1Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. (Mt 13:1; Mr 3:9; Lu 5:1; Lu 8:4)2And he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: (Mr 4:33)3“Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. (Isa 55:10; Am 9:13)4And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.5Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil.6And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. (Joh 15:6; Jas 1:11)7Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. (Jer 4:3)8And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” (Ge 26:12; Mr 4:20)9And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” (Mt 11:15)
The Purpose of the Parables
10And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. (Mr 4:34)11And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, (Mt 11:25; Mt 19:11; Ro 16:25; 1Co 2:6; 1Co 5:12; Col 1:27; Col 4:5; 1Th 4:12; 1Ti 3:7; 1Jo 2:20; 1Jo 2:27)12so that “‘they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven.’” (De 29:4; Isa 6:9; Isa 42:19; Jer 5:21; Eze 12:2; Lu 22:32; Ro 11:8; 2Co 3:14; 2Co 4:4)13And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? (Mt 13:18; Lu 8:11)14The sower sows the word. (Mt 13:37; Mr 2:2; Mr 4:33; Lu 1:2; Joh 4:36; Ac 8:4; Jas 1:21)15And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them.16And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. (Isa 58:2; Eze 33:31; Mr 6:20; Joh 5:35)17And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.[1] (Ho 6:4; Mt 11:6; Ga 1:6; Ga 5:7)18And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word,19but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. (Mt 6:25; Mt 19:23; Mr 10:23; Ac 5:1; 1Ti 6:9; 1Ti 6:17; 2Ti 4:10; Heb 3:13)20But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” (Ho 14:8; Mr 4:8; Joh 15:5; Joh 15:16; Php 1:11; Col 1:6)
A Lamp Under a Basket
21And he said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand? (Mt 5:15; Lu 8:16; Lu 11:33)22For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light. (Mt 10:26; Lu 12:2; 1Ti 5:25)23If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” (Mr 4:9)24And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. (Mt 7:2; Lu 6:38)25For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” (Mt 13:12)
The Parable of the Seed Growing
26And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. (Mt 13:24)27He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. (Ec 11:5)28The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.29But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.” (Joe 3:13; Re 14:15)
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
30And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? (Mt 13:31; Lu 13:18)31It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, (Mt 17:20; Lu 17:6)32yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”33With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it. (Mt 13:34; Mr 4:14; Joh 16:12; 1Co 3:2; Heb 5:12)34He did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything. (Mr 4:10; Mr 13:3; Joh 16:25; 2Pe 1:20)
Jesus Calms a Storm
35On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” (Mt 8:18; Mt 8:23; Lu 8:22; Joh 6:16)36And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him.37And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. (Ac 27:14)38But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”39And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. (Job 38:11; Ps 65:7; Ps 104:7; Mt 14:32; Mr 6:51; Lu 4:39)40He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” (Joh 14:27)41And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” (Mr 1:27; Lu 5:9)
Mark 4
New International Version
The parable of the sower
1Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered round 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.2He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said:3‘Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed.4As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.5Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow.6But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain.8Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.’9Then Jesus said, ‘Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.’10When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables.11He told them, ‘The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables12so that, ‘ “they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!” ’ (Isa 6:9; Isa 6:10)13Then Jesus said to them, ‘Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable?14The farmer sows the word.15Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.16Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy.17But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.18Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word;19but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.20Others, 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
21He 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?22For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open.23If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.’24‘Consider carefully what you hear,’ he continued. ‘With the measure you use, it will be measured to you – and even more.25Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.’
The parable of the growing seed
26He also said, ‘This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground.27Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how.28All by itself the soil produces corn – first the stalk, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.29As soon as the corn is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.’
The parable of the mustard seed
30Again he said, ‘What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it?31It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth.32Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.’33With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand.34He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.
Jesus calms the storm
35That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, ‘Let us go over to the other side.’36Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him.37A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped.38Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, ‘Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?’39He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.40He said to his disciples, ‘Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?’41They were terrified and asked each other, ‘Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!’
Mark 4
King James Version
1And he began again to teach by the sea side: and there was gathered unto him a great multitude, so that he entered into a ship, and sat in the sea; and the whole multitude was by the sea on the land.2And he taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine,3Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow:4And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up.5And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth:6But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.7And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.8And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred.9And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.10And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable.11And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:12That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.13And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables?14The sower soweth the word.15And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.16And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness;17And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended.18And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word,19And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.20And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.21And he said unto them, Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? and not to be set on a candlestick?22For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad.23If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.24And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given.25For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath.26And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground;27And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how.28For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.29But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.30And he said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it?31It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth:32But when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it.33And with many such parables spake he the word unto them, as they were able to hear it.34But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples.35And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side.36And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships.37And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.38And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?39And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.40And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?41And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?
Mark 4
New International Reader’s Version
The story of the farmer
1Again Jesus began to teach by the Sea of Galilee. The crowd that gathered around him was very large. So he got into a boat. He sat down in it out on the lake. All the people were along the shore at the water’s edge.2He taught them many things using stories. In his teaching he said,3‘Listen! A farmer went out to plant his seed.4He scattered the seed on the ground. Some fell on a path. Birds came and ate it up.5Some seed fell on rocky places, where there wasn’t much soil. The plants came up quickly, because the soil wasn’t deep.6When the sun came up, it burned the plants. They dried up because they had no roots.7Other seed fell among thorns. The thorns grew up and crowded out the plants. So the plants did not bear corn.8Still other seed fell on good soil. It grew up and produced a crop 30, 60, or even 100 times more than the farmer planted.’9Then Jesus said, ‘Whoever has ears should listen.’10Later Jesus was alone. The 12 disciples asked him about the stories. So did the others around him.11He told them, ‘The secret of God’s kingdom has been given to you. But to outsiders everything is told using stories.12In that way, ‘ “They will see but never know what they are seeing. They will hear but never understand. Otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!” ’ (Isa 6:9; Isa 6:10)13Then Jesus said to them, ‘Don’t you understand this story? Then how will you understand any stories of this kind?14The seed the farmer plants is God’s message.15What is seed scattered on a path like? The message is planted. The people hear the message. Then Satan comes. He takes away the message that was planted in them.16And what is seed scattered on rocky places like? The people hear the message. At once they receive it with joy.17But they have no roots. So they last only a short time. They quickly fall away from the faith when trouble or suffering comes because of the message.18And what is seed scattered among thorns like? The people hear the message.19But then the worries of this life come to them. Wealth comes with its false promises. The people also long for other things. All of these are the kinds of things that crowd out the message. They keep it from producing fruit.20And what is seed scattered on good soil like? The people hear the message. They accept it. They produce a good crop 30, 60, or even 100 times more than the farmer planted.’
A lamp on a stand
21Jesus said to them, ‘Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a large bowl or a bed? Don’t you put it on its stand?22What is hidden is meant to be seen. And what is put out of sight is meant to be brought out into the open.23Whoever has ears should listen.’24‘Think carefully about what you hear,’ he said. ‘As you give, so you will receive. In fact, you will receive even more.25Whoever has something will be given more. Whoever has nothing, even what they have will be taken away from them.’
The story of the growing seed
26Jesus also said, ‘Here is what God’s kingdom is like. A farmer scatters seed on the ground.27Night and day the seed comes up and grows. It happens whether the farmer sleeps or gets up. He doesn’t know how it happens.28All by itself the soil produces corn. First the stalk comes up. Then the ear appears. Finally, the full corn appears in the ear.29Before long the corn ripens. So the farmer cuts it down, because the harvest is ready.’
The story of the mustard seed
30Again Jesus said, ‘What can we say God’s kingdom is like? What story can we use to explain it?31It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth.32But when you plant the seed, it grows. It becomes the largest of all garden plants. Its branches are so big that birds can rest in its shade.’33Using many stories like these, Jesus spoke the word to them. He told them as much as they could understand.34He did not say anything to them without using a story. But when he was alone with his disciples, he explained everything.
Jesus calms the storm
35When evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Let’s go over to the other side of the lake.’36They left the crowd behind. And they took him along in a boat, just as he was. There were also other boats with him.37A wild storm came up. Waves crashed over the boat. It was about to sink.38Jesus was in the back, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him up. They said, ‘Teacher! Don’t you care if we drown?’39He got up and ordered the wind to stop. He said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind died down. And it was completely calm.40He said to his disciples, ‘Why are you so afraid? Don’t you have any faith at all yet?’41They were terrified. They asked each other, ‘Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!’