Mark 4
1 And again he was teaching by the seaside. And a very great number of people had come to him, so that he got into a boat on the sea and took his seat; and all the people were on the land by the seaside.
Once more He began to teach by the side of the Lake, and a vast multitude of people came together to listen to Him. He therefore went on board the boat and sat there, a little way from the land; and all the people were on the shore close to the water.
2 And he gave them teaching about a number of things in the form of stories, and said to them in his teaching, Give ear:
Then He proceeded to teach them many lessons in figurative language; and in His teaching He said,
3 A man went out to put seed in the earth:
"Listen: the sower goes out to sow.
4 And while he was doing it, some was dropped by the wayside, and the birds came and took it for food.
As he sows, some of the seed falls by the way-side, and the birds come and peck it up.
5 And some went on the stones, where it had not much earth; and it came up straight away, because the earth was not deep:
Some falls on the rocky ground where it finds but little earth, and it shoots up quickly because it has no depth of soil;
6 And when the sun was high, it was burned; and because it had no root, it became dry and dead.
but when the sun is risen, it is scorched, and through having no root it withers away.
7 And some went among the thorns, and the thorns came up, and it had no room for growth and gave no fruit.
Some, again, falls among the thorns; and the thorns spring up and stifle it, so that it yields no crop.
8 And some, falling on good earth, gave fruit, coming up and increasing, and giving thirty, sixty, and a hundred times as much.
But some of the seed falls into good ground, and gives a return: it comes up and increases, and yields thirty, sixty, or a hundred-fold."
9 And he said to them, Whoever has ears, let him give ear.
"Listen," He added, "every one who has ears to listen with!"
10 And when he was by himself, those who were round him with the twelve put questions to him about the purpose of the stories.
When He was alone, the Twelve and the others who were about Him requested Him to explain His figurative language.
11 And he said to them, To you is given the secret of the kingdom of God, but to those who are outside, all things are given in the form of stories;
"To you," He replied, "has been entrusted the secret truth concerning the Kingdom of God; but to those others outside your number all this is spoken in figurative language;
12 So that seeing they may see, and it will not be clear to them; and hearing it, they will not get the sense; for fear that they may be turned again to me and have forgiveness.
that "'They may look and look but not see, and listen and listen but not understand, lest perchance they should return and be pardoned.'"
13 And he said to them, If you are not clear about this story, how will you be clear about the others?
"Do you all miss the meaning of this parable?" He added; "how then will you understand the rest of my parables?"
14 The seed is the word.
"What the sower sows is the Message.
15 And these are they by the wayside, where the word is planted; and when they have given ear, the Evil One comes straight away and takes away the word which has been planted in them.
Those who receive the seed by the way-side are those in whom the Message is sown, but, when they have heard it, Satan comes at once and carries away the Message sown in them.
16 And in the same way, these are they who are planted on the stones, who, when the word has come to their ears, straight away take it with joy;
In the same way those who receive the seed on the rocky places are those who, when they have heard the Message, at once accept it joyfully,
17 And they have no root in themselves, but go on for a time; then, when trouble comes or pain, because of the word, they quickly become full of doubts.
but they have no root within them. They last for a time; then, when suffering or persecution comes because of the Message, they are immediately overthrown.
18 And others are those planted among the thorns; these are they who have given ear to the word,
Others there are who receive the seed among the thorns: these are they who have heard the Message,
19 And the cares of this life, and the deceits of wealth, and the desire for other things coming in, put a stop to the growth of the word, and it gives no fruit. (aiōn g165)
but worldly cares and the deceitfulness of wealth and the excessive pursuit of other objects come in and stifle the Message, and it becomes unfruitful. (aiōn g165)
20 And these are they who were planted on the good earth; such as give ear to the word, and take it into their hearts, and give fruit, thirty and sixty and a hundred times as much.
Those, on the other hand, who have received the seed on the good ground, are all who hear the Message and welcome it, and yield a return of thirty, sixty, or a hundred fold."
21 And he said to them, When the light comes in, do people put it under a vessel, or under the bed, and not on its table?
He went on to say, "Is the lamp brought in in order to be put under the bushel or under the bed? Is it not rather in order that it may be placed on the lampstand?
22 There is nothing covered which will not be seen openly, and nothing has been made secret which will not come to light.
Why, there is nothing hidden except with a view to its being ultimately disclosed, nor has anything been made a secret but that it may at last come to light.
23 If any man has ears, let him give ear.
Listen, every one who has ears to listen with!"
24 And he said to them, Take care what you give ear to: in the same measure as you give you will get, and more will be given to you.
He also said to them, "Take care what you hear. With what measure you measure, it will be measured to you, and that with interest.
25 He who has, to him will be given: and he who has not, from him will be taken even that which he has.
For those who have will have more given them; and from those who have not, even what they have will be taken away."
26 And he said, Such is the kingdom of God, as if a man put seed in the earth,
Another saying of His was this: "The Kingdom of God is as if a man scattered seed over the ground:
27 And went to sleep and got up, night and day, and the seed came to growth, though he had no idea how.
he spends days and nights, now awake, now asleep, while the seed sprouts and grows tall, he knows not how.
28 The earth gives fruit by herself; first the leaf, then the head, then the full grain.
Of itself the land produces the crop-- first the blade, then the ear; afterwards the perfect grain is seen in the ear.
29 But when the grain is ready, he quickly sends men to get it cut, because the time for cutting has come.
But no sooner is the crop ripe, than he sends the reapers, because the time of harvest has come."
30 And he said, What picture may we give of the kingdom of God, or with what story may we make it clear?
Another saying of His was this: "How are we to picture the Kingdom of God? or by what figure of speech shall we represent it?
31 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is put in the earth, is smaller than all the seeds on the earth,
It is like a mustard-seed, which, when sown in the earth, is the smallest of all the seeds in the world;
32 But when it is planted, it comes up, and becomes taller than all the plants, and puts out great branches, so that the birds of heaven are able to take rest in its shade.
yet when sown it springs up and becomes larger than all the herbs, and throws out great branches, so that the birds build under its shadow."
33 And with a number of such stories he gave them his teaching, as they were able to take it:
With many such parables He used to speak the Message to them according to their capacity for receiving it.
34 And without a story he said nothing to them: but privately to his disciples he made all things clear.
But except in figurative language He spoke nothing to them; while to His own disciples He expounded everything, in private.
35 And on that day, when the evening had come, he said to them, Let us go over to the other side.
The same day, in the evening, He said to them, "Let us cross to the other side."
36 And going away from the people, they took him with them, as he was, in the boat. And other boats were with him.
So they got away from the crowd, and took Him--as He was--in the boat; and other boats accompanied Him.
37 And a great storm of wind came up, and the waves came into the boat, so that the boat was now becoming full.
But a heavy squall came on, and the waves were now dashing into the boat, so that it was fast filling.
38 And he himself was in the back of the boat, sleeping on the cushion: and they, awaking him, said, Master, is it nothing to you that we are in danger of destruction?
But He Himself was in the stern asleep, with His head on the cushion: so they woke Him. "Rabbi," they cried, "is it nothing to you that we are drowning?"
39 And he came out of his sleep, and gave strong orders to the wind, and said to the sea, Peace, be at rest. And the wind went down, and there was a great calm.
So He roused Himself and rebuked the wind, and said to the waves, "Silence! Be still!" The wind sank, and a perfect calm set in.
40 And he said to them, Why are you full of fear? have you still no faith?
"Why are you so timid?" He asked; "have you still no faith?"
41 And their fear was great, and they said one to another, Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea do his orders?
Then they were filled with terror, and began to say to one another, "Who is this, then? For even wind and sea obey Him."
