Mark 4:1–20

The Parable of the Sower

4 And again he began to teach beside the sea,a and a very large crowd was gathered to him, so that he got into a boat and* sat on the sea, and the whole crowd was at the sea on the land. 2 And he began to teachb them many things in parables, and was saying to them in his teaching, 3 “Listen! Behold, the sower went out to sow. 4 And it happened that while he was sowing, ⌊some seed⌋c fell on the side of the path, and the birds came and devoured it. 5 And other seed fell on the rocky ground where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up at once, because it did not have any depth of soil. 6 And when the sun rose it was scorched, and because it did not have enough root, it withered. 7 And other seed fell among the thorn plants, and the thorn plants came up and choked it, and it did not produce grain.d 8 And other seed fell on the good soil, and produced grain,e coming up and increasing, and it bore a crop*—one thirty and one sixty and one a hundred times as much.f 9 And he said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear!”

The Reason for the Parables

10 And when he was alone, those around him together with the twelve began askingg him about the parables. 11 And he said to them, “To you has been granted the secret of the kingdom of God, but to those who are outside everything is in parables, 12 so that

‘⌊they may look closely⌋h and not perceive,

and ⌊they may listen carefully⌋i and not understand,

lest they turn and it be forgiven them.’ ”j

The Parable of the Sower Interpreted

13 And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? And how will you understand all the parables? 14 The sower sows the word. 15 And these are the ones beside the path where the word is sown, and whenever they hear it,* immediately Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16 And these are likek the ones sown on the rocky ground, who whenever they hear the word immediately receive it with joy. 17 And they have no root in themselves, but are temporary. Then when* affliction or persecution comes because of the word, immediately they fall away. 18 And others are the ones sown among the thorn plants—these are the ones who hear the word, 19 and the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and* choke the word and it becomes unproductive. 20 And those are the ones sown on the good soil, who hear the word and receive it* and bear fruit—one thirty and one sixty and one a hundred times as much.”l

a	That is, the Sea of Galilee
*	Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“got”) has been translated as a finite verb
b	The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began to teach”)
c	Literally “some of which”
d	Literally “fruit,” describing here the grain harvested from the healthy plants; in contemporary English this would more naturally be expressed by terms like “grain” or “crop”
e	Literally “fruit,” describing here the grain harvested from the healthy plants; in contemporary English this would more naturally be expressed by terms like “grain” or “crop”
*	Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
f	The phrase “times as much” is not in the Greek text but is implied
g	The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began asking”)
h	Literally “seeing they may see”
i	Literally “hearing they may hear”
j	A quotation from Isa 6:9–10
*	Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
k	Some manuscripts omit “like”
*	Here “when” is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle (“comes”)
*	Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“come in”) has been translated as a finite verb
*	Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
l	The phrase “times as much” is not in the Greek text but is implied