Mark 4:1-12
Holman Christian Standard Bible
The Parable of the Sower
4 Again(A) He began to teach(B) by the sea, and a very large crowd gathered around Him. So He got into a boat on the sea and sat down, while the whole crowd was on the shore facing the sea. 2 He taught them many things in parables,(C) and in His teaching(D) He said to them: 3 “Listen! Consider the sower who went out to sow.(E) 4 As he sowed, this occurred: Some seed fell along the path,(F) and the birds came and ate(G) it up. 5 Other seed fell on rocky ground where it didn’t have much soil, and it sprang up right away,(H) since it didn’t have deep soil. 6 When the sun came up, it was scorched, and since it didn’t have a root, it withered.(I) 7 Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it didn’t produce a crop. 8 Still others fell on good ground and produced a crop that increased(J) 30, 60, and 100 times what was sown.”(K) 9 Then He said, “Anyone who has ears to hear should listen!”(L)
Why Jesus Used Parables
10 When He was alone with the Twelve,(M) those who were around Him asked Him about the parables.(N) 11 He answered them, “The secret(O) of the kingdom of God(P) has been given to you, but to those outside,(Q) everything comes in parables 12 so that
they may look and look,
yet not perceive;
they may listen and listen,
yet not understand;(R)
otherwise, they might turn back—
and be forgiven.”[a](S)[b]
Mark 4:1-12
New International Version
The Parable of the Sower(A)(B)
4 Again Jesus began to teach by the lake.(C) The crowd that gathered around 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. 2 He taught them many things by parables,(D) and in his teaching said: 3 “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed.(E) 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”(F)
9 Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”(G)
10 When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. 11 He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God(H) has been given to you. But to those on the outside(I) everything is said in parables 12 so that,
Footnotes
- Mark 4:12 Isaiah 6:9,10
Luke 8:4-10
Holman Christian Standard Bible
The Parable of the Sower
4 As a large crowd was gathering, and people were flocking to Him from every town, He said in a parable:(A) 5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. As he was sowing, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the sky ate it up. 6 Other seed fell on the rock; when it sprang up, it withered, since it lacked moisture. 7 Other seed fell among thorns; the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. 8 Still other seed fell on good ground; when it sprang up, it produced a crop: 100 times what was sown.”(B) As He said this, He called out, “Anyone who has ears to hear should listen!”(C)
Why Jesus Used Parables
9 Then His disciples asked Him, “What does this parable mean?”(D) 10 So He said, “The secrets of the kingdom of God have been given for you(E) to know, but to the rest it is in parables, so that
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Luke 8:4-10
New International Version
4 While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable: 5 “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up. 6 Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.”
When he said this, he called out, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”(A)
9 His disciples asked him what this parable meant. 10 He said, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you,(B) but to others I speak in parables, so that,
Footnotes
- Luke 8:10 Isaiah 6:9
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