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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width; initial-scale=1.0; maximum-scale=1.0; user-scalable=0;"/><title>Mark 4 ISV</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/mark/4.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="../topmenuchap/mark/4-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="http://biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">ISV</a> > Mark 4</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../mark/3.htm" title="Mark 3">◄</a> Mark 4 <a href="../mark/5.htm" title="Mark 5">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top">International Standard Version</td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/p/isv/esv/mark/4.shtml" style="color:#001320" title="Parallel Chapters"> Par ▾ </a></tr></table></div><div class="chap"><p class="heading">The Parable about a Farmer</p><p class="cross_ref">(<a href="http://isv.scripturetext.com/matthew/13.htm">Matthew 13:1-9</a>; <a href="http://isv.scripturetext.com/luke/8.htm">Luke 8:4-18</a>)</p><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/mark/4-1.htm"><b>1</b></a></span>Then Jesus<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="4:1 Lit. he">a</a></span> began to teach again beside the sea. Such a large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it,<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="4:1 Lit. on the sea">b</a></span> while the entire crowd remained beside the sea on the shore. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/mark/4-2.htm"><b>2</b></a></span>He began teaching them many things in parables. While he was teaching them he said, <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/mark/4-3.htm"><b>3</b></a></span><span class="red">“Listen! A farmer went out to sow. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/mark/4-4.htm"><b>4</b></a></span>As he was sowing, some seeds fell along the path, and birds came and ate them up. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/mark/4-5.htm"><b>5</b></a></span>Others fell on stony ground, where they didn’t have a lot of soil. They sprouted at once, because the soil wasn’t deep. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/mark/4-6.htm"><b>6</b></a></span>But when the sun came up, they were scorched. Since they didn’t have any roots, they dried up. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/mark/4-7.htm"><b>7</b></a></span>Others fell among thorn bushes, and the thorn bushes came up and choked them out, and they didn’t produce anything. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/mark/4-8.htm"><b>8</b></a></span>But others fell on good soil and produced a crop. They grew up, increased in size, and produced 30, 60, or 100 times what was sown.”<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="4:8 The Gk. lacks what was sown">c</a></span> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/mark/4-9.htm"><b>9</b></a></span>He added, “Let the person who has ears to hear, listen!”</span></p> <p class="heading">The Purpose of the Parables</p><p class="cross_ref">(<a href="http://isv.scripturetext.com/matthew/13.htm">Matthew 13:10-17</a>; <a href="http://isv.scripturetext.com/luke/8.htm">Luke 8:9-10</a>)</p><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/mark/4-10.htm"><b>10</b></a></span>When he was alone with the Twelve and those around him, they began to ask him about the parables. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/mark/4-11.htm"><b>11</b></a></span>He told them, <span class="red">“The secret about the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside, everything comes in parables <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/mark/4-12.htm"><b>12</b></a></span>so that</span></p> <p class="poetry1 margintop"><span class="red">‘they may see clearly but not perceive,</span></p> <p class="poetry2"><span class="red">and they may hear clearly but not understand,</span></p> <p class="poetry2"><span class="red">otherwise they might turn around and be forgiven.’”<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="4:12 Cf. Isa 6:9-10">d</a></span> </span></p> <p class="heading">Jesus Explains the Parable about the Farmer</p><p class="cross_ref">(<a href="http://isv.scripturetext.com/matthew/13.htm">Matthew 13:18-23</a>; <a href="http://isv.scripturetext.com/luke/8.htm">Luke 8:11-15</a>)</p><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/mark/4-13.htm"><b>13</b></a></span>Then he told them, <span class="red">“You don’t understand this parable, so how can you understand any of the parables? <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/mark/4-14.htm"><b>14</b></a></span>The farmer sows the word. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/mark/4-15.htm"><b>15</b></a></span>Some people are like the seeds<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="4:15 Lit. These are the ones">e</a></span> along the path, where the word is sown. When they hear it, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/mark/4-16.htm"><b>16</b></a></span>Others are like the seeds<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="4:16 Lit. These are the ones">f</a></span> sown on the stony ground. When they hear the word, at once they joyfully accept it, <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/mark/4-17.htm"><b>17</b></a></span>but since they don’t have any roots, they last for only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes along because of the word, they immediately fall away. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/mark/4-18.htm"><b>18</b></a></span>Still others are like the seeds<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="4:18 Lit. are those">g</a></span> sown among the thorn bushes. These are the people who hear the word, <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/mark/4-19.htm"><b>19</b></a></span>but the worries of life, the deceitful pleasures of wealth, and the desires for other things come in and choke the word so that it can’t produce a crop. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/mark/4-20.htm"><b>20</b></a></span>Others are like the seeds<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="4:20 Lit. are those">h</a></span> sown on good soil. They hear the word, accept it, and produce crops—30, 60, or 100 times what was sown.”<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="4:20 The Gk. lacks what was sown">i</a></span> </span></p> <p class="heading">A Light under a Basket</p><p class="cross_ref">(<a href="http://isv.scripturetext.com/luke/8.htm">Luke 8:16-18</a>)</p><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/mark/4-21.htm"><b>21</b></a></span>Then Jesus<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="4:21 Lit. he">j</a></span> told them, <span class="red">“A lamp isn’t brought indoors to be put under a basket or under a bed, is it? It’s to be put on a lamp stand, isn’t it? <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/mark/4-22.htm"><b>22</b></a></span>Nothing is hidden except for the purpose of having it revealed, and nothing is secret except for the purpose of having it come to light. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/mark/4-23.htm"><b>23</b></a></span>If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen!</span></p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/mark/4-24.htm"><b>24</b></a></span>He went on to say to them, <span class="red">“Pay attention to what you’re hearing! You will be evaluated by the same standard with which you do your evaluating, and still more will be given to you, <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/mark/4-25.htm"><b>25</b></a></span>because whoever has something, will have more given to him. But whoever has nothing, even what he has will be taken away.”</span></p> <p class="heading">The Parable about a Growing Seed</p><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/mark/4-26.htm"><b>26</b></a></span>He was also saying, <span class="red">“The kingdom of God is like a man who scatters seeds on the ground. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/mark/4-27.htm"><b>27</b></a></span>He sleeps and gets up night and day while the seeds sprout and grow, although he doesn’t know how <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/mark/4-28.htm"><b>28</b></a></span>the ground produces grain by itself—first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/mark/4-29.htm"><b>29</b></a></span>But when the grain is ripe, he immediately starts cutting with his sickle because the harvest time has come.”</span></p> <p class="heading">The Parable about a Mustard Seed</p><p class="cross_ref">(<a href="http://isv.scripturetext.com/matthew/13.htm">Matthew 13:31-32</a>; <a href="http://isv.scripturetext.com/luke/13.htm">Luke 13:18-19</a>)</p><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/mark/4-30.htm"><b>30</b></a></span>He was also saying, <span class="red">“How can we show what the kingdom of God is like, or what parable can we use to describe it? <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/mark/4-31.htm"><b>31</b></a></span>It’s like a mustard seed planted in the ground. Although it’s the smallest of<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="4:31 Or smaller than">k</a></span> all the seeds on earth, <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/mark/4-32.htm"><b>32</b></a></span>when it’s planted it comes up and becomes larger than all the garden plants. It grows such large branches that the birds in the sky can nest in its shade.”</span></p> <p class="heading">Why Jesus Used Parables</p><p class="cross_ref">(<a href="http://isv.scripturetext.com/matthew/13.htm">Matthew 13:34-35</a>)</p><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/mark/4-33.htm"><b>33</b></a></span>With many other parables like these, Jesus<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="4:33 Lit. he">l</a></span> kept speaking his message to them according to their ability to understand. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/mark/4-34.htm"><b>34</b></a></span>He did not tell them anything without using<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="4:34 The Gk. lacks using">m</a></span> a parable, though he explained everything to his disciples in private.</p> <p class="heading">Jesus Calms the Sea</p><p class="cross_ref">(<a href="http://isv.scripturetext.com/matthew/8.htm">Matthew 8:23-27</a>; <a href="http://isv.scripturetext.com/luke/8.htm">Luke 8:22-25</a>)</p><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/mark/4-35.htm"><b>35</b></a></span>That day, when evening had come, he told them, <span class="red">“Let’s cross to the other side.”</span> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/mark/4-36.htm"><b>36</b></a></span>So they left the crowd and took him away in a boat without making any special preparations.<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="4:36 Lit. boat just as he was">n</a></span> Other boats were with him. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/mark/4-37.htm"><b>37</b></a></span>A violent windstorm came up, and the waves began breaking into the boat, so that the boat was rapidly<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="4:37 Lit. already">o</a></span> becoming swamped.</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/mark/4-38.htm"><b>38</b></a></span>But Jesus<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="4:38 Lit. he">p</a></span> was in the back of the boat, asleep on a cushion. So they woke him up and asked him, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to die?”</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/mark/4-39.htm"><b>39</b></a></span>Then he got up, rebuked the wind, and told the sea, <span class="red">“Calm down! Be still!”</span> Then the wind stopped blowing, and there was a great calm. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/mark/4-40.htm"><b>40</b></a></span>He asked them, <span class="red">“Why are you such cowards? Don’t you have any faith yet?”</span></p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/mark/4-41.htm"><b>41</b></a></span>Overcome with fear, they kept saying to one another, “Who is this man? Even the wind and the sea obey him!”</p><hr size="1" color="DDEEFF"><span class="mainfootnotes"><A name="ftn"></a><span class="mainfootnoteshdg">Footnotes:</span><br><span class="fn1"><span class="fnb">a</span> 4:1 Lit. <i>he</i><br /><span class="fnb">b</span> 4:1 Lit. <i>on the sea</i><br /><span class="fnb">c</span> 4:8 The Gk. lacks <i>what was sown</i><br /><span class="fnb">d</span> 4:12 Cf. Isa 6:9-10<br /><span class="fnb">e</span> 4:15 Lit. <i>These are the ones</i><br /><span class="fnb">f</span> 4:16 Lit. <i>These are the ones</i><br /><span class="fnb">g</span> 4:18 Lit. <i>are those</i><br /><span class="fnb">h</span> 4:20 Lit. <i>are those</i><br /><span class="fnb">i</span> 4:20 The Gk. lacks <i>what was sown</i><br /><span class="fnb">j</span> 4:21 Lit. <i>he</i><br /><span class="fnb">k</span> 4:31 Or <i>smaller than</i><br /><span class="fnb">l</span> 4:33 Lit. <i>he</i><br /><span class="fnb">m</span> 4:34 The Gk. lacks <i>using</i><br /><span class="fnb">n</span> 4:36 Lit. <i>boat just as he was</i><br /><span class="fnb">o</span> 4:37 Lit. <i>already</i><br /><span class="fnb">p</span> 4:38 Lit. <i>he</i><br /></span><br><br><hr size="1" color="DDEEFF"><div align="center"><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center">The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1<br />Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation<br />ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/">Bible Hub</a></div></div></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="left"><a href="../mark/3.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="Mark 3"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="Mark 3" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="../mark/5.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="Mark 5"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="Mark 5" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="rightbox"><div class="padright"><div id="pic"><iframe width="100%" height="860" scrolling="no" src="//biblescan.com/mpc/mark/4-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></div></div><div id="rightbox4"><div class="padright2"><div id="spons1"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tr><td class="sp1"><iframe width="122" height="860" scrolling="no" src="../sidemenu.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></div><div id="bot"><div align="center" style="background-color:#F2FAFF"><br /><br /><div class="bot2"><table align="center" width="100%"><tr><td><script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>  <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-3753401421161123" data-ad-slot="6710025936" data-ad-format="auto"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script></td></tr></table><br /><br /><table align="center" width="100%"><tr><td><script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>  <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-3753401421161123" data-ad-slot="6710025936" data-ad-format="auto"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script></td></tr></table></div><br /><br /> </div><iframe width="100%" height="1500" scrolling="no" src="//biblehu.com/botmenubhnm2.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe><div align="center"><span class="p"><br /><br /><br /></span></div></div></td></tr></table></div></body></html>