Mark 4
American Standard Version
4 And again he began to teach by the sea side. And there is gathered unto him a very great multitude, so that he entered into a boat, and sat in the sea; and all the multitude were by the sea on the land. 2 And he taught them many things in parables, and said unto them in his teaching, 3 Hearken: Behold, the sower went forth to sow: 4 and it came to pass, as he sowed, some seed fell by the way side, and the birds came and devoured it. 5 And other fell on the rocky ground, where it had not much earth; and straightway it sprang up, because it had no deepness of earth: 6 and when the sun was risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. 7 And other fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. 8 And others fell into the good ground, and yielded fruit, growing up and increasing; and brought forth, thirtyfold, and sixtyfold, and a hundredfold. 9 And he said, Who 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 parables. 11 And he said unto them, Unto you is given the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all things are done in parables: 12 that seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest haply they should turn again, and it should be forgiven them. 13 And he saith unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how shall ye know all the parables? 14 The sower soweth the word. 15 And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; and when they have heard, straightway cometh Satan, and taketh away the word which hath been sown in them. 16 And these in like manner are they that are sown upon the rocky places, who, when they have heard the word, straightway receive it with joy; 17 and they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, straightway they stumble. 18 And others are they that are sown among the thorns; these are they that have heard the word, 19 and the cares of the [a]world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. 20 And those are they that were sown upon the good ground; such as hear the word, and accept it, and bear fruit, thirtyfold, and sixtyfold, and a hundredfold.
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 [b]beareth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 29 But when the fruit [c]is ripe, straightway he [d]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 [e]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?
Mark 4
Disciples’ Literal New Testament
Jesus Teaches The Multitudes In Parables
4 And again He began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd is gathered-together with Him so that He, having gotten into a boat, sits-down in the sea [to teach]. And all the multitude were near[a] the sea on the land. 2 And He was teaching them many things in parables.
The Sower’s Seed Falls On Different Kinds of Soil. Only The Good Soil Produces Fruit
And He was saying to them in His teaching, 3 “Listen! Behold— the one sowing went out to sow. 4 And it came about during the sowing that some seed fell along the road. And the birds came and ate it up. 5 And other[b] seed fell on the rocky[c] place where it was not having much soil. And immediately it sprang-up because of not having a depth of soil. 6 And when the sun rose, it was scorched. And because of not having a root, it was dried-up. 7 And other seed fell into the thorns. And the thorns came-up and choked it, and it did not give fruit. 8 And others[d] fell into the good soil, and were giving fruit while coming up and growing. And they were bearing thirty fold[e] and sixty fold and a hundred fold”. 9 And He was saying, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear”.
Jesus Tells The Disciples The Purpose of Parables
10 And when He came-to-be alone, the ones around Him with the twelve were questioning Him as to the parables. 11 And He was saying to them, “The mystery[f] of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But all things come in parables to those outside 12 in order that[g] while seeing, they may be seeing and not perceive, and while hearing, they may be hearing and not understanding, that they may not ever turn-back and it be forgiven them”.
Jesus Explains The Parable of The Sower
13 And He says to them, “Do you not know this parable? And how will you understand all the parables? 14 The one sowing sows the word[h]. 15 Now these people are the ones along the road, where the word is sown. And when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word having been sown into them. 16 And these people are the ones being sown the seed on the rocky places— who, when they hear the word, immediately are receiving it with joy. 17 And they do not have a root in themselves, but are temporary[i]. Then affliction or persecution having come about because of the word, immediately they are caused-to-fall. 18 And other people are the ones being sown the seed into the thorns. These are the ones having heard the word— 19 and coming-in, the anxieties[j] of the age[k] and the deceitfulness[l] of riches and the desires with respect to the other things are choking the word, and it becomes unfruitful[m]. 20 And those people are the ones having been sown[n] the seed on the good soil, who are hearing[o] the word and accepting it and bearing-fruit— thirty fold and sixty fold and a hundred fold”.
The Lamp Comes To Shine, Not To Be Hidden
21 And He was saying to them, “The lamp does not come in order that it may be put under the basket or under the bed, does it? Is it not in order that it may be put on the lampstand? 22 For it is not hidden, except in order that it may be made-visible[p]. Nor did it become hidden-away, but in order that it may come into visibility. 23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear”.
With The Measure You Use It Will Be Measured To You
24 And He was saying to them, “Be watching what you listen-to[q]. With what measure you measure[r], it will be measured to you— and it will be added to you. 25 For he who has— it will be given to him. And he who does not have— even what he has will be taken-away from him”.
The Kingdom of God Is Like Seed That Grows From Within Itself To Maturity
26 And He was saying, “The kingdom of God is like this: as-if a person would throw the seed upon the soil, 27 and would be sleeping and arising night and day, and the seed would be budding and growing-long— how, he does not[s] know. 28 The soil bears-fruit by-itself [t]— first grass, then a head, then a full grain in the head. 29 And whenever the fruit permits[u], immediately he[v] sends-forth the sickle because the harvest has come[w]”.
The Kingdom of God Is Like a Mustard Seed. It Starts Small And Grows Large
30 And He was saying, “How should we liken the kingdom of God, or with what parable may we present it?— 31 as a seed of a mustard-plant, which when it is sown upon the soil is being smaller than all[x] the seeds upon the soil. 32 And when it is sown, it goes-up and becomes larger than all the garden-plants. And it makes large branches so that the birds of the heaven are able to be nesting under the shade of it”.
Jesus Spoke To The Crowd In Parables And Explained Everything To His Disciples
33 And with many such parables He was speaking the word to them, as they were able to hear it. 34 And He was not speaking to them apart from a parable. But He was explaining[y] everything privately to His own disciples.
Jesus Calms The Wind And Sea. The Disciples Say, Who Is This Man?
35 And on that day, having become evening, He says to them, “Let us go to the other side”. 36 And having left the crowd, they take Him along as He was[z], in the boat. And other boats were with Him. 37 And a great storm of wind takes place. And the waves were throwing-over into the boat so that the boat was already being filled. 38 And He was in the stern on the cushion, sleeping. And they wake Him and say to Him, “Teacher, do You not care[aa] that we are perishing?” 39 And having awakened, He rebuked the wind, and said to the sea “Be still, be silenced[ab]”. And the wind stopped. And there was a great calm. 40 And He said to them, “Why are you afraid[ac]? Do you not yet have faith?” 41 And they feared a great fear[ad]. And they were saying to one another, “Who then is this One, that[ae] even[af] the wind and the sea obey Him?”
Footnotes
- Mark 4:1 Or, [facing] toward; at, before.
- Mark 4:5 That is, another portion of seed, viewed as a group.
- Mark 4:5 That is, bedrock, or a rocky outcropping.
- Mark 4:8 That is, other seeds viewed as individuals.
- Mark 4:8 Or, one, thirty; and one, sixty; and one, a hundred. Likewise in v 20.
- Mark 4:11 That is, the hidden truth about the kingdom of God now being revealed by Jesus.
- Mark 4:12 Jesus here gives the purpose of His speaking in parables. It was in order that the people might remain spiritually blind. In Mt 13:13 it is because the people willfully choose to be blind.
- Mark 4:14 Or, message.
- Mark 4:17 Or, transitory.
- Mark 4:19 Or, worries, cares, concerns.
- Mark 4:19 Or, world.
- Mark 4:19 Or, deception.
- Mark 4:19 Fruitbearing is the evidence of life.
- Mark 4:20 That is, who have been sown the seed. Note the change in tense. The second two soils are ‘being sown’; they are in the process of being sown in hopes that a fruitful crop can be grown. This soil has been sown and is bearing fruit.
- Mark 4:20 That is, listening to, in the sense of ‘obeying’. Note the change of tense that stresses continuous action here (are hearing), in contrast to the first three soils.
- Mark 4:22 Or, revealed. One would only hide a lamp for the purpose of shining it at the proper time. The lamp may be Jesus, who came to light the world, but is hidden from Israel until the proper time; or, the truth Jesus brings, which is now hidden in parables in order that it may come into visibility at the proper time. Or, the lamp may refer to the word of God which believers hide in their hearts in order that it may shine at the opportune time.
- Mark 4:24 Or, hear. That is, in the sense of ‘obey’.
- Mark 4:24 The measure you use reflects your spiritual capacity, and your ability to receive. If you listen to the traditions of the Pharisees, it will limit your ability to receive spiritual truth.
- Mark 4:27 The seed has life in it, and grows without the assistance or understanding of the sower. The sower sows. God causes the growth in ways the sower does not understand. Then the person harvests the fruit.
- Mark 4:28 Or, on-its-own.
- Mark 4:29 Lit, hands-itself-over. That is, when it has ripened itself.
- Mark 4:29 That is, the person who sowed the seed.
- Mark 4:29 Or, is here.
- Mark 4:31 That is, all the seed people in that day sowed in their gardens. The point is that it has a small and insignificant beginning, but grows larger than all.
- Mark 4:34 Or, interpreting.
- Mark 4:36 This may be describing the condition of Jesus— straight from His speaking without any rest, explaining why He slept; or, His location— still in the boat (v 1).
- Mark 4:38 Lit, is it not a concern to You?
- Mark 4:39 The tense is unusual for a command. It implies, be silenced and stay silent.
- Mark 4:40 Or, cowardly, fearful.
- Mark 4:41 That is, they were extremely afraid.
- Mark 4:41 Or, because.
- Mark 4:41 Or, both.
Public Domain (Why are modern Bible translations copyrighted?)
Disciples' Literal New Testament: Serving Modern Disciples by More Fully Reflecting the Writing Style of the Ancient Disciples, Copyright © 2011 Michael J. Magill. All Rights Reserved. Published by Reyma Publishing
