And he began again to teach by the sea side: and there was gathered unto him a great multitude, so that he entered into a ship, and sat in the sea; and the whole multitude was by the sea on the land.

And he taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine,

Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow:

And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up.

And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth:

But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.

And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.

And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred.

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.

13 And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables?

14 The sower soweth the word.

15 And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.

16 And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness;

17 And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended.

18 And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word,

19 And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.

20 And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.

21 And he said unto them, Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? and not to be set on a candlestick?

22 For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad.

23 If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.

24 And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given.

25 For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath.

26 And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground;

27 And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how.

28 For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.

29 But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.

30 And he said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it?

31 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth:

32 But when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it.

33 And with many such parables spake he the word unto them, as they were able to hear it.

34 But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples.

35 And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side.

36 And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships.

37 And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.

38 And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?

39 And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

40 And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?

41 And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?

Again Jesus began to teach beside the lake. And a very great crowd gathered about Him, so that He got into a ship in order to sit in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was at the lakeside on the shore.

And He taught them many things in parables (illustrations or comparisons put beside truths to explain them), and in His teaching He said to them:

Give attention to this! Behold, a sower went out to sow.

And as he was sowing, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.

Other seed [of the same kind] fell on ground full of rocks, where it had not much soil; and at once it sprang up, because it had no depth of soil;

And when the sun came up, it was scorched, and because it had not taken root, it withered away.

Other seed [of the same kind] fell among thorn plants, and the thistles grew and pressed together and utterly choked and suffocated it, and it yielded no grain.

And other seed [of the same kind] fell into good (well-adapted) soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing, and yielded up to thirty times as much, and sixty times as much, and even a hundred times as much as had been sown.

And He said, He who has ears to hear, let him be hearing [and let him [a]consider, and comprehend].

10 And as soon as He was alone, those who were around Him, with the Twelve [apostles], began to ask Him about the parables.

11 And He said to them, To you has been entrusted the mystery of the kingdom of God [that is, [b]the secret counsels of God which are hidden from the ungodly]; but for those outside [[c]of our circle] everything becomes a parable,

12 In order that they may [indeed] look and look but not see and perceive, and may hear and hear but not grasp and comprehend, [d]lest haply they should turn again, and it [[e]their willful rejection of the truth] should be forgiven them.(A)

13 And He said to them, Do you not discern and understand this parable? How then is it possible for you to discern and understand all the parables?

14 The sower sows the Word.

15 The ones along the path are those who have the Word sown [in their hearts], but when they hear, Satan comes at once and [by force] takes away the message which is sown in them.

16 And in the same way the ones sown upon stony ground are those who, when they hear the Word, at once receive and accept and welcome it with joy;

17 And they have no real root in themselves, and so they endure for a little while; then when trouble or persecution arises on account of the Word, they immediately are offended (become displeased, indignant, resentful) and they stumble and fall away.

18 And the ones sown among the thorns are others who hear the Word;

19 Then the cares and anxieties of the world and distractions of the age, and the pleasure and delight and false glamour and deceitfulness of riches, and the craving and passionate desire for other things creep in and choke and suffocate the Word, and it becomes fruitless.

20 And those sown on the good (well-adapted) soil are the ones who hear the Word and receive and accept and welcome it and bear fruit—some thirty times as much as was sown, some sixty times as much, and some [even] a hundred times as much.

21 And He said to them, Is the lamp brought in to be put under a [f]peck measure or under a bed, and not [to be put] on the lampstand?

22 [[g]Things are hidden temporarily only as a means to revelation.] For there is nothing hidden except to be revealed, nor is anything [temporarily] kept secret except in order that it may be made known.

23 If any man has ears to hear, let him be listening and let him perceive and comprehend.

24 And He said to them, Be careful what you are hearing. The measure [h][of thought and study] you give [to [i]the truth you hear] will be the measure [j][of virtue and knowledge] that comes back to you—and more [besides] will be given to you who hear.

25 For to him who has will more be given; and from him who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away [[k]by force],

26 And He said, The kingdom of God is like a man who scatters seed upon the ground,

27 And then continues sleeping and rising night and day while the seed sprouts and grows and [l]increases—he knows not how.

28 The earth produces [acting] by itself—first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.

29 But when the grain is ripe and permits, immediately he [m]sends forth [the reapers] and puts in the sickle, because the harvest stands ready.

30 And He said, With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use to illustrate and explain it?

31 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all seeds upon the earth;

32 Yet after it is sown, it grows up and becomes the greatest of all garden herbs and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air are able to make nests and dwell in its shade.

33 With many such parables [Jesus] spoke the Word to them, as they were able to hear and [n]to comprehend and understand.

34 He did not tell them anything without a parable; but privately to His disciples ([o]those who were peculiarly His own) He explained everything [fully].

35 On that same day [when] evening had come, He said to them, Let us go over to the other side [of the lake].

36 And leaving the throng, they took Him with them, [just] as He was, in the boat [in which He was sitting]. And other boats were with Him.

37 And a furious storm of wind [[p]of hurricane proportions] arose, and the waves kept beating into the boat, so that it was already becoming filled.

38 But He [Himself] was in the stern [of the boat], asleep on the [leather] cushion; and they awoke Him and said to Him, Master, do You not care that we are perishing?

39 And He arose and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, Hush now! Be still (muzzled)! And the wind ceased ([q]sank to rest as if exhausted by its beating) and there was [immediately] a great calm ([r]a perfect peacefulness).

40 He said to them, Why are you so timid and fearful? How is it that you have no faith (no [s]firmly relying trust)?

41 And they were filled with great awe and [t]feared exceedingly and said one to another, Who then is this, that even wind and sea obey Him?

Footnotes

  1. Mark 4:9 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
  2. Mark 4:11 Kenneth Wuest, Word Studies.
  3. Mark 4:11 Marvin Vincent, Word Studies.
  4. Mark 4:12 A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures.
  5. Mark 4:12 Kenneth Wuest, Word Studies.
  6. Mark 4:21 James Moulton and George Milligan, The Vocabulary.
  7. Mark 4:22 Henry Swete, The Gospel According to Saint Mark; A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures; Marvin Vincent, Word Studies; and others.
  8. Mark 4:24 W. Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor’s Greek New Testament.
  9. Mark 4:24 James C. Gray and George M. Adams, Bible Commentary; Kenneth Wuest, Word Studies; Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament; and others.
  10. Mark 4:24 W. Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor’s Greek New Testament.
  11. Mark 4:25 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
  12. Mark 4:27 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
  13. Mark 4:29 Marvin Vincent, Word Studies.
  14. Mark 4:33 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
  15. Mark 4:34 Kenneth Wuest, Word Studies.
  16. Mark 4:37 Kenneth Wuest, Word Studies.
  17. Mark 4:39 Marvin Vincent, Word Studies.
  18. Mark 4:39 John Wycliffe, The Wycliffe Bible.
  19. Mark 4:40 Hermann Cremer, Biblico-Theological Lexicon.
  20. Mark 4:41 Marvin Vincent, Word Studies.

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

撒種的比喻

耶穌又在海邊教訓人。有許多人到他那裡聚集,他只得上船坐下。船在海裡,眾人都靠近海,站在岸上。 耶穌就用比喻教訓他們許多道理。在教訓之間,對他們說: 「你們聽啊!有一個撒種的出去撒種。 撒的時候,有落在路旁的,飛鳥來吃盡了。 有落在土淺石頭地上的,土既不深,發苗最快, 日頭出來一曬,因為沒有根,就枯乾了。 有落在荊棘裡的,荊棘長起來,把它擠住了,就不結實。 又有落在好土裡的,就發生長大,結實有三十倍的有六十倍的,有一百倍的。」 又說:「有耳可聽的,就應當聽!」

用比喻的因由

10 無人的時候,跟隨耶穌的人和十二個門徒問他這比喻的意思。 11 耶穌對他們說:「神國的奧祕只叫你們知道,若是對外人講,凡事就用比喻, 12 叫『他們看是看見,卻不曉得,聽是聽見,卻不明白;恐怕他們回轉過來,就得赦免』。」

解明撒種的比喻

13 又對他們說:「你們不明白這比喻嗎?這樣怎能明白一切的比喻呢? 14 撒種之人所撒的就是道。 15 那撒在路旁的,就是人聽了道,撒旦立刻來,把撒在他心裡的道奪了去。 16 那撒在石頭地上的,就是人聽了道,立刻歡喜領受, 17 但他心裡沒有根,不過是暫時的,及至為道遭了患難,或是受了逼迫,立刻就跌倒了。 18 還有那撒在荊棘裡的,就是人聽了道, 19 後來有世上的思慮、錢財的迷惑和別樣的私慾進來,把道擠住了,就不能結實。 20 那撒在好地上的,就是人聽道又領受,並且結實,有三十倍的,有六十倍的,有一百倍的。」

21 耶穌又對他們說:「人拿燈來,豈是要放在斗底下、床底下,不放在燈臺上嗎? 22 因為掩藏的事沒有不顯出來的,隱瞞的事沒有不露出來的。 23 有耳可聽的,就應當聽!」 24 又說:「你們所聽的要留心。你們用什麼量器量給人,也必用什麼量器量給你們,並且要多給你們。 25 因為有的,還要給他;沒有的,連他所有的也要奪去。」

26 又說:「神的國如同人把種撒在地上, 27 黑夜睡覺,白日起來,這種就發芽漸長,那人卻不曉得如何這樣。 28 地生五穀是出於自然的,先發苗,後長穗再後穗上結成飽滿的子粒。 29 穀既熟了,就用鐮刀去割,因為收成的時候到了。」

芥菜種的比喻

30 又說:「神的國,我們可用什麼比較呢?可用什麼比喻表明呢? 31 好像一粒芥菜種,種在地裡的時候,雖比地上的百種都小, 32 但種上以後,就長起來,比各樣的菜都大,又長出大枝來,甚至天上的飛鳥可以宿在它的蔭下。」

33 耶穌用許多這樣的比喻,照他們所能聽的,對他們講道。 34 若不用比喻,就不對他們講;沒有人的時候,就把一切的道講給門徒聽。

平靜風和海

35 當那天晚上,耶穌對門徒說:「我們渡到那邊去吧。」 36 門徒離開眾人,耶穌仍在船上,他們就把他一同帶去;也有別的船和他同行。 37 忽然起了暴風,波浪打入船內,甚至船要滿了水。 38 耶穌在船尾上枕著枕頭睡覺。門徒叫醒了他,說:「夫子!我們喪命,你不顧嗎?」 39 耶穌醒了,斥責風,向海說:「住了吧!靜了吧!」風就止住,大大地平靜了。 40 耶穌對他們說:「為什麼膽怯?你們還沒有信心嗎?」 41 他們就大大地懼怕,彼此說:「這到底是誰?連風和海也聽從他了!」