Mark 4:21–34

USING YOUR LIGHT

²¹He^bl also said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket or under a bed?^bm Isn’t it to be put on a lampstand?^{bn 22}For there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed,^bo and nothing concealed that will not be brought to light. ²³If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen.”^{bp 24}And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear. By the measure^a you use,^b it will be measured to you—and more will be added^c to you. ²⁵For whoever has, more will be given to him, and whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”^d

THE PARABLE OF THE GROWING SEED

²⁶“The kingdom of God^e is like this,” he said. “A man scatters seed on the ground. ²⁷He sleeps^f and rises^g night^h and day; the seed sprouts and grows, although he doesn’t know how. ²⁸The soil produces a cropⁱ by itself—first the blade, then the head, and then the full grain^j on the head. ²⁹As soon as the crop is ready, he sends for the sickle,^k because the harvest^l has come.”

THE PARABLE OF THE MUSTARD SEED

³⁰And^m he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God,ⁿ or what parable^o can we use to describe it? ³¹It’s like a mustard seed^p that, when sown upon the soil, is the smallest of all the seeds on the ground. ³²And when sown,^q it comes up and grows taller than all the garden plants,^r and produces large branches, so that the birds of the sky^s can nest in its shade.”

USING PARABLES

³³He was speaking the word^t to them with many parables^u like these, as they were able to understand.^{v 34}He did not speak to them without a parable. Privately, however, he explained everything to his own disciples.^w