Mark 4:4-14

4 as he was sowing, some seed fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate it up.

5 "Other seed fell on the rocky ground where it did not have much soil; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of soil.

6 "And after the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.

7 "Other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no crop.

8 "Other seeds fell into the good soil, and as they grew up and increased, they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold."

9 And He was saying, "¹He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

10 As soon as He was alone, His followers *, along with the twelve, began asking Him about the parables.

11 And He was saying to them, "To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but ²those who are outside get everything ³in parables,

12 so that ⁴WHILE SEEING, THEY MAY SEE AND NOT PERCEIVE, AND WHILE HEARING, THEY MAY HEAR AND NOT UNDERSTAND, OTHERWISE THEY MIGHT RETURN AND BE FORGIVEN."

Explanation

13 ⁵And He said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables?

14 "The sower sows the word.

Cross References

• 1. Matthew 11:15; Mark 4:23; Rev 2:7, 11, 17, 29
• 2. 1 Corinthians 5:12; Colossians 4:5; 1 Thessalonians 4:12; 1 Timothy 3:7
• 3. Mark 3:23; Mark 4:2
• 4. Isaiah 6:9; Isaiah 43:8; Jeremiah 5:21; Ezekiel 12:2; Matthew 13:14; Luke 8:10; John 12:40; Romans 11:8
• 5. Mark 4:13-20: {Matthew 13:18-23; Luke 8:11-15}

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "hear!;" or "listen!"
• [b]. Lit "those about Him"