Mark 4
1 And, again, began he to be teaching by the sea; and there come together unto him a very great multitude, so that, he, into a boat, entering, was sitting upon the sea, —and, all the multitude, were, near the sea upon the land.
Jesus again began to teach by the sea; and, as an immense crowd was gathering around him, he got into a boat, and sat in it on the sea, while all the people were on the shore at the water’s edge.
2 And he began to teach them, in parables, many things, and was saying unto them, in his teaching—
Then he taught them many truths in parables; and in the course of his teaching he said to them:
3 Hearken! Lo! the sower went forth to sow;
“Listen! The sower went out to sow;
4 And it came to pass, as he sowed, some, indeed, fell by the pathway, and the birds came, and devoured it;
and presently, as he was sowing, some of the seed fell along the path; and the birds came, and ate it up.
5 And, some, fell on the rocky places, [even] where it had not much earth, —and, straightway, it sprang forth, by reason of its not having depth of earth;
Some fell on rocky ground, where it had not much soil, and, because the soil wasn’t deep, sprang up at once;
6 and, when the sun arose, it was scorched, —and, by reason of its not having root, it was dried up;
but, when the sun rose, it was scorched, and, because their roots were not deep enough, withered away.
7 And, some, fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and, fruit, it yielded not;
Some of the seed fell among brambles; but the brambles shot up and completely choked it, and it yielded no return.
8 And, other, fell into the good ground, and was yielding fruit, coming up and growing, —and was bearing, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold,
Some fell into good soil, and, shooting up and growing, yielded a return, amounting to thirty, sixty, and even a hundred fold.”
9 And he was saying—He that hath ears to hear, let him hear!
And Jesus said, “Let anyone who has ears to hear with hear.”
10 And when he was alone they who were about him with the twelve questioned him as to the parables;
Afterward, when he was alone, his followers and the Twelve asked him about his parables;
11 and he was saying unto them—To you, the sacred secret hath been given of the kingdom of God, whereas, to them who are outside, in parables are all things coming to pass, —that
and he said, “To you the hidden truth of the kingdom of God has been imparted; but to those who are outside it all teaching takes the form of parables so that –
12 They may surely look and yet not see, and surely hear and yet not understand, lest once they should return and it be forgiven them.
‘Though they have eyes, they may see without perceiving; and though they have ears, they may hear without understanding; otherwise some day they might turn and be forgiven.’”
13 And he saith unto them—Know ye not this parable? How then will ye get to know all the parables?
“You do not know the meaning of this parable?” he went on, “Then how will you understand all the other parables?
14 The sower, soweth the word;
The sower sows the message.
15 And these are they beside the pathway where the word is sown, —and, as soon as they hear, straightway, cometh Satan, and snatcheth away the word which hath been sown into them;
The people meant by the seed that falls along the path are these – where the message is sown, but, as soon as they have heard it, Satan immediately comes and carries away the message that has been sown in them.
16 And these are likewise they upon the rocky places sown, —who, as soon as they hear the word, straightway, with joy receive it,
So, too, those meant by the seed sown on the rocky places are the people who, when they have heard the message, at once accept it joyfully;
17 and have no root in themselves, but, only for a season are, —afterwards, when there ariseth tribulation or persecution by reason of the word, straightway, they find cause of stumbling;
but, as they have no root, they stand only for a short time; and so, when trouble or persecution arises because of the message, they fall away at once.
18 And others are they who among thorns are sown, —these are they who hear the word,
Those meant by the seed sown among the brambles are different; they are the people who hear the message,
19 and, the anxieties of the age, and the deceit of wealth, and the covetings about the remaining things, entering in, choke up the word, and, unfruitful, it becometh; (aiōn g165)
but the cares of life, and the glamour of wealth, and cravings for many other things come in and completely choke the message, so that it gives no return. (aiōn g165)
20 And those yonder are they who on the good ground are sown, —who, indeed, hear the word, and accept it, and bear fruit—thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.
But the people meant by the seed sown on the good ground are those who hear the message, and welcome it, and yield a return, thirty, sixty, and even a hundred fold.”
21 And he was saying unto them—Doth the lamp come that under the measure it should be put, or under the couch? Is it not that upon the lampstand it may be put?
Jesus said to them, “Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under the couch, instead of being put on the lamp-stand?
22 For it is not hidden, save that it may be made visible; neither did it get hidden away, but that it might come into a place where it could be seen.
There is nothing hidden that will not come to light and nothing is concealed that will not be brought into the open.
23 If any one hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Let all who have ears to hear with hear.
24 And he was saying unto them—Be taking heed what ye are hearing: —with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured unto you, and added unto you;
“Take care what you listen to,” said Jesus. “The standard you use will be used for you, and more will be added for you.
25 For, he that hath, it shall be given, unto him, and, he that hath not, even what he hath, shall be taken from him.
For, to those who have, more will be given; while, from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.”
26 And he was saying—Thus, is the kingdom of God: As a man may cast seed upon the earth,
Jesus also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like – like a man who has scattered seed on the ground,
27 and be sleeping and rising, night and day, —and the seed be sprouting, and lengthening itself, —how, he, knoweth not:
and then sleeps by night and rises by day, while the seed is shooting up and growing – he knows not how.
28 of itself, the earth beareth fruit, —first, a blade, afterwards, an ear, after that, full corn in the ear;
The ground bears the crop of itself – first the blade, then the ear, and then the full grain in the ear;
29 but, as soon as the fruit yieldeth itself up, straightway, he sendeth forth the sickle, because standing by is the harvest.—
but, as soon as the crop is ready, immediately he puts in the sickle because harvest has come.”
30 And he was saying—How shall we liken the kingdom of God, or, in what parable, shall we put it?
Jesus also said, “To what can we liken the kingdom of God?
31 As a grain of mustard seed, —which, whensoever it may be sown upon the earth, is less than all the seeds that are upon the earth;
By what can we illustrate it? Perhaps by the growth of a mustard seed. This seed, when sown in the ground, though it is smaller than all other seeds,
32 and, as soon as it is sown, springeth up, and becometh greater than all garden plants, and produceth large branches, so that, under the shade thereof, the birds of heaven can find shelter.
yet, when sown, shoots up, and becomes larger than any other herb, and puts out great branches, so that even the wild birds can roost in its shelter.”
33 And, with many such parables as these, was he speaking unto them the word, —according as they were able to hear;
With many such parables Jesus used to speak to the people of his message, as far as they were able to receive it;
34 but, without a parable, was he not speaking unto them, —privately, however, unto his own disciples, was he explaining all things.
and to them he never used to speak except in parables; but in private to his own disciples he explained everything.
35 And he saith unto them, on that day, when evening came, Let us cross over unto the other side;
In the evening of the same day, Jesus said to them, “Let us go across.”
36 and, dismissing the multitude, they take him with them, as he was, in the boat, and, other boats, were with him.
So, leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them, just as he was, in the boat; and there were other boats with him.
37 And there ariseth a great tempest of wind, —and, the waves, were dashing over into the boat, so that, already being filled, was the boat.
A violent squall came on, and the waves kept dashing into the boat, so that the boat was actually filling.
38 And he was in the stern, on the cushion, sleeping. And they arouse him, and say unto him, Teacher! carest thou not that we perish?
Jesus was in the stern asleep on the cushion; and the disciples roused him and cried, “Teacher! Is it nothing to you that we are lost?”
39 And, roused up, he rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea—Hush! be still! and the wind lulled, and it became a great calm.
Jesus rose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Hush! Be still!” Then the wind dropped, and a great calm followed.
40 And he said unto them—Why, are ye, fearful? Not yet, have ye faith?
“Why are you so timid?” he exclaimed. “Have you no faith yet?”
41 And they were caused to fear a great fear, and were saying one to another—Who then is, this, that, both the wind and the sea, give ear unto him?
But they were struck with great awe, and said to one another, “Who can this be that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
