1 And again he began to teach by the sea, and there was gathered unto him a great multitude, so that he, having gone into the boat, sat in the sea, and all the multitude was near the sea, on the land, 2 and he taught them many things in similes, and he said to them in his teaching: 3 'Hearken, lo, the sower went forth to sow; 4 and it came to pass, in the sowing, some fell by the way, and the fowls of the heaven did come and devour it; 5 and other fell upon the rocky ground, where it had not much earth, and immediately it sprang forth, because of not having depth of earth, 6 and the sun having risen, it was scorched, and because of not having root it did wither; 7 and other fell toward the thorns, and the thorns did come up, and choke it, and fruit it gave not; 8 and other fell to the good ground, and was giving fruit, coming up and increasing, and it bare, one thirty-fold, and one sixty, and one an hundred.' 9 And he said to them, 'He who is having ears to hear — let him hear.' 10 And when he was alone, those about him, with the twelve, did ask him of the simile, 11 and he said to them, 'To you it hath been given to know the secret of the reign of God, but to those who are without, in similes are all the things done; 12 that seeing they may see and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand, lest they may turn, and the sins may be forgiven them.' 13 And he saith to them, 'Have ye not known this simile? and how shall ye know all the similes? 14 He who is sowing doth sow the word; 15 and these are they by the way where the word is sown: and whenever they may hear, immediately cometh the Adversary, and he taketh away the word that hath been sown in their hearts. 16 'And these are they, in like manner, who on the rocky ground are sown: who, whenever they may hear the word, immediately with joy do receive it, 17 and have not root in themselves, but are temporary; afterward tribulation or persecution having come because of the word, immediately they are stumbled. 18 'And these are they who toward the thorns are sown: these are they who are hearing the word, 19 and the anxieties of this age, and the deceitfulness of the riches, and the desires concerning the other things, entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. 20 'And these are they who on the good ground have been sown: who do hear the word, and receive, and do bear fruit, one thirty-fold, and one sixty, and one an hundred.' 21 And he said to them, 'Doth the lamp come that under the measure it may be put, or under the couch — not that it may be put on the lamp-stand? 22 for there is not anything hid that may not be manifested, nor was anything kept hid but that it may come to light. 23 If any hath ears to hear — let him hear.' 24 And he said to them, 'Take heed what ye hear; in what measure ye measure, it shall be measured to you; and to you who hear it shall be added; 25 for whoever may have, there shall be given to him, and whoever hath not, also that which he hath shall be taken from him.' 26 And he said, 'Thus is the reign of God: as if a man may cast the seed on the earth, 27 and may sleep, and may rise night and day, and the seed spring up and grow, he hath not known how; 28 for of itself doth the earth bear fruit, first a blade, afterwards an ear, afterwards full corn in the ear; 29 and whenever the fruit may yield itself, immediately he doth send forth the sickle, because the harvest hath come.' 30 And he said, 'To what may we liken the reign of God, or in what simile may we compare it? 31 As a grain of mustard, which, whenever it may be sown on the earth, is less than any of the seeds that are on the earth; 32 and whenever it may be sown, it cometh up, and doth become greater than any of the herbs, and doth make great branches, so that under its shade the fowls of the heaven are able to rest.' 33 And with many such similes he was speaking to them the word, as they were able to hear, 34 and without a simile he was not speaking to them, and by themselves, to his disciples he was expounding all. 35 And he saith to them on that day, evening having come, 'We may pass over to the other side;' 36 and having let away the multitude, they take him up as he was in the boat, and other little boats also were with him. 37 And there cometh a great storm of wind, and the waves were beating on the boat, so that it is now being filled, 38 and he himself was upon the stern, upon the pillow sleeping, and they wake him up, and say to him, 'Teacher, art thou not caring that we perish?' 39 And having waked up, he rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, 'Peace, be stilled;' and the wind did lull, and there was a great calm: 40 and he said to them, 'Why are ye so fearful? how have ye not faith?' 41 and they feared a great fear, and said one to another, 'Who, then, is this, that even the wind and the sea do obey him?'
Mark · Young's Literal Translation
Mark 4 Young's Literal Translation
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
Cross references (41)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Mark 2:13; Luke 5:1–3; Luke 8:4–10; Matthew 13:1–15; Mark 3:7
- 2 Matthew 13:34–35; Mark 3:23; Mark 4:11; Matthew 13:10; Matthew 13:3
- 3 James 2:5; 1 Corinthians 3:6–9; John 4:35–38; Matthew 13:26; Mark 4:26–29
- 4 Matthew 13:19; Mark 4:15; Matthew 13:4; Luke 8:12; Genesis 15:11
- 5 Ezekiel 36:26; Luke 8:6; Luke 8:13; Hosea 10:12; Matthew 13:5–6
- 6 Jeremiah 17:5–8; James 1:11; Jonah 4:8; Isaiah 25:4; Colossians 2:7
- 7 Jeremiah 4:3; 1 John 2:15–16; Genesis 3:17–18; Luke 12:15; Luke 21:34
- 8 John 15:5; Colossians 1:6; Genesis 26:12; Mark 4:20; Philippians 1:11
- 9 Matthew 11:15; Mark 4:23–24; Revelation 3:22; Revelation 3:13; Revelation 3:6
- 10 Matthew 13:10–17; Luke 8:9–15; Mark 7:17; Matthew 13:36; Mark 4:34
- 11 Matthew 11:25; Luke 8:10; 1 Thessalonians 4:12; James 1:16–18; 1 Corinthians 5:12–13
- 12 Isaiah 6:9–10; Isaiah 44:18; Matthew 13:14–15; Jeremiah 5:21; Deuteronomy 29:4
- 13 Revelation 3:19; Luke 8:11–15; Matthew 13:51–52; 1 Corinthians 3:1–2; Hebrews 5:11–14
- 14 Acts 8:4; Matthew 13:19; 1 Peter 1:23–25; Luke 8:11; Matthew 13:37
- 15 1 Peter 5:8; Matthew 13:19; 2 Corinthians 2:11; Luke 8:12; 2 Corinthians 4:3–4
- 16 Luke 8:13; Matthew 13:20–21; Mark 6:20; John 5:35; Ezekiel 33:31–32
- 17 Matthew 11:6; 1 Thessalonians 3:3–5; Revelation 2:10; Matthew 12:31; John 15:2–7
- 18 Luke 8:14; Jeremiah 4:3; Matthew 13:22; Mark 4:7
- 19 1 John 2:15–17; 1 Timothy 6:9–10; 1 Timothy 6:17; 1 Peter 4:2–3; Philippians 4:6
- 20 Colossians 1:10; Luke 8:15; John 15:4–5; Matthew 13:23; Mark 4:8
- 21 Matthew 5:15; Luke 11:33; Luke 8:16; Isaiah 60:1–3; Ephesians 5:3–15
- 22 Luke 8:17; Ecclesiastes 12:14; 1 Corinthians 4:5; Psalm 78:2–4; Matthew 10:26–27
- 23 Matthew 11:15; Mark 4:9; Revelation 2:29; Revelation 2:7; Revelation 2:17
- 24 Hebrews 2:1; Luke 8:18; Matthew 7:2; 2 Corinthians 9:6; Acts 17:11
- 25 Matthew 13:12; Luke 8:18; Matthew 25:28–29; John 15:2; Luke 16:9–12
- 26 Matthew 13:24; 1 Corinthians 3:6–9; 1 Peter 1:23–25; Luke 8:11; Luke 8:5
- 27 Ecclesiastes 11:5; 2 Thessalonians 1:3; Ecclesiastes 8:17; 1 Corinthians 15:37–38; John 3:7–8
- 28 Philippians 1:9–11; Hosea 6:3; Mark 4:31–32; Colossians 1:10; Matthew 13:26
- 29 Joel 3:13; Matthew 13:30; Isaiah 57:1–2; Matthew 13:40–43; Job 5:26
- 30 Matthew 13:31–32; Luke 13:18–21; Lamentations 2:13; Matthew 13:24; Matthew 11:16
- 31 Acts 19:20; Genesis 22:17–18; Luke 13:18–19; Daniel 2:44–45; Malachi 1:11
- 32 Daniel 4:20–22; Daniel 4:10–14; Ezekiel 31:3–10; Psalm 80:9–11; Psalm 91:1
- 33 Matthew 13:34–35; John 16:12; 1 Corinthians 3:1–2; Hebrews 5:11–14
- 34 John 16:25; Luke 24:27; Mark 4:10; Matthew 13:36–43; Matthew 15:15–20
- 35 Matthew 8:18; Luke 8:25; Luke 8:22; Matthew 8:23–27; Matthew 14:22
- 36 Mark 4:1; Mark 3:9; Mark 5:2; Mark 5:21
- 37 Matthew 8:23–24; Job 1:19; Luke 8:22–23; Jonah 1:4; Psalm 107:23–31
- 38 1 Peter 5:7; Hebrews 4:15; Matthew 8:25; Isaiah 54:6–8; Luke 8:24
- 39 Psalm 107:29; Psalm 89:9; Psalm 29:10; Psalm 65:7; Jeremiah 5:22
- 40 Luke 8:25; Matthew 8:26; Matthew 14:31; Isaiah 43:2; Matthew 16:8
- 41 Luke 8:25; Job 38:11; 1 Samuel 12:18–20; Jonah 1:9–10; Jonah 1:15–16
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
… if they do not call Himself the Son of the Creator of the world, that is, His Word, through whom the wood fructifies, and the fountains gush forth, and the earth gives "first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear."
Therefore also another evangelist saith that He reproved them, because they do not understand; saying, "How knew ye not the parable?" But not for this cause only doth He speak in parables, but that He may also make His discourse more vivid, and fix the memory of it in them more perfectly, and bring the things before their sight.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)