of the posts and their bands with gold and made their five bases of bronze.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 35:7 Possibly the hides of large aquatic mammals; also in verse 23
  2. Exodus 36:9 That is, about 42 feet long and 6 feet wide or about 13 meters long and 1.8 meters wide
  3. Exodus 36:15 That is, about 45 feet long and 6 feet wide or about 14 meters long and 1.8 meters wide
  4. Exodus 36:19 Possibly the hides of large aquatic mammals (see 35:7)
  5. Exodus 36:21 That is, about 15 feet long and 2 1/4 feet wide or about 4.5 meters long and 68 centimeters wide

Blessed Are the Forgiven

A Maskil[a] of David.

32 (A)Blessed is the one whose (B)transgression is forgiven,
    whose sin is covered.
Blessed is the man against whom the Lord (C)counts no iniquity,
    and in whose spirit (D)there is no deceit.

For when I kept silent, my (E)bones wasted away
    through my (F)groaning all day long.
For day and night your (G)hand was heavy upon me;
    my strength was dried up[b] as by the heat of summer. Selah

I (H)acknowledged my sin to you,
    and I did not cover my iniquity;
I said, “I (I)will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
    and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah

Therefore let everyone who is (J)godly
    offer prayer to you at a time when you (K)may be found;
surely in the rush of (L)great waters,
    they shall not reach him.
You are a (M)hiding place for me;
    you preserve me from (N)trouble;
    you surround me with (O)shouts of deliverance. Selah

I will (P)instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
    I will (Q)counsel you with my eye upon you.
(R)Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding,
    which must be curbed with (S)bit and bridle,
    or it will not stay near you.

10 (T)Many are the sorrows of the wicked,
    but steadfast love surrounds the one who (U)trusts in the Lord.
11 (V)Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous,
    and (W)shout for joy, all you (X)upright in heart!

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 32:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
  2. Psalm 32:4 Hebrew my vitality was changed

Psalm 32

Of David. A maskil.[a]

Blessed is the one
    whose transgressions are forgiven,
    whose sins are covered.(A)
Blessed is the one
    whose sin the Lord does not count against them(B)
    and in whose spirit is no deceit.(C)

When I kept silent,(D)
    my bones wasted away(E)
    through my groaning(F) all day long.
For day and night
    your hand was heavy(G) on me;
my strength was sapped(H)
    as in the heat of summer.[b]

Then I acknowledged my sin to you
    and did not cover up my iniquity.(I)
I said, “I will confess(J)
    my transgressions(K) to the Lord.”
And you forgave
    the guilt of my sin.(L)

Therefore let all the faithful pray to you
    while you may be found;(M)
surely the rising(N) of the mighty waters(O)
    will not reach them.(P)
You are my hiding place;(Q)
    you will protect me from trouble(R)
    and surround me with songs of deliverance.(S)

I will instruct(T) you and teach you(U) in the way you should go;
    I will counsel you with my loving eye on(V) you.
Do not be like the horse or the mule,
    which have no understanding
but must be controlled by bit and bridle(W)
    or they will not come to you.
10 Many are the woes of the wicked,(X)
    but the Lord’s unfailing love
    surrounds the one who trusts(Y) in him.

11 Rejoice in the Lord(Z) and be glad, you righteous;
    sing, all you who are upright in heart!

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 32:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
  2. Psalm 32:4 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verses 5 and 7.

The Parable of the Sower

Again (A)he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, (B)so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. And (C)he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: “Listen! Behold, (D)a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. And (E)when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, (F)it withered away. Other seed fell among (G)thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and (H)a hundredfold.” And he said, (I)“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

The Purpose of the Parables

10 And (J)when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. 11 And he said to them, (K)“To you has been given (L)the secret of the kingdom of God, but for (M)those outside everything is in parables, 12 (N)so that

“‘they (O)may indeed see but not perceive,
    and may indeed hear but not understand,
lest they (P)should turn and be forgiven.’”

13 (Q)And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? 14 (R)The sower sows (S)the word. 15 And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. 16 And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it (T)with joy. 17 And they have no root in themselves, but (U)endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately (V)they fall away.[a] 18 And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, 19 but (W)the cares of (X)the world and (Y)the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 20 But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and (Z)bear fruit, (AA)thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”

A Lamp Under a Basket

21 (AB)And he said to them, (AC)“Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand? 22 (AD)For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light. 23 (AE)If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” 24 And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear: (AF)with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. 25 (AG)For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”

The Parable of the Seed Growing

26 And he said, (AH)“The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. 27 He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; (AI)he knows not how. 28 The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 29 But when the grain is ripe, at once (AJ)he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

30 (AK)And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? 31 It is like (AL)a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, 32 yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”

33 (AM)With many such parables he spoke (AN)the word to them, (AO)as they were able to hear it. 34 He did not speak to them (AP)without a parable, but (AQ)privately to his own disciples he (AR)explained everything.

Jesus Calms a Storm

35 (AS)On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” 36 And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves (AT)were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. 38 But he 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?” 39 And he awoke and (AU)rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and (AV)there was a great calm. 40 He said to them, “Why are you (AW)so afraid? Have you still no faith?” 41 And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, (AX)“Who then is this, that even (AY)the wind and the sea obey him?”

Footnotes

  1. Mark 4:17 Or stumble

The Parable of the Sower(A)(B)

Again Jesus began to teach by the lake.(C) The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. He taught them many things by parables,(D) and in his teaching said: “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed.(E) As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”(F)

Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”(G)

10 When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. 11 He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God(H) has been given to you. But to those on the outside(I) everything is said in parables 12 so that,

“‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
    and ever hearing but never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’[a](J)

13 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14 The farmer sows the word.(K) 15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan(L) comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth(M) and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”

A Lamp on a Stand

21 He said to them, “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand?(N) 22 For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open.(O) 23 If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.”(P)

24 “Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more.(Q) 25 Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.”(R)

The Parable of the Growing Seed

26 He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like.(S) A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”(T)

The Parable of the Mustard Seed(U)

30 Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like,(V) or what parable shall we use to describe it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. 32 Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.”

33 With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand.(W) 34 He did not say anything to them without using a parable.(X) But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.

Jesus Calms the Storm(Y)

35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat.(Z) There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”(AA)

41 They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

Footnotes

  1. Mark 4:12 Isaiah 6:9,10