Mark 4:10-12
New American Standard Bible
10 As soon as He was alone, [a]His followers, along with the twelve disciples, began asking Him about the parables. 11 And He was saying to them, “To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but for (A)those who are outside, everything comes (B)in parables, 12 so that (C)while seeing they may see, and not perceive, and while hearing, they may hear, and not understand, otherwise they might return and it would be forgiven them.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Mark 4:10 Lit those about Him
Mark 4:10-12
New International Version
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(A) has been given to you. But to those on the outside(B) everything is said in parables 12 so that,
Footnotes
- Mark 4:12 Isaiah 6:9,10
Mark 4:10-12
Contemporary English Version
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 4:10-12
The Message
10-12 When they were off by themselves, those who were close to him, along with the Twelve, asked about the stories. He told them, “You’ve been given insight into God’s kingdom—you know how it works. But to those who can’t see it yet, everything comes in stories, creating readiness, nudging them toward a welcome awakening. These are people—
Whose eyes are open but don’t see a thing,
Whose ears are open but don’t understand a word,
Who avoid making an about-face and getting forgiven.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson