Mark 4:21–34

²¹And He was saying to them, “^aA lamp is not brought to be put under a ¹basket, is it, or under a bed? Is it not brought to be put on the lampstand?

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

²³“^aIf anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”

²⁴And He was saying to them, “Take care what you listen to. ^1aBy your standard of measure it will be measured to you; and more will be given you besides.

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

Parable of the Seed

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

²⁷and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows—how, 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 ^1aputs in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

Parable of the Mustard Seed

^30aAnd He said, “How shall we ^1bpicture the kingdom of God, or by what parable shall we present it?

³¹“It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the soil, though it is smaller than all the seeds that are upon the soil,

³²yet when it is sown, it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and forms large branches; so that ^athe birds of the ¹air can nest under its shade.”

³³With many such parables He was speaking the word to them, so far as they were able to hear it;

³⁴and He did not speak to them ^awithout a parable; but He was ^bexplaining everything privately to His own disciples.