Mark 4:21–34

A Lamp Under a Basket

^21wAnd he said to them, ^x“Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand? ^22yFor nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light. ^23zIf anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” ²⁴And 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. ^25bFor 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

²⁶And he said, ^c“The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. ²⁷He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; ^dhe knows not how. ²⁸The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. ²⁹But when the grain is ripe, at once ^ehe puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

^30fAnd he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? ³¹It is like ^ga grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, ³²yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”

^33hWith many such parables he spoke ⁱthe word to them, ^jas they were able to hear it. ³⁴He did not speak to them ^kwithout a parable, but ^lprivately to his own disciples he ^mexplained everything.