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Mark 4:21–29

A Lamp Under a Basket

21 wAnd he said to them, xIs a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand? 22 yFor nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light. 23 zIf anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” 24 And he said to them, Pay attention to what you hear: awith the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. 25 bFor to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”

The Parable of the Seed Growing

26 And he said, cThe 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; dhe 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 ehe puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

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Mark 4:21–29 — The New International Version (NIV)

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? 22 For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. 23 If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.”

24 Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. With the measure you use, it will be measured to youand even more. 25 Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.”

26 He also said, This is what the kingdom of God is like. 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 grainfirst 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.”

Mark 4:21–29 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

21 And he said unto them, Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? and not to be set on a candlestick? 22 For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad. 23 If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. 24 And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given. 25 For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath.

26 And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; 27 And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. 28 For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. 29 But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.

Mark 4:21–29 — New Living Translation (NLT)

21 Then Jesus asked them, Would anyone light a lamp and then put it under a basket or under a bed? Of course not! A lamp is placed on a stand, where its light will shine. 22 For everything that is hidden will eventually be brought into the open, and every secret will be brought to light. 23 Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”

24 Then he added, Pay close attention to what you hear. The closer you listen, the more understanding you will be givenand you will receive even more. 25 To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them.”

26 Jesus also said, The Kingdom of God is like a farmer who scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, while he’s asleep or awake, the seed sprouts and grows, but he does not understand how it happens. 28 The earth produces the crops on its own. First a leaf blade pushes through, then the heads of wheat are formed, and finally the grain ripens. 29 And as soon as the grain is ready, the farmer comes and harvests it with a sickle, for the harvest time has come.”

Mark 4:21–29 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

21 Also He said to them, Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed? Is it not to be set on a lampstand? 22 For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light. 23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”

24 Then He said to them, Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given. 25 For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”

26 And He said, The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, 27 and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how. 28 For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head. 29 But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

Mark 4:21–29 — New Century Version (NCV)

21 Then Jesus said to them, Do you hide a lamp under a bowl or under a bed? No! You put the lamp on a lampstand. 22 Everything that is hidden will be made clear and every secret thing will be made known. 23 Let those with ears use them and listen!

24 Think carefully about what you hear. The way you give to others is the way God will give to you, but God will give you even more. 25 Those who have understanding will be given more. But those who do not have understanding, even what they have will be taken away from them.”

26 Then Jesus said, The kingdom of God is like someone who plants seed in the ground. 27 Night and day, whether the person is asleep or awake, the seed still grows, but the person does not know how it grows. 28 By itself the earth produces grain. First the plant grows, then the head, and then all the grain in the head. 29 When the grain is ready, the farmer cuts it, because this is the harvest time.”

Mark 4:21–29 — American Standard Version (ASV)

21 And he said unto them, Is the lamp brought to be put under the bushel, or under the bed, and not to be put on the stand? 22 For there is nothing hid, save that it should be manifested; neither was anything made secret, but that it should come to light. 23 If any man hath ears to hear, let him hear. 24 And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete it shall be measured unto you; and more shall be given unto you. 25 For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken away even that which he hath.

26 And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed upon the earth; 27 and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should spring up and grow, he knoweth not how. 28 The earth beareth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 29 But when the fruit is ripe, straightway he putteth forth the sickle, because the harvest is come.

Mark 4:21–29 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

21 And he said to them, Does the lamp come that it should be put under the bushel or under the couch? Is it not that it should be set upon the lamp-stand? 22 For there is nothing hidden which shall not be made manifest; nor does any secret thing take place, but that it should come to light. 23 If any one have ears to hear, let him hear. 24 And he said to them, Take heed what ye hear; with what measure ye mete, it shall be meted to you; and there shall be more added to you. 25 For whosoever has, to him shall be given; and he who has not, even what he has shall be taken from him. 26 And he said, Thus is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast the seed upon the earth, 27 and should sleep and rise up night and day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he does not know how. 28 The earth bears fruit of itself, first the blade, then an ear, then full corn in the ear. 29 But when the fruit is produced, immediately he sends the sickle, for the harvest is come.

Mark 4:21–29 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

21 Jesus said to them, “Does anyone bring a lamp into a room to put it under a basket or under a bed? Isn’t it put on a lamp stand? 22 There is nothing hidden that will not be revealed. There is nothing kept secret that will not come to light. 23 Let the person who has ears listen!” 

24 He went on to say, “Pay attention to what you’re listening to! ⸤Knowledge⸥ will be measured out to you by the measure ⸤of attention⸥ you give. This is the way knowledge increases. 25 Those who understand ⸤these mysteries⸥ will be given ⸤more knowledge⸥. However, some people don’t understand ⸤these mysteries⸥. Even what they understand will be taken away from them.” 

26 Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is like a man who scatters seeds on the ground. 27 He sleeps at night and is awake during the day. The seeds sprout and grow, although the man doesn’t know how. 28 The ground produces grain by itself. First the green blade appears, then the head, then the head full of grain. 29 As soon as the grain is ready, he cuts it with a sickle, because harvest time has come.” 

Mark 4:21–29 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

21 He also said to them, Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket or under a bed? Isn’t it to be put on a lampstand? 22 For nothing is concealed except to be revealed, and nothing hidden except to come to light. 23 If anyone has ears to hear, he should listen!” 24 Then He said to them, Pay attention to what you hear. By the measure you use, it will be measured and added to you. 25 For to the one who has, it will be given, and from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.”

26 The kingdom of God is like this,” He said. A man scatters seed on the ground; 27 he sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and growshe doesn’t know how. 28 The soil produces a crop by itselffirst the blade, then the head, and then the ripe grain on the head. 29 But as soon as the crop is ready, he sends for the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

Mark 4:21–29 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

21 He said to them, Is a lamp brought in to be put under the bushel basket, or under the bed, and not on the lampstand? 22 For there is nothing hidden, except to be disclosed; nor is anything secret, except to come to light. 23 Let anyone with ears to hear listen!” 24 And he said to them, Pay attention to what you hear; the measure you give will be the measure you get, and still more will be given you. 25 For to those who have, more will be given; and from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.”

26 He also said, The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, 27 and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. 28 The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. 29 But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.”

Mark 4:21–29 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

21 And he said to them, “Surely a lamp is not brought so that it may be put under a bushel basket or under a bed, is it? Is it not so that it may be put on a lampstand? 22 For nothing is secret except so that it may be revealed, nor has become hidden except so that it will come to light. 23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!” 24 And he said to them, “Take care what you hear! With the measure by which you measure out, it will be measured out to you, and will be added to you. 25 For whoever has, more will be given to him, and whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”

26 And he said, “The kingdom of God is like this: like a man scatters seed on the ground. 27 And he sleeps and gets up, night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows—he does not know how. 28 By itself the soil produces a crop: first the grass, then the head of grain, then the full grain in the head. 29 But when the crop permits, he sends in the sickle right away, because the harvest has come.”

Mark 4:21–29 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

21 Jesus said to them, “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a large bowl or a bed? Don’t you put it on its stand? 22 What is hidden is meant to be seen. And what is put out of sight is meant to be brought out into the open. 23 Everyone who has ears should listen.”

24 “Think carefully about what you hear,” he said. “As you give, so you will receive. In fact, you will receive even more. 25 If you have something, you will be given more. If you have nothing, even what you have will be taken away from you.”

26 Jesus also said, “Here is what God’s kingdom is like. A farmer scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day the seed comes up and grows. It happens whether the farmer sleeps or gets up. He doesn’t know how it happens. 28 All by itself the soil produces grain. First the stalk comes up. Then the head appears. Finally, the full grain appears in the head. 29 Before long the grain ripens. So the farmer cuts it down, because the harvest is ready.”

Mark 4:21–29 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

21 And He was saying to them, A lamp is not brought to be put under a basket, is it, or under a bed? Is it not brought to be put on the lampstand?

22 For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light.

23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”

24 And He was saying to them, Take care what you listen to. By your standard of measure it will be measured to you; and more will be given you besides.

25 For whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.”

26 And He was saying, The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil;

27 and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and growshow, he himself does not know.

28 The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head.

29 But when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”


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