Mark 4:1–25

The Parable of the Sower

⁴Again he began to teach beside the sea. Such a very large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat on the sea and sat there, while the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land.^{* 2}He began to teach them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them:^{* 3}“Listen! A sower went out to sow. ⁴And as he sowed, some seed fell on a path, and the birds came and ate it up. ⁵Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil. ⁶And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root it withered away. ⁷Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. ⁸Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.”^{* 9}And he said, “If you have ears to hear, then hear!”^*

The Purpose of the Parables

¹⁰When he was alone, those who were around him along with the twelve asked him about the parables. ¹¹And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret^e of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything comes in parables,^{* 12}in order that

‘they may indeed look but not perceive,

and may indeed hear but not understand;

so that they may not turn again and be forgiven.’ ”^*

¹³And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand all the parables? ¹⁴The sower sows the word. ¹⁵These are the ones on the path where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them.^{* 16}And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: when they hear the word, they immediately receive it with joy. ¹⁷But they have no root and endure only for a while; then, when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.^{f 18}And others are those sown among the thorns: these are the ones who hear the word, ¹⁹but the cares of the age and the lure of wealth and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it yields nothing. ²⁰And these are the ones sown on the good soil: they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.”

A Lamp under a Bushel Basket

²¹He said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under the bushel basket or under the bed and not on the lampstand? ²²For there is nothing hidden, except to be disclosed; nor is anything secret, except to come to light.^{* 23}If you have ears to hear, then hear!”^{* 24}And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear; the measure you give will be the measure you get, and it will be added to you.^{* 25}For to those who have, more will be given, and from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.”^*