Mark 4:21-31

21 ¹And he said to them, ²"Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand?

22 ³For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light.

23 ⁴If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear."

24 And he said to them, "Pay attention to what you hear: ⁵with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you.

25 ⁶For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away."

26 And he said, ⁷"The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground.

27 He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; ⁸he knows not how.

28 The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.

29 But when the grain is ripe, at once ⁹he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come."

30 ¹⁰And he said, "With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it?

31 It is like ¹¹a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth,

Cross References 11

The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.