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Mark 4
1599 Geneva Bible
Mark 4
1599 Geneva Bible
4 4 The parable of the sower. 14 And the meaning thereof. 18 Thorns. 21 The candle. 26 Of him that sowed, and then slept. 31 The grain of mustard seed. 38 Christ sleepeth in the ship.
1 And (A)he began again to teach by the [a]seaside, and there gathered unto him a great multitude, so that he entered into a ship, and sat [b]in the sea, and all the people was by the seaside on the land.
2 And he taught them many things in parables, and said unto them in his doctrine,
3 [c]Hearken: Behold, there went out a sower to sow.
4 And it came to pass as he sowed, that some fell by the wayside, and the fowls of the heaven came, and devoured it up.
5 And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth, and by and by sprang up, because it had not depth of earth.
6 But as soon as the Sun was up, it was burnt up, and because it had not root, it withered away.
7 And some fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, so that it gave no fruit.
8 Some again fell in good ground, and did yield fruit that sprung up, and grew, and it brought forth, some thirtyfold, some sixtyfold, and some an hundredfold.
9 Then he said unto them, He that hath ears, to hear, let him hear.
10 And when he was [d]alone, they that were [e]about him with the twelve, asked him of the parable.
11 And he said unto them, To you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are [f]without, all things be done in parables,
12 (B)That they seeing, may see, and not discern: and they hearing, may hear, and not understand, lest at any time they should turn, and their sins should be forgiven them.
13 Again he said unto them, Perceive ye not this parable? how then should ye understand all other parables?
14 The sower soweth the word.
15 And these are they that receive the seed by the wayside, in whom the word is sown: but when they have heard it, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.
16 And likewise they that receive the seed in stony ground, are they, which when they have heard the word, straightway receive it with gladness.
17 Yet have they no root in themselves, and endure but a time: for when trouble and persecution ariseth for the word, immediately they be offended.
18 Also they that receive the seed among the thorns, are such as hear the word:
19 But the cares [g]of this world, and the (C)deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things enter in, and choke the word, and it is unfruitful.
20 But they that have received seed in good ground, are they that hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit: one corn thirty, another sixty, and some an hundred.
21 ¶ [h]Also he said unto them, (D)Cometh the candle in, to be put under a bushel, or under the bed, and not to be put in a candlestick?
22 (E)For there is nothing hid, that shall not be opened, neither is there a secret, but that it shall come to light.
23 If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.
24 [i]And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear. (F)With what measure you mete, it shall be measured unto you: and unto you that hear, shall more be given.
25 (G)For unto him that hath, shall it be given, and from him that hath not, shall be taken away even that he hath.
26 ¶ [j]Also he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed in the ground.
27 And [k]should sleep, and rise up night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he [l]not knowing how.
28 For the earth bringeth forth fruit [m]of itself, first the blade, then the ears, after that full corn in the ears.
29 And as soon as the fruit showeth itself, anon he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.
30 ¶ (H)[n]He said moreover, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it?
31 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which when it is sown in the earth, is the least of all seeds that be in the earth:
32 But after that it is sown, it groweth up, and is greatest of all herbs, and beareth great branches, so that the fowls of the heaven may build under the shadow of it.
33 And (I)with many such parables he preached the word unto them, [o]as they were able to hear it.
34 And without parables spake he nothing unto them: but he [p]expounded all things to his disciples apart.
35 ¶ (J)Now the same day when even was come, he said unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side.
36 And they left the multitude, and took him as he was in the ship, and there was also with him other little ships.
37 [q]And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves dashed into the ship, so that it was now full.
38 And he was in the stern asleep on a pillow: and they awoke him, and said to him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?
39 And he arose up, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, and be still. So the wind ceased, and it was a great calm.
40 Then he said unto them, [r]Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?
41 And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, Who is this, that both the wind and sea obey him?
Footnotes
- Mark 4:1 Seaside of Tiberias.
- Mark 4:1 In a ship which was launched into the sea.
- Mark 4:3 The selfsame doctrine of the Gospel is sown everywhere, but it hath not like success indeed through the fault of man, but yet by the just judgment of God.
- Mark 4:10 Word for word, solitary.
- Mark 4:10 They that followed him at the heels.
- Mark 4:11 That is to say, to strangers, and such as are none of ours.
- Mark 4:19 Which pertain to this life.
- Mark 4:21 Although the light of the Gospel be rejected of the world, yet it ought to be lighted, if it were for no other cause than this, that the wickedness of the world might be made manifest.
- Mark 4:24 The more liberally that we communicate such gifts as God hath given us with our brethren, the more bountiful will God be toward us.
- Mark 4:26 The Lord soweth and reapeth after a manner unknown to men.
- Mark 4:27 That is, when he hath done sowing, should pass the time both day and night, nothing doubting, but that the seed would spring which groweth both day and night.
- Mark 4:27 It is the part of the ministers, to labor the ground with all diligence, and commend the success to God: for that mighty working whereby the seed cometh to blade and ear, is secret and only known by the fruit.
- Mark 4:28 By a certain power which moveth itself.
- Mark 4:30 God far otherwise than men use, beginneth with the least, and endeth with the greatest.
- Mark 4:33 According to the capacity of the hearers.
- Mark 4:34 Word for word, Loosed, as you would say, read them the hard riddles.
- Mark 4:37 They that sail with Christ, although he seems to sleep never so soundly when they are in danger, yet they are preserved of him in time convenient, being awakened.
- Mark 4:40 How cometh it to pass that you have no faith?
Mark 4
New International Version
Mark 4
New International Version
The Parable of the Sower(A)(B)
4 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. 2 He taught them many things by parables,(D) and in his teaching said: 3 “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed.(E) 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8 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)
9 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
- Mark 4:12 Isaiah 6:9,10
1599 Geneva Bible (GNV) 
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New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.