Mark 4
New King James Version
The Parable of the Sower(A)
4 And (B)again He began to teach by the sea. And a great multitude was gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat in it on the sea; and the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea. 2 Then He taught them many things by parables, (C)and said to them in His teaching:
3 “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds [a]of the air came and devoured it. 5 Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth. 6 But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away. 7 And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no [b]crop. 8 But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”
9 And He said [c]to them, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
The Purpose of Parables(D)
10 (E)But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable. 11 And He said to them, “To you it has been given to (F)know the [d]mystery of the kingdom of God; but to (G)those who are outside, all things come in parables, 12 so that
(H)‘Seeing they may see and not perceive,
And hearing they may hear and not understand;
Lest they should turn,
And their sins be forgiven them.’ ”
The Parable of the Sower Explained(I)
13 And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? 14 (J)The sower sows the word. 15 And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. 16 These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; 17 and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they stumble. 18 Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, 19 and the (K)cares of this world, (L)the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 20 But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, [e]accept it, and bear (M)fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”
Light Under a Basket(N)
21 (O)Also He said to them, “Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed? Is it not to be set on a lampstand? 22 (P)For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light. 23 (Q)If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”
24 Then He said to them, “Take heed what you hear. (R)With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given. 25 (S)For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”
The Parable of the Growing Seed
26 And He said, (T)“The kingdom of God is as if a man should [f]scatter seed on the ground, 27 and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and (U)grow, he himself does not know how. 28 For the earth (V)yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head. 29 But when the grain ripens, immediately (W)he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
The Parable of the Mustard Seed(X)
30 Then He said, (Y)“To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what parable shall we picture it? 31 It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth; 32 but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade.”
Jesus’ Use of Parables
33 (Z)And with many such parables He spoke the word to them as they were able to hear it. 34 But without a parable He did not speak to them. And when they were alone, (AA)He explained all things to His disciples.
Wind and Wave Obey Jesus(AB)
35 (AC)On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” 36 Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. 38 But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, (AD)“Teacher, (AE)do You not care that we are perishing?”
39 Then He arose and (AF)rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, (AG)“Peace,[g] be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. 40 But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? (AH)How[h] is it that you have no faith?” 41 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”
Mark 4
Christian Standard Bible
The Parable of the Sower
4 Again(A) he began to teach(B) by the sea, and a very large crowd gathered around him. So he got into a boat on the sea and sat down, while the whole crowd was by the sea on the shore. 2 He taught them many things in parables,(C) and in his teaching(D) he said to them, 3 “Listen! Consider the sower who went out to sow.(E) 4 As he sowed, some seed fell along the path,(F) and the birds came and devoured(G) it. 5 Other seed fell on rocky ground where it didn’t have much soil, and it grew up quickly,(H) since the soil wasn’t deep. 6 When the sun came up, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away.(I) 7 Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it didn’t produce fruit. 8 Still other seed fell on good ground and it grew up, producing fruit that increased(J) thirty, sixty, and a hundred times.”(K) 9 Then he said, “Let anyone who has ears to hear listen.”(L)
Why Jesus Used Parables
10 When he was alone, those around him with the Twelve(M) asked him about the parables.(N) 11 He answered them, “The secret(O) of the kingdom of God(P) has been given to you, but to those outside,(Q) everything comes in parables 12 so that
they may indeed look,
and yet not perceive;
they may indeed listen,
and yet not understand;(R)
otherwise, they might turn back
and be forgiven.”[a][b] (S)
The Parable of the Sower Explained
13 Then(T) he said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable?(U) How then will you understand all of the parables? 14 The sower sows(V) the word.(W) 15 Some are like the word sown on the path.(X) When they hear, immediately Satan(Y) comes and takes away the word(Z) sown in them.[c] 16 And others are like seed sown on rocky ground. When they hear the word, immediately they receive it with joy.(AA) 17 But they have no root; they are short-lived. When distress(AB) or persecution comes because of the word, they immediately fall away.(AC) 18 Others are like seed sown among thorns; these are the ones who hear the word, 19 but the worries(AD) of this age,(AE) the deceitfulness[d](AF) of wealth,(AG) and the desires(AH) for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.(AI) 20 And those like seed sown on good ground hear the word,(AJ) welcome it, and produce fruit(AK) thirty, sixty, and a hundred times what was sown.”
Using Your Light
21 He(AL) also said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket or under a bed?(AM) Isn’t it to be put on a lampstand?(AN) 22 For there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed,(AO) and nothing concealed that will not be brought to light. 23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen.”(AP) 24 And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear. By the measure(AQ) you use,(AR) it will be measured to you—and more will be added(AS) to you. 25 For whoever has, more will be given to him, and whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”(AT)
The Parable of the Growing Seed
26 “The kingdom of God(AU) is like this,” he said. “A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 He sleeps(AV) and rises(AW) night(AX) and day; the seed sprouts and grows, although he doesn’t know how. 28 The soil produces a crop(AY) by itself—first the blade, then the head, and then the full grain(AZ) on the head. 29 As soon as the crop is ready, he sends for the sickle,(BA) because the harvest(BB) has come.”
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
30 And(BC) he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God,(BD) or what parable(BE) can we use to describe it? 31 It’s like a mustard seed(BF) that, when sown upon the soil, is the smallest of all the seeds on the ground. 32 And when sown,(BG) it comes up and grows taller than all the garden plants,(BH) and produces large branches, so that the birds of the sky(BI) can nest in its shade.”
Using Parables
33 He was speaking the word(BJ) to them with many parables(BK) like these, as they were able to understand.(BL) 34 He did not speak to them without a parable. Privately, however, he explained everything to his own disciples.(BM)
Wind and Waves Obey Jesus
35 On(BN) that day, when evening had come, he told them, “Let’s cross over to the other side of the sea.” 36 So they left the crowd and took him along since he was in the boat. And other boats were with him. 37 A great windstorm(BO) arose, and the waves(BP) were breaking over the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. 38 He was in the stern, sleeping(BQ) on the cushion. So they woke him up(BR) and said to him, “Teacher! Don’t you care that we’re going to die?” (BS)
39 He got up, rebuked(BT) the wind, and said to the sea, “Silence!(BU) Be still!” The wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40 Then he said to them, “Why are you afraid?(BV) Do you still have no faith?”
41 And they were terrified[e](BW) and asked one another, “Who then is this? Even the wind and the sea obey(BX) him!” (BY)
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.