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21 And he said unto them, Is the lamp brought to be put under the bushel, or under the bed, and not to be put on the stand? 22 For there is nothing hid, save that it should be manifested; neither was anything made secret, but that it should come to light. 23 If any man hath 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 unto you; and more shall be given unto you. 25 For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken away even that which he hath.

26 And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed upon the earth; 27 and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should spring up and grow, he knoweth not how. 28 The earth [a]beareth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 29 But when the fruit [b]is ripe, straightway he [c]putteth forth the sickle, because the harvest is come.

30 And he said, How shall we liken the kingdom of God? or in what parable shall we set it forth? 31 [d]It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown upon the earth, though it be less than all the seeds that are upon the earth, 32 yet when it is sown, groweth up, and becometh greater than all the herbs, and putteth out great branches; so that the birds of the heaven can lodge under the shadow thereof.

33 And with many such parables spake he the word unto them, as they were able to hear it; 34 and without a parable spake he not unto them: but privately to his own disciples he expounded all things.

35 And on that day, when even was come, he saith unto them, Let us go over unto the other side. 36 And leaving the multitude, they take him with them, even as he was, in the boat. And other boats were with him. 37 And there ariseth a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the boat, insomuch that the boat was now filling. 38 And he himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion: and they awake him, and say unto him, Teacher, carest thou not that we perish? 39 And he awoke, 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 fearful? have ye not yet faith? 41 And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?

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Footnotes

  1. Mark 4:28 Or, yieldeth
  2. Mark 4:29 Or, alloweth
  3. Mark 4:29 Or, sendeth forth
  4. Mark 4:31 Greek As unto.

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?(A) 22 For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open.(B) 23 If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.”(C)

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

The Parable of the Growing Seed

26 He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like.(F) 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.”(G)

The Parable of the Mustard Seed(H)

30 Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like,(I) 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.(J) 34 He did not say anything to them without using a parable.(K) But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.

Jesus Calms the Storm(L)

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.(M) 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?”(N)

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

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