Mark 4:3–25

³“Listen to this! Behold, the sower went out to sow;

⁴as he was sowing, some seed fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate it up.

⁵“Other seed fell on the rocky ground where it did not have much soil; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of soil.

⁶“And after the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.

⁷“Other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no crop.

⁸“Other seeds fell into the good soil, and as they grew up and increased, they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.”

⁹And He was saying, “^aHe who has ears to hear, ¹let him hear.”

¹⁰As soon as He was alone, ¹His followers, along with the twelve, began asking Him about the parables.

¹¹And He was saying to them, “To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but ^athose who are outside get everything ^bin parables,

¹²so that ^awhile seeing, they may see and not perceive, and while hearing, they may hear and not understand, otherwise they might return and be forgiven.”

Explanation

^13aAnd He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables?

¹⁴“The sower sows the word.

¹⁵“These are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately ^aSatan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them.

¹⁶“In a similar way these are the ones on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy;

¹⁷and they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they ¹fall away.

¹⁸“And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word,

¹⁹but the worries of ^athe ¹world, and the ^bdeceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

²⁰“And those are the ones on whom seed was sown on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it and ^abear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.”

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.”