Mark 4:1-12
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Parable of the Sower
4 Again he began to teach beside the sea. Such a very large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat on the sea and sat there, while the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land.(A) 2 He began to teach them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them:(B) 3 “Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell on a path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil. 6 And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root it withered away. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. 8 Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.”(C) 9 And he said, “If you have ears to hear, then hear!”(D)
The Purpose of the Parables
10 When he was alone, those who were around him along with the twelve asked him about the parables. 11 And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret[a] of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything comes in parables,(E) 12 in order that
‘they may indeed look but not perceive,
and may indeed hear but not understand;
so that they may not turn again and be forgiven.’ ”(F)
Footnotes
- 4.11 Or mystery
Mark 4:21-25
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
A Lamp under a Bushel Basket
21 He said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under the bushel basket or under the bed and not on the lampstand? 22 For there is nothing hidden, except to be disclosed; nor is anything secret, except to come to light.(A) 23 If you have ears to hear, then hear!”(B) 24 And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear; the measure you give will be the measure you get, and it will be added to you.(C) 25 For to those who have, more will be given, and from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.”(D)
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Mark 4:30-34
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
30 He also said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it?(A) 31 It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, 32 yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”
The Use of Parables
33 With many such parables he spoke the word to them as they were able to hear it;(B) 34 he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.(C)
Read full chapterNew Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.