Mark 4–5

Parable of the Soils

Matt. 13:1–23; Luke 8:4–15

4And ^aagain He began to teach by the sea. And a great multitude was gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat in it on the sea; and the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea. ²Then He taught them many things by parables, ^band said to them in His teaching:

³“Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. ⁴And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds ¹of the air came and devoured it. ⁵Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth. ⁶But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away. ⁷And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no ²crop. ⁸But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”

⁹And He said ³to them, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

^10cBut when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable. ¹¹And He said to them, “To you it has been given to ^dknow the ⁴mystery of the kingdom of God; but to ^ethose who are outside, all things come in parables, ¹²so that

^f‘Seeing they may see and not perceive,

And hearing they may hear and not understand;

Lest they should turn,

And their sins be forgiven them.’ ”

¹³And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? ^14gThe sower sows the word. ¹⁵And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. ¹⁶These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; ¹⁷and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they stumble. ¹⁸Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, ¹⁹and the ^hcares of this world, ⁱthe deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. ²⁰But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, ⁵accept it, and bear ^jfruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”

Parable of the Lamp

Luke 8:16–18

^21kAlso 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? ^22lFor there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light. ^23mIf anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”

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

Parable of the Growing Seed

²⁶And He said, ^p“The kingdom of God is as if a man should ⁶scatter seed on the ground, ²⁷and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and ^qgrow, he himself does not know how. ²⁸For the earth ^ryields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head. ²⁹But when the grain ripens, immediately ^she puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

Parable of the Mustard Seed

Matt. 13:31–35

³⁰Then He said, ^t“To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what parable shall we picture it? ³¹It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth; ³²but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade.”

^33uAnd with many such parables He spoke the word to them as they were able to hear it. ³⁴But without a parable He did not speak to them. And when they were alone, ^vHe explained all things to His disciples.

The Sea is Stilled

Matt. 8:23–27; Luke 8:22–25

^35wOn the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” ³⁶Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. ³⁷And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. ³⁸But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, ^x“Teacher, ^ydo You not care that we are perishing?”

³⁹Then He arose and ^zrebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ^a“Peace, ⁷be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. ⁴⁰But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? ^bHow ⁸is it that you have no faith?” ⁴¹And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”

Demons are Cast into Swine

Matt. 8:28–34; Luke 8:26–39

5Then ^athey came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the ¹Gadarenes. ²And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an ^bunclean spirit, ³who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind ²him, not even with chains, ⁴because he had often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him. ⁵And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones.

⁶When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him. ⁷And he cried out with a loud voice and said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I ^cimplore ³You by God that You do not torment me.”

⁸For He said to him, ^d “Come out of the man, unclean spirit!” ⁹Then He asked him, “What is your name?”

And he answered, saying, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” ¹⁰Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the country.

¹¹Now a large herd of ^eswine was feeding there near the mountains. ¹²So all the demons begged Him, saying, “Send us to the swine, that we may enter them.” ¹³And ⁴at once Jesus gave them permission. Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine (there were about two thousand); and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and drowned in the sea.

¹⁴So those who fed the swine fled, and they told it in the city and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that had happened. ¹⁵Then they came to Jesus, and saw the one who had been ^fdemon-possessed and had the legion, ^gsitting and ^hclothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. ¹⁶And those who saw it told them how it happened to him who had been demon-possessed, and about the swine. ¹⁷Then ⁱthey began to plead with Him to depart from their region.

¹⁸And when He got into the boat, ^jhe who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him. ¹⁹However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.” ²⁰And he departed and began to ^kproclaim in ⁵Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all ^lmarveled.

Jairus Pleads for His Daughter

Matt. 9:18, 19; Luke 8:41, 42

^21mNow when Jesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side, a great multitude gathered to Him; and He was by the sea. ²²ⁿAnd behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came, Jairus by name. And when he saw Him, he fell at His feet ²³and begged Him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter lies at the point of death. Come and ^olay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live.” ²⁴So Jesus went with him, and a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him.

A Woman with Issue is Healed

Matt. 9:20–22; Luke 8:43–48

²⁵Now a certain woman ^phad a flow of blood for twelve years, ²⁶and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse. ²⁷When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and ^qtouched His garment. ²⁸For she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.”

²⁹Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the ⁶affliction. ³⁰And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that ^rpower had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My clothes?”

³¹But His disciples said to Him, “You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’ ”

³²And He looked around to see her who had done this thing. ³³But the woman, ^sfearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. ³⁴And He said to her, “Daughter, ^tyour faith has made you well. ^uGo in peace, and be healed of your affliction.”

Jairus’s Daughter is Healed

Matt. 9:23–26; Luke 8:49–56

^35vWhile He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?”

³⁶As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not be afraid; only ^wbelieve.” ³⁷And He permitted no one to follow Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James. ³⁸Then He came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and saw ⁷a tumult and those who ^xwept and wailed loudly. ³⁹When He came in, He said to them, “Why make this commotion and weep? The child is not dead, but ^ysleeping.”

⁴⁰And they ridiculed Him. ^zBut when He had put them all outside, He took the father and the mother of the child, and those who were with Him, and entered where the child was lying. ⁴¹Then He took the child by the hand, and said to her, “Talitha, cumi,” which is translated, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” ⁴²Immediately the girl arose and walked, for she was twelve years of age. And they were ^aovercome with great amazement. ⁴³But ^bHe commanded them strictly that no one should know it, and said that something should be given…