Markos 4
Orthodox Jewish Bible
4 And again Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach began to say shiurim (Torah talks) beside the lake. And a huge multitude gathered together to him so that he got into a sirah (boat) on the lake and sat down. The whole multitude was by the lake on the shore.
2 And Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach was giving them torah with many meshalim (parables) and in the shiurim he said, he was saying to them:
3 Listen. Hinei! The Sower went out to sow (seeds).
4 And it came about that when he went to sow, that some [seeds] fell beside the road. And the birds came and devoured it.
5 And other [seeds] fell upon the rocky places where it did not have much soil, and ofen ort (immediately) it sprang up because it did not have depth of soil.
6 And when the shemesh rose, it was scorched and, because it did not have a shoresh (root), it withered.
7 And other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them, and it did not yield pri.
8 And other seed fell into the adamah tovah (good ground) and it was giving pri (fruit), rising up and growing, thirty, sixty, and one hundredfold.
9 And Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach was saying, He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
10 And when he was alone, the Shneym Asar were asking him for a hezber (explanation) of the meshalim (parables).
11 And he was saying to them, To you the raz (secret) of the Malchut Hashem has been given. But to the outsiders, everything remains in meshalim,
12 In order that YIRU they may see and not have daas VSHIMU they may hear and not have binah, lest they should turn and they should receive refuah and selicha. (YESHAYAH 6:9-10, TARGUM HASHIVIM)
13 And Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach says to them, Do you not have daas of the meaning of this mashal? Then how will you have binah of all the meshalim?
14 The one sowing sows the dvar Hashem.
15 And these are the ones beside the road where the dvar Hashem is sown. And when they hear it, ofen ort Hasatan comes and takes the dvar that has been sown in them.
16 And these are the ones sown upon the rocky places: when they hear the dvar, ofen ort with simcha they receive it.
17 Yet they do not have a shoresh (root) in themselves but are transitory; then when ES TZARAH comes or redifah (persecution) on account of the dvar, ofen ort they fall away, they become shmad. [YIRMEYAH 30:7; Mattityahu 24:21-22]
18 And others are the ones sown among thorns. These are the ones having heard the dvar,
19 and the worries of the Olam Hazeh and the seduction of ashires (riches) and the desires for other things come in and choke the dvar Hashem and it does not bear pri.
20 And these are the ones sown upon adamah tovah: they hear the dvar Hashem and are mekabel (receive) the dvar Hashem and bear pri, thirty, sixty and one hundredfold.
21 And Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach was saying to them, Surely a menorah is not brought out in order that it may be put under a measuring bucket or under the couch? Rather, is it not brought out that it may be placed on the shulchan?
22 For there is not [anything] nistar except that it may be made nikar nor has it become concealed but that it may come into [the] open. [YIRMEYAH 16:17]
23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.
24 And Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach was saying to them, Pay attention! By what measure you measure, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you.
25 For whoever has, it will be given to him, and whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.
26 And he was saying, Thus is the Malchut Hashem: like a man who casts seed upon the soil,
27 And goes to sleep blailah (at night) and arises byom (at day), and the seed sprouts up and grows in such a way that he does not have daas of how it does so.
28 On its own, the soil bears pri: first the blade, then a head of grain, then full wheat in the head.
29 But when the crop is ripe, ofen ort (immediately) he puts forth the MAGGAL, KI VASHAL KATZIR (sickle, for the harvest is ripe. [YOEL 3:13]
30 And Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach was saying, To what should we compare the Malchut Hashem or by what mashal (parable) may we present it?
31 The Malchut Hashem is like a mustard seed, which, when it is sown on the soil, is smaller [than] all the seeds on the earth:
32 But when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater [than] all the plants of the garden and puts forth large branches, so that the OPH HASHOMAYIM can nest under its shade.
33 And with many such meshalim, Rebbe, Melech HaMoshich was speaking to them the dvar Hashem as they were able to hear.
34 But apart from meshalim, Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach was not speaking to them. Only privately, in a yechidus, was Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach explaining everything to his own talmidim.
35 And on that day, when erev had come, Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach says to them, Let us go over to the other side of the lake.
36 And leaving the multitude, they took Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach, just as he was, in the sirah (boat), and other sirot (boats) were with him.
37 And there arose a fierce gale of wind and the waves were beating against the sirah (boat), so that it was already filling up.
38 And Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach was in the stern on the cushion sleeping, and they woke him up, and they say to him, Rebbe, does it not matter to you that we are perishing?
39 And having been awakened, Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach rebuked the wind, and he spoke to the lake, Sha! Be still! And there was a great calm.
40 And Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach said to them, Why do you have morech lev (cowardliness)? Do you still not have emunah?
41 And they were afraid with a terrible pachad (terror), and they were saying to one another, Who then is this that even the wind and the sea obey him?
Mark 4
Good News Translation
The Parable of the Sower(A)
4 (B)Again Jesus began to teach beside Lake Galilee. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it. The boat was out in the water, and the crowd stood on the shore at the water's edge. 2 He used parables to teach them many things, saying to them:
3 “Listen! Once there was a man who went out to sow grain. 4 As he scattered the seed in the field, some of it fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some of it fell on rocky ground, where there was little soil. The seeds soon sprouted, because the soil wasn't deep. 6 Then, when the sun came up, it burned the young plants; and because the roots had not grown deep enough, the plants soon dried up. 7 Some of the seed fell among thorn bushes, which grew up and choked the plants, and they didn't bear grain. 8 But some seeds fell in good soil, and the plants sprouted, grew, and bore grain: some had thirty grains, others sixty, and others one hundred.”
9 And Jesus concluded, “Listen, then, if you have ears!”
The Purpose of the Parables(C)
10 When Jesus was alone, some of those who had heard him came to him with the twelve disciples and asked him to explain the parables. 11 “You have been given the secret of the Kingdom of God,” Jesus answered. “But the others, who are on the outside, hear all things by means of parables, 12 (D)so that,
‘They may look and look,
yet not see;
they may listen and listen,
yet not understand.
For if they did, they would turn to God,
and he would forgive them.’”
Jesus Explains the Parable of the Sower(E)
13 Then Jesus asked them, “Don't you understand this parable? How, then, will you ever understand any parable? 14 The sower sows God's message. 15 Some people are like the seeds that fall along the path; as soon as they hear the message, Satan comes and takes it away. 16 Other people are like the seeds that fall on rocky ground. As soon as they hear the message, they receive it gladly. 17 But it does not sink deep into them, and they don't last long. So when trouble or persecution comes because of the message, they give up at once. 18 Other people are like the seeds sown among the thorn bushes. These are the ones who hear the message, 19 but the worries about this life, the love for riches, and all other kinds of desires crowd in and choke the message, and they don't bear fruit. 20 But other people are like seeds sown in good soil. They hear the message, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirty, some sixty, and some one hundred.”
A Lamp under a Bowl(F)
21 (G)Jesus continued, “Does anyone ever bring in a lamp and put it under a bowl or under the bed? Isn't it put on the lampstand? 22 (H)Whatever is hidden away will be brought out into the open, and whatever is covered up will be uncovered. 23 Listen, then, if you have ears!”
24 (I)He also said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear! The same rules you use to judge others will be used by God to judge you—but with even greater severity. 25 (J)Those who have something will be given more, and those who have nothing will have taken away from them even the little they have.”
The Parable of the Growing Seed
26 Jesus went on to say, “The Kingdom of God is like this. A man scatters seed in his field. 27 He sleeps at night, is up and about during the day, and all the while the seeds are sprouting and growing. Yet he does not know how it happens. 28 The soil itself makes the plants grow and bear fruit; first the tender stalk appears, then the head, and finally the head full of grain. 29 (K)When the grain is ripe, the man starts cutting it with his sickle, because harvest time has come.
The Parable of the Mustard Seed(L)
30 “What shall we say the Kingdom of God is like?” asked Jesus. “What parable shall we use to explain it? 31 It is like this. A man takes a mustard seed, the smallest seed in the world, and plants it in the ground. 32 After a while it grows up and becomes the biggest of all plants. It puts out such large branches that the birds come and make their nests in its shade.”
33 Jesus preached his message to the people, using many other parables like these; he told them as much as they could understand. 34 He would not speak to them without using parables, but when he was alone with his disciples, he would explain everything to them.
Jesus Calms a Storm(M)
35 On the evening of that same day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” 36 So they left the crowd; the disciples got into the boat in which Jesus was already sitting, and they took him with them. Other boats were there too. 37 Suddenly a strong wind blew up, and the waves began to spill over into the boat, so that it was about to fill with water. 38 Jesus was in the back of the boat, sleeping with his head on a pillow. The disciples woke him up and said, “Teacher, don't you care that we are about to die?”
39 Jesus stood up and commanded the wind, “Be quiet!” and he said to the waves, “Be still!” The wind died down, and there was a great calm. 40 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Why are you frightened? Do you still have no faith?”
41 But they were terribly afraid and began to say to one another, “Who is this man? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”
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Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
