The Good News According to Mark, Chapter 4
{4:1} Again he began to teach by the seaside. A great multitude was
gathered to him, so that he entered into a boat in the sea, and sat
down. All the multitude were on the land by the sea. {4:2} He taught
them many things in parables, and told them in his teaching, {4:3}
"Listen! Behold, the farmer went out to sow, {4:4} and it happened, as
he sowed, some seed fell by the road, and the birds[1] came and
devoured it. {4:5} Others fell on the rocky ground, where it had
little soil, and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of
soil. {4:6} When the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it
had no root, it withered away. {4:7} Others fell among the thorns, and
the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. {4:8}
Others fell into the good ground, and yielded fruit, growing up and
increasing. Some brought forth thirty times, some sixty times, and
some one hundred times as much."{4:9} He said, "Whoever has ears to
hear, let him hear."
{4:10} When he was alone, those who were around him with the twelve
asked him about the parables. {4:11} He said to them, "To you is given
the mystery of the Kingdom of God, but to those who are outside, all
things are done in parables, {4:12} that 'seeing they may see, and not
perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest perhaps
they should turn again, and their sins should be forgiven them.'"[2]
{4:13} He said to them, "Don't you understand this parable? How will
you understand all of the parables? {4:14} The farmer sows the word.
{4:15} The ones by the road are the ones where the word is sown; and
when they have heard, immediately Satan comes, and takes away the word
which has been sown in them. {4:16} These in the same way are those
who are sown on the rocky places, who, when they have heard the word,
immediately receive it with joy. {4:17} They have no root in
themselves, but are short-lived. When oppression or persecution arises
because of the word, immediately they stumble. {4:18} Others are those
who are sown among the thorns. These are those who have heard the
word, {4:19} and the cares of this age, and the deceitfulness of
riches, and the lusts of other things entering in choke the word, and
it becomes unfruitful. {4:20} Those which were sown on the good ground
are those who hear the word, and accept it, and bear fruit, some
thirty times, some sixty times, and some one hundred times."
{4:21} He said to them, "Is the lamp brought to be put under a
[3>]basket[<3] or under a bed? Isn't it put on a stand? {4:22} For
there is nothing hidden, except that it should be made known; neither
was anything made secret, but that it should come to light. {4:23} If
any man has ears to hear, let him hear."
{4:24} He said to them, "Take heed what you hear. With whatever
measure you measure, it will be measured to you, and more will be
given to you who hear. {4:25} For whoever has, to him will more be
given, and he who doesn't have, even that which he has will be taken
away from him."
{4:26} He said, "The Kingdom of God is as if a man should cast seed
on the earth, {4:27} and should sleep and rise night and day, and the
seed should spring up and grow, he doesn't know how. {4:28} For the
earth bears fruit: first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain
in the ear. {4:29} But when the fruit is ripe, immediately he puts
forth the sickle, because the harvest has come."
{4:30} He said, "How will we liken the Kingdom of God? Or with what
parable will we illustrate it? {4:31} It's like a grain of mustard
seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, though it is less than all
the seeds that are on the earth, {4:32} yet when it is sown, grows up,
and becomes greater than all the herbs, and puts out great branches,
so that the birds of the sky can lodge under its shadow."
{4:33} With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they
were able to hear it. {4:34} Without a parable he didn't speak to
them; but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.
{4:35} On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, "Let's
go over to the other side." {4:36} Leaving the multitude, they took
him with them, even as he was, in the boat. Other small boats were
also with him. {4:37} A big wind storm arose, and the waves beat into
the boat, so much that the boat was already filled. {4:38} He himself
was in the stern, asleep on the cushion, and they woke him up, and
told him, "Rabbi, don't you care that we are dying?"
{4:39} He awoke, and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace!
Be still!" The wind ceased, and there was a great calm. {4:40} He said
to them, "Why are you so afraid? How is it that you have no faith?"
{4:41} They were greatly afraid, and said to one another, "Who then
is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?"
________________________________________________________________________
Footnotes:
[1] {4:4} TR adds "of the air"
[2] {4:12} Isaiah 6:9-10
[3] {4:21} literally, a modion, a dry measuring basket containing about
a peck (about 9 litres)
________________________________________________________________________
The World English Bible: Messianic Edition is in the Public Domain.
This translation is also known as the Hebrew Names Version. "World
English Bible," "World English Bible: Messianic Edition," and "World
English Bible" are trademarks of Rainbow Missions, Inc., and may only
be used as names for the Bible translations so named and distributed by
Rainbow Missions, Inc., and faithful copies thereof. Typo reports are
welcome at http://eBible.org/cgi-bin/comment.cgi. Please see
http://HNVBible.org for updates.
_______________________________________________
You are subscribed to the
[email protected]
mailing list as
[email protected].
You may unsubscribe at
http://lists.ebible.org/mailman/listinfo/hnv
or send an email to
[email protected]
with "unsubscribe" in the subject.
