Mark
Chapter 4
1 He started teaching by the sea again, and so many people came to him that he got into a boat and sat on the water, while all the people stayed on the shore.
2 He taught them many things using stories and explained his teachings to them.
3 Listen; Look, a farmer went out to plant seeds.
4 As he was planting seeds, some dropped on the path, and birds flew down and ate them.
5 Some seeds fell on rocky soil where there wasn’t much dirt; they quickly grew because the soil was shallow.
6 When the sun rose, it burned the plant, and because the plant had no roots, it dried up.
7 Some seeds fell among thorns, and when the thorns grew, they choked the seeds so they produced no fruit.
8 Some seeds fell on good soil and grew, making more seeds. They produced thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times more.
9 He told them, “If anyone can hear, listen carefully.”
10 When he was alone, the people with the twelve disciples asked him about the parable.
11 He told them, “You are given the knowledge of God’s kingdom’s secret, but to outsiders, everything is told in stories.”
12 They can look but not see, and listen but not understand, so they won’t turn back and be forgiven for their wrongs.
13 He asked them, “Don’t you understand this story? How then will you understand any story?”
14 The farmer plants the message.
15 These are the ones near the path where the message is planted; but as soon as they hear it, Satan comes quickly and removes the message that was planted in their hearts.
16 These are also the ones planted on rocky soil; they hear the message and quickly accept it with joy.
17 They have no strong root, and only last for a while. When trouble or persecution comes because of the message, they quickly get upset.
18 These are the people whose seed fell among thorns; they are those who hear the message,
19 Worries about life, the trickery of wealth, and wanting other things crowd out God’s message, making it unproductive.
20 These are the ones planted on good soil: they hear the message, accept it, and produce crops—some thirty times what was sown, some sixty times, and some a hundred times.
21 He asked them, “Do you bring a candle to hide it under a bowl or a bed? Shouldn’t it be placed on a candle holder?”
22 Nothing hidden will stay that way; what was secret will become known.
23 If anyone can hear, let them listen.
24 He told them, “Be careful what you listen to: the way you give to others will be the way you get from others, and if you listen well, you will receive even more.”
25 Whoever has will receive more, and whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken away.
26 He said, “God’s kingdom is like when a man plants seeds in the soil.”
27 He sleeps and wakes, day and night, and the seed sprouts and grows, but he doesn’t know how.
28 The earth produces its own crops: first the plant, then the head of grain, then the fully developed grain in the head.
29 But when the fruit is ready, right away he uses the sickle, because it’s time to harvest.
30 He asked, “What can we compare God’s kingdom to? What example can we use to describe it?”
31 It is like a tiny mustard seed that, when planted in the ground, is smaller than all the other seeds in the ground.
32 When it’s planted, it grows and becomes bigger than all the plants, and it spreads out big branches so birds can rest in its shade.
33 Using many stories like these, he shared his message with them, as much as they could understand.
34 He always taught using stories, but when alone with his followers, he explained everything.
35 That same day, when evening came, he said to them, “Let’s go across to the other side.”
36 After sending the crowd away, they went with him on the boat just as he was. There were also other small boats with him.
37 A big storm came with strong winds, and the waves hit the boat until it was full of water.
38 He was at the back of the boat, sleeping on a cushion. They woke him and said, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”
39 He got up, told the wind to stop, and said to the sea, “Quiet, be calm.” Then the wind stopped, and it was very calm.
40 He asked them, “Why are you so scared? Why don’t you have faith?”
41 They were very afraid and asked each other, “Who is this man that even the wind and the sea listen to him?”