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And again he began to teach by the sea. And a great crowd was gathered together to him, so that going on board ship he sat in the sea, and all the crowd were close to the sea on the land.

And he taught them many things in parables. And he said to them in his doctrine,

Hearken: Behold, the sower went forth to sow.

And it came to pass as he sowed, one fell by the wayside, and the birds came and devoured it.

And another fell on the rocky ground, where it had not much earth, and immediately it sprung up out [of the ground] because it had no depth of earth;

and when the sun arose it was burnt up, and because of its not having any root, it withered.

And another fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.

And another fell into the good ground, and yielded fruit, growing up and increasing; and bore, one thirty, and one sixty, and one a hundred.

And he said, He that has ears to hear, let him hear.

10 And when he was alone, those about him with the twelve asked him [as to] the parables.

11 And he said to them, To you is given [to know] the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to them who are without, all things are done in parables,

12 that beholding they may behold and not see, and hearing they may hear and not understand, lest it may be, they should be converted and they should be forgiven.

13 And he says to them, Do ye not know this parable? and how will ye be acquainted with all the parables?

14 The sower sows the word:

15 and these are they by the wayside where the word is sown, and when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.

16 And these are they in like manner who are sown upon the rocky places, who when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy,

17 and they have no root in themselves, but are for a time: then, tribulation arising, or persecution on account of the word, immediately they are offended.

18 And others are they who are sown among the thorns: these are they who have heard the word,

19 and the cares of life, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things, entering in, choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

20 And these are they who have been sown on the good ground, such as hear the word and receive it, and bear fruit; one thirty, and one sixty, and one a hundred [fold].

21 And he said to them, Does the lamp come that it should be put under the bushel or under the couch? [Is it] not that it should be set upon the lamp-stand?

22 For there is nothing hidden which shall not be made manifest; nor does any secret thing take place, but that it should come to light.

23 If any one have ears to hear, let him hear.

24 And he said to them, Take heed what ye hear; with what measure ye mete, it shall be meted to you; and there shall be [more] added to you.

25 For whosoever has, to him shall be given; and he who has not, even what he has shall be taken from him.

26 And he said, Thus is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast the seed upon the earth,

27 and should sleep and rise up night and day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he does not know how.

28 The earth bears fruit of itself, first [the] blade, then an ear, then full corn in the ear.

29 But when the fruit is produced, immediately he sends the sickle, for the harvest is come.

30 And he said, How should we liken the kingdom of God, or with what comparison should we compare it?

31 As to a grain of mustard [seed], which, when it is sown upon the earth, is less than all seeds which are upon the earth,

32 and when it has been sown, mounts up and becomes greater than all herbs, and produces great branches, so that the birds of heaven can roost under its shadow.

33 And with many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear,

34 but without a parable spoke he not to them; and in private he explained all things to his disciples.

35 And on that day, when evening was come, he says to them, Let us go over to the other side:

36 and having sent away the crowd, they take him with [them], as he was, in the ship. But other ships also were with him.

37 And there comes a violent gust of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it already filled.

38 And *he* was in the stern sleeping on the cushion. And they awake him up and say to him, Teacher, dost thou not care that we are perishing?

39 And awaking up he rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, Silence; be mute. And the wind fell, and there was a great calm.

40 And he said to them, Why are ye [thus] fearful? how [is it] ye have not faith?

41 And they feared [with] great fear, and said one to another, Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?

The Parable of the Sower(A)(B)

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. He taught them many things by parables,(D) and in his teaching said: “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed.(E) As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 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)

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,

“‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
    and ever hearing but never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’[a](J)

13 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14 The farmer sows the word.(K) 15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan(L) comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth(M) and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”

A Lamp on a Stand

21 He said to them, “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand?(N) 22 For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open.(O) 23 If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.”(P)

24 “Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more.(Q) 25 Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.”(R)

The Parable of the Growing Seed

26 He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like.(S) A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”(T)

The Parable of the Mustard Seed(U)

30 Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like,(V) or what parable shall we use to describe it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. 32 Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.”

33 With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand.(W) 34 He did not say anything to them without using a parable.(X) But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.

Jesus Calms the Storm(Y)

35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat.(Z) There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”(AA)

41 They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

Footnotes

  1. Mark 4:12 Isaiah 6:9,10