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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "//www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="//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"><title>Mark 4 GNT</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /></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="//biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">GNT</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">Good News Translation</div><div class="chap"><h3 class="s">The Parable of the Sower</h3><h5 class="r">(<ref loc="MAT 13:1-9">Matthew 13.1-9</ref>; <ref loc="LUK 8:4-8">Luke 8.4-8</ref>)</h5><p class="par"><span class="v41_4_1"><span class="reftext" id="Mark.4.1" class="v41_4_1">1</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Mark.4.1!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> Again Jesus began to teach beside Lake Galilee. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it. The boat was out in the water, and the crowd stood on the shore at the water's edge. </span><span class="v41_4_2"><span class="reftext" id="Mark.4.2" class="v41_4_2">2</span>He used parables to teach them many things, saying to them:</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v41_4_3"><span class="reftext" id="Mark.4.3" class="v41_4_3">3</span>“Listen! Once there was a man who went out to sow grain. </span><span class="v41_4_4"><span class="reftext" id="Mark.4.4" class="v41_4_4">4</span>As he scattered the seed in the field, some of it fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. </span><span class="v41_4_5"><span class="reftext" id="Mark.4.5" class="v41_4_5">5</span>Some of it fell on rocky ground, where there was little soil. The seeds soon sprouted, because the soil wasn't deep. </span><span class="v41_4_6"><span class="reftext" id="Mark.4.6" class="v41_4_6">6</span>Then, when the sun came up, it burned the young plants; and because the roots had not grown deep enough, the plants soon dried up. </span><span class="v41_4_7"><span class="reftext" id="Mark.4.7" class="v41_4_7">7</span>Some of the seed fell among thorn bushes, which grew up and choked the plants, and they didn't bear grain. </span><span class="v41_4_8"><span class="reftext" id="Mark.4.8" class="v41_4_8">8</span>But some seeds fell in good soil, and the plants sprouted, grew, and bore grain: some had thirty grains, others sixty, and others one hundred.”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v41_4_9"><span class="reftext" id="Mark.4.9" class="v41_4_9">9</span>And Jesus concluded, “Listen, then, if you have ears!”</span></p><h3 class="s">The Purpose of the Parables</h3><h5 class="r">(<ref loc="MAT 13:10-17">Matthew 13.10-17</ref>; <ref loc="LUK 8:9">Luke 8.9</ref>,<ref loc="LUK 8:10">10</ref>)</h5><p class="par"><span class="v41_4_10"><span class="reftext" id="Mark.4.10" class="v41_4_10">10</span>When Jesus was alone, some of those who had heard him came to him with the twelve disciples and asked him to explain the parables. </span><span class="v41_4_11"><span class="reftext" id="Mark.4.11" class="v41_4_11">11</span>“You have been given the secret of the Kingdom of God,” Jesus answered. “But the others, who are on the outside, hear all things by means of parables, </span><span class="v41_4_12"><span class="reftext" id="Mark.4.12" class="v41_4_12">12</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Mark.4.12!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> so that,</span></p><p class="q1"><span class="v41_4_12">‘They may look and look,</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v41_4_12">yet not see;</span></p><p class="q1"><span class="v41_4_12">they may listen and listen,</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v41_4_12">yet not understand.</span></p><p class="q1"><span class="v41_4_12">For if they did, they would turn to God,</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v41_4_12">and he would forgive them.’”</span></p><h3 class="s">Jesus Explains the Parable of the Sower</h3><h5 class="r">(<ref loc="MAT 13:18-23">Matthew 13.18-23</ref>; <ref loc="LUK 8:11-15">Luke 8.11-15</ref>)</h5><p class="par"><span class="v41_4_13"><span class="reftext" id="Mark.4.13" class="v41_4_13">13</span>Then Jesus asked them, “Don't you understand this parable? How, then, will you ever understand any parable? </span><span class="v41_4_14"><span class="reftext" id="Mark.4.14" class="v41_4_14">14</span>The sower sows God's message. </span><span class="v41_4_15"><span class="reftext" id="Mark.4.15" class="v41_4_15">15</span>Some people are like the seeds that fall along the path; as soon as they hear the message, Satan comes and takes it away. </span><span class="v41_4_16"><span class="reftext" id="Mark.4.16" class="v41_4_16">16</span>Other people are like the seeds that fall on rocky ground. As soon as they hear the message, they receive it gladly. </span><span class="v41_4_17"><span class="reftext" id="Mark.4.17" class="v41_4_17">17</span>But it does not sink deep into them, and they don't last long. So when trouble or persecution comes because of the message, they give up at once. </span><span class="v41_4_18"><span class="reftext" id="Mark.4.18" class="v41_4_18">18</span>Other people are like the seeds sown among the thorn bushes. These are the ones who hear the message, </span><span class="v41_4_19"><span class="reftext" id="Mark.4.19" class="v41_4_19">19</span>but the worries about this life, the love for riches, and all other kinds of desires crowd in and choke the message, and they don't bear fruit. </span><span class="v41_4_20"><span class="reftext" id="Mark.4.20" class="v41_4_20">20</span>But other people are like seeds sown in good soil. They hear the message, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirty, some sixty, and some one hundred.”</span></p><h3 class="s">A Lamp under a Bowl</h3><h5 class="r">(<ref loc="LUK 8:16-18">Luke 8.16-18</ref>)</h5><p class="par"><span class="v41_4_21"><span class="reftext" id="Mark.4.21" class="v41_4_21">21</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Mark.4.21!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> Jesus continued, “Does anyone ever bring in a lamp and put it under a bowl or under the bed? Isn't it put on the lampstand? </span><span class="v41_4_22"><span class="reftext" id="Mark.4.22" class="v41_4_22">22</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Mark.4.22!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> Whatever is hidden away will be brought out into the open, and whatever is covered up will be uncovered. </span><span class="v41_4_23"><span class="reftext" id="Mark.4.23" class="v41_4_23">23</span>Listen, then, if you have ears!”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v41_4_24"><span class="reftext" id="Mark.4.24" class="v41_4_24">24</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Mark.4.24!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> He also said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear! The same rules you use to judge others will be used by God to judge you—but with even greater severity. </span><span class="v41_4_25"><span class="reftext" id="Mark.4.25" class="v41_4_25">25</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Mark.4.25!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> Those who have something will be given more, and those who have nothing will have taken away from them even the little they have.”</span></p><h3 class="s">The Parable of the Growing Seed</h3><p class="par"><span class="v41_4_26"><span class="reftext" id="Mark.4.26" class="v41_4_26">26</span>Jesus went on to say, “The Kingdom of God is like this. A man scatters seed in his field. </span><span class="v41_4_27"><span class="reftext" id="Mark.4.27" class="v41_4_27">27</span>He sleeps at night, is up and about during the day, and all the while the seeds are sprouting and growing. Yet he does not know how it happens. </span><span class="v41_4_28"><span class="reftext" id="Mark.4.28" class="v41_4_28">28</span>The soil itself makes the plants grow and bear fruit; first the tender stalk appears, then the head, and finally the head full of grain. </span><span class="v41_4_29"><span class="reftext" id="Mark.4.29" class="v41_4_29">29</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Mark.4.29!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> When the grain is ripe, the man starts cutting it with his sickle, because harvest time has come.</span></p><h3 class="s">The Parable of the Mustard Seed</h3><h5 class="r">(<ref loc="MAT 13:31">Matthew 13.31</ref>,<ref loc="MAT 13:32">32</ref>,<ref loc="MAT 13:34">34</ref>; <ref loc="LUK 13:18">Luke 13.18</ref>,<ref loc="LUK 13:19">19</ref>)</h5><p class="par"><span class="v41_4_30"><span class="reftext" id="Mark.4.30" class="v41_4_30">30</span>“What shall we say the Kingdom of God is like?” asked Jesus. “What parable shall we use to explain it? </span><span class="v41_4_31"><span class="reftext" id="Mark.4.31" class="v41_4_31">31</span>It is like this. A man takes a mustard seed, the smallest seed in the world, and plants it in the ground. </span><span class="v41_4_32"><span class="reftext" id="Mark.4.32" class="v41_4_32">32</span>After a while it grows up and becomes the biggest of all plants. It puts out such large branches that the birds come and make their nests in its shade.”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v41_4_33"><span class="reftext" id="Mark.4.33" class="v41_4_33">33</span>Jesus preached his message to the people, using many other parables like these; he told them as much as they could understand. </span><span class="v41_4_34"><span class="reftext" id="Mark.4.34" class="v41_4_34">34</span>He would not speak to them without using parables, but when he was alone with his disciples, he would explain everything to them.</span></p><h3 class="s">Jesus Calms a Storm</h3><h5 class="r">(<ref loc="MAT 8:23-27">Matthew 8.23-27</ref>; <ref loc="LUK 8:22-25">Luke 8.22-25</ref>)</h5><p class="par"><span class="v41_4_35"><span class="reftext" id="Mark.4.35" class="v41_4_35">35</span>On the evening of that same day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” </span><span class="v41_4_36"><span class="reftext" id="Mark.4.36" class="v41_4_36">36</span>So they left the crowd; the disciples got into the boat in which Jesus was already sitting, and they took him with them. Other boats were there too. </span><span class="v41_4_37"><span class="reftext" id="Mark.4.37" class="v41_4_37">37</span>Suddenly a strong wind blew up, and the waves began to spill over into the boat, so that it was about to fill with water. </span><span class="v41_4_38"><span class="reftext" id="Mark.4.38" class="v41_4_38">38</span>Jesus was in the back of the boat, sleeping with his head on a pillow. The disciples woke him up and said, “Teacher, don't you care that we are about to die?”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v41_4_39"><span class="reftext" id="Mark.4.39" class="v41_4_39">39</span>Jesus stood up and commanded the wind, “Be quiet!” and he said to the waves, “Be still!” The wind died down, and there was a great calm. </span><span class="v41_4_40"><span class="reftext" id="Mark.4.40" class="v41_4_40">40</span>Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Why are you frightened? Do you still have no faith?”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v41_4_41"><span class="reftext" id="Mark.4.41" class="v41_4_41">41</span>But they were terribly afraid and began to say to one another, “Who is this man? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”</span></p></div></div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><div align="center"><p><span style="font-size:11pt;">Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition)</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt;">© 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.</span></p> <p class="yiv9003199930MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;">Bible text from the Good News Translation (GNT) is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by American Bible Society, 101 North Independence Mall East, Floor 8, Philadelphia, PA 19106-2155 (<a href="http://www.americanbible.org">www.americanbible.org</a>). Learn more at <a href="http://www.gnt.bible">www.gnt.bible</a> . 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