THE
BOOK OF MARK
Mark Chapter 4
1
¶ And he again began to teach by the sea shore: and a
large crowd gathered around him, so he got into a boat, and sat in it on the
lake; and the entire crowd was on the land facing the sea.
2
And he taught them many things by parables, and in his
teaching said,
3
Listen; Behold, a farmer went out to sow:
4
And it so happened, that as he sowed, some seed fell by the road side,
and the birds of the air came and ate it up.
5
And some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much soil; and it sprang
up quickly, because the soil was shallow:
6
But when the sun came up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it dried
up.
7
And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it did
not produce any grain.
8
Still other seed fell on good ground, and it
sprang up producing grain and increased; bringing forth, thirty, sixty, and a
hundred times what was sown.
9
And he said to them, He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
10
And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the
parables.
11
And he said to them, The mystery of the
12
That 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.
13
Then he said to them, Don’t you understand this
parable? how then will you understand any parable?
14
The farmer sows the word.
15
Now the word sown by the road side; are those who when they hear, Satan comes
and immediately takes the word that was sown in their hearts away.
16
And likewise the word that is sown on stony ground; are those who, when they
hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness;
17
But since they have no root, only last for a short time: then, when
affliction or persecution arises on account of the word, they quickly fall
away.
18
And the word that is sown among thorns; are those who hear the word,
19
And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desire
for other things comes in, and chokes the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
20
And the word that is sown on good ground; are those who go on hearing the word,
and receiving it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold,
some sixty, and some an hundred.
21
¶ And he said to them, Is a lamp brought in to be
placed under a basket, or under a bed? instead of
being placed on a stand?
22
For nothing is hidden, that will not be revealed; nor
is any thing kept secret, that will not become known.
23
If any man has ears to hear, let him hear.
24
And he said to them, Consider carefully what you hear: the standard you measure
with, will be used on you: and you who hear will
receive even more.
25
For whoever has, will be given more: and whoever does not have, even what he
has will be taken from him.
26
And he said, The
27
He will sleep and rise, night and day, and the seed will come up and grow, he
doesn’t know how.
28
For the ground brings forth fruit by itself; first the
stock, then the ear, then full grain in the ear.
29
But as soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because it is the
time of harvest.
30
And he went on to say, To what can we liken the
31
It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth,
is the smallest of the seeds you plant in the ground:
32
But after it has been sown, it grows up, and becomes larger than all the garden
vegetables, and sends out branches; so large that the birds of the air can
perch in its shadow.
33
And with many parables of this kind he continued to speak the word to them, as
much as they could understand.
34
But he did not speak to them without a parable: and when they were alone, he
explained everything to his disciples.
35
¶ The same day, when evening had come, he said to
them, Let us cross over to the other side.
36
And when they had sent away the crowd, they took him as he was with them in the
boat. And other boats were also in his company.
37
And a great windstorm arose, and the waves crashed into the boat, so that it
was now full.
38
And Jesus was in the rear of the boat, asleep on a pillow: and they woke him,
and said to him, Master, don’t you care if we drown?
39
And he got up, and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, Peace, be still. And
the wind ceased, and was completely still.
40
And he said to them, Why are you so fearful? why is it that you have no faith?
41
And they were terrified, and said one to another, What
sort of man is this, that even the wind and the waves obey him?