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Mark 4
Worldwide English (New Testament)
Mark 4
Worldwide English (New Testament)
4 Jesus began to teach people by the sea again. Many people came to him. So he got in a boat on the sea and sat down. The people were by the sea on the land.
2 He told the people stories and taught them many things.
3 He said, `Listen. A man went out to sow some seed.
4 As he sowed it, some of the seed fell on the road. Birds came and ate the seed.
5 Some seed fell on the stony ground. Not much ground covered the stones. The seed started to grow right away because it was not deep in the ground.
6 When the sun began to shine, it was too hot for the new plants. They died because they had no roots.
7 Some seed fell among the weeds. The weeds grew up and made the new plants die. So no seeds grew on them.
8 But some seed fell on good ground. That seed grew and the plants gave more seed. Some plants gave thirty seeds. Some gave sixty. And some gave a hundred.'
9 Jesus said to them, `Everyone who has ears to hear, listen!'
10 Later, Jesus was alone. Then the twelve disciples and the other people who were there asked him about the stories.
11 He said to them, `You can learn the secret things about the kingdom of God. But we must use stories to tell the other people.
12 `They may look and look, but they will not see. They may listen and listen, but they will not understand. If they did understand, they would turn back to God and he would forgive them for the wrong things they have done.'
13 Jesus said also, `Do you not understand this story? How then are you going to understand all the stories?
14 The man who sows the seed tells God's message.
15 Those beside the road are like people who hear the message. But as soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes it out of their hearts
16 The seed that fell on the stony ground is the same. It is like people who hear the message and as soon as they hear it they are very glad.
17 They believe it for a short time. When trouble or a hard time comes because of the message, they stop believing.
18 The seed that fell among the weeds is like people who hear the message.
19 But they think about the things of this world. They want to get money and other things to be happy. These things push the message out of their hearts. No good comes from it.
20 But some seed fell on good ground. That is like people who hear the message and understand it. Much good comes from it. Some people are like the seed that made thirty seeds. Some people are like the seed that gave sixty. Some people are like the seed that gave a hundred.'
21 Then Jesus said to them, `People do not bring a light and put it under a basket or under a bed. But they put it on the place for a lamp.
22 Everything that is hidden will be seen. Everything that is secret will be known and come out to be seen.
23 Everyone who has ears to hear, listen!'
24 And Jesus said, `Take care how you listen. How much you give to others is how much will be given to you. You who obey God will get more than you give.
25 Anyone who has some will get more. But he who does not have anything, even the little that he has will be taken away from him.'
26 And Jesus said, `The kingdom of God is like this. A man sows some seed in the ground.
27 Then he goes on just as he did before. He sleeps at night and wakes up in the morning. The seed begins to grow but he doesn't know what makes it grow.
28 The ground itself makes the seed grow. First the plant comes up. Then it begins to have seed of its own. After a while the harvest is ready.
29 When the harvest is really ready, he cuts it right away because the harvest time has come.'
30 And Jesus said, `What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I say it is like?
31 It is like this. A mustard seed is the smallest seed that is ever planted in the earth.
32 But the plant that grows from that seed is bigger than any other plant. It puts out very big branches. The birds come and live in its branches.'
33 Jesus told the people many stories like this. He told them as much of God's words as they were able to understand.
34 He did not tell them anything without a story. When he was alone with his disciples, he told them the meaning of the stories.
35 In the evening of that day, Jesus said to his disciples, `Let us cross over to the other side of the sea.'
36 The disciples left the people and took Jesus away in the boat he was in. Other little boats were with him.
37 A very strong wind began to blow. Water came in the boat. It began to fill up with water.
38 Jesus was in the back end of the boat, sleeping with his head on a pillow. The disciples woke him up. `Master,' they shouted. `We will die! Do you not care?'
39 Then Jesus got up. He said to the wind and the sea, `Stop!' The wind stopped. Then all was quiet.
40 Then he said to the disciples, `Why do you fear? Do you not believe in God?'
41 The disciples were surprised. They said to each other, `What kind of man is this? Even the wind and the sea obey him.'
Mark 4
New International Version
Mark 4
New International Version
The Parable of the Sower(A)(B)
4 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. 2 He taught them many things by parables,(D) and in his teaching said: 3 “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed.(E) 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8 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)
9 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
- Mark 4:12 Isaiah 6:9,10
Mark 4
Complete Jewish Bible
Mark 4
Complete Jewish Bible
4 Again Yeshua began to teach by the lake, but the crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat on the lake and sat there, while the crowd remained on shore at the water’s edge. 2 He taught them many things in parables. In the course of his teaching, he said to them: 3 “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he sowed, some seed fell alongside the path; and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Other seed fell on rocky patches where there was not much soil. It sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow; 6 but when the sun rose, the young plants were scorched; and since their roots were not deep, they dried up. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked it; so that it yielded no grain. 8 But other seed fell into rich soil and produced grain; it sprouted, and grew, and yielded a crop — thirty, sixty, even a hundred times what was sown.” 9 And he concluded, “Whoever has ears to hear with, let him hear!”
10 When Yeshua was alone, the people around him with the Twelve asked him about the parables. 11 He answered them, “To you the secret of the Kingdom of God has been given; but to those outside, everything is in parables, 12 so that
they may be always looking but never seeing;
always listening but never understanding.
Otherwise, they might turn and be forgiven!”[a]
13 Then Yeshua said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How will you be able to understand any parable? 14 The sower sows the message. 15 Those alongside the path where the message is sown are people who no sooner hear it than the Adversary comes and takes away the message sown in them. 16 Likewise, those receiving seed on rocky patches are people who hear the message and joyfully accept it at once; 17 but they have no root in themselves. So they hold out for a while, but as soon as some trouble or persecution arises on account of the message, they immediately fall away. 18 Others are those sown among thorns — they hear the message; 19 but the worries of the world, the deceitful glamor of wealth and all the other kinds of desires push in and choke the message; so that it produces nothing. 20 But those sown on rich soil hear the message, accept it and bear fruit — thirty, sixty or a hundredfold.”
21 He said to them, “A lamp isn’t brought in to be put under a bowl or under the bed, is it? Wouldn’t you put it on a lampstand? 22 Indeed, nothing is hidden, except to be disclosed; and nothing is covered up, except to come out into the open. 23 Those who have ears to hear with, let them hear!”
24 He also said to them, “Pay attention to what you are hearing! The measure with which you measure out will be used to measure to you — and more besides! 25 For anyone who has something will be given more; but from anyone who has nothing, even what he does have will be taken away.”
26 And he said, “The Kingdom of God is like a man who scatters seed on the ground. 27 Nights he sleeps, days he’s awake; and meanwhile the seeds sprout and grow — how, he doesn’t know. 28 By itself the soil produces a crop — first the stalk, then the head, and finally the full grain in the head. 29 But as soon as the crop is ready, the man comes with his sickle, because it’s harvest-time.”
30 Yeshua also said, “With what can we compare the Kingdom of God? What illustration should we use to describe it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which, when planted, is the smallest of all the seeds in the field; 32 but after it has been planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all the plants, with such big branches that the birds flying about can build nests in its shade.”
33 With many parables like these he spoke the message to them, to the extent that they were capable of hearing it. 34 He did not say a thing to them without using a parable; when he was alone with his own talmidim he explained everything to them.
35 That day, when evening had come, Yeshua said to them, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” 36 So, leaving the crowd behind, they took him just as he was, in the boat; and there were other boats with him. 37 A furious windstorm arose, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was close to being swamped. 38 But he was in the stern on a cushion, asleep. They woke him and said to him, “Rabbi, doesn’t it matter to you that we’re about to be killed?” 39 He awoke, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” The wind subsided, and there was a dead calm. 40 He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you no trust even now?” 41 But they were terrified and asked each other, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the waves obey him?”
Footnotes
- Mark 4:12 Isaiah 6:9–10
Worldwide English (New Testament) (WE)
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New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.