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Mark 4:3-25
New King James Version
Mark 4:3-25
New King James Version
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(A)
10 (B)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 (C)know the [d]mystery of the kingdom of God; but to (D)those who are outside, all things come in parables, 12 so that
(E)‘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(F)
13 And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? 14 (G)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 (H)cares of this world, (I)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 (J)fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”
Light Under a Basket(K)
21 (L)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 (M)For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light. 23 (N)If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”
24 Then He said to them, “Take heed what you hear. (O)With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given. 25 (P)For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”
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Mark 4:3-25
New International Version
Mark 4:3-25
New International Version
3 “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed.(A) 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.”(B)
9 Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”(C)
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(D) has been given to you. But to those on the outside(E) 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]”(F)
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.(G) 15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan(H) 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(I) 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?(J) 22 For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open.(K) 23 If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.”(L)
24 “Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more.(M) 25 Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.”(N)
Footnotes
- Mark 4:12 Isaiah 6:9,10
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.