Mark 4:9-12
King James Version
9 And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
10 And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable.
11 And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:
12 That 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.
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Mark 4:9-12
New King James Version
9 And He said [a]to them, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
The Purpose of Parables(A)
10 (B)But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable. 11 And He said to them, “To you it has been given to (C)know the [b]mystery of the kingdom of God; but to (D)those who are outside, all things come in parables, 12 so that
(E)‘Seeing they may see and not perceive,
And hearing they may hear and not understand;
Lest they should turn,
And their sins be forgiven them.’ ”
Mark 4:9-12
Contemporary English Version
9 Then Jesus said, “If you have ears, pay attention.”
Why Jesus Used Stories
(Matthew 13.10-17; Luke 8.9,10)
10 When Jesus was alone with the twelve apostles and some others, they asked him about these stories. 11 He answered:
I have explained the secret about God's kingdom to you, but for others I can use only stories. 12 (A) The reason is,
“These people will look
and look, but never see.
They will listen and listen,
but never understand.
If they did,
they would turn to God
and be forgiven.”
Mark 4:9-12
Common English Bible
9 He said, “Whoever has ears to listen should pay attention!”
Jesus explains his parable
10 When they were alone, the people around Jesus, along with the Twelve, asked him about the parables. 11 He said to them, “The secret of God’s kingdom has been given to you, but to those who are outside everything comes in parables. 12 This is so that they can look and see but have no insight, and they can hear but not understand. Otherwise, they might turn their lives around and be forgiven.
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Mark 4:9-12
New Century Version
9 Then Jesus said, “Let those with ears use them and listen!”
Jesus Tells Why He Used Stories
10 Later, when Jesus was alone, the twelve apostles and others around him asked him about the stories.
11 Jesus said, “You can know the secret about the kingdom of God. But to other people I tell everything by using stories 12 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
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.