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And again he began to teach by the sea, and there was gathered unto him a great multitude, so that he, having gone into the boat, sat in the sea, and all the multitude was near the sea, on the land,

and he taught them many things in similes, and he said to them in his teaching:

`Hearken, lo, the sower went forth to sow;

and it came to pass, in the sowing, some fell by the way, and the fowls of the heaven did come and devour it;

and other fell upon the rocky ground, where it had not much earth, and immediately it sprang forth, because of not having depth of earth,

and the sun having risen, it was scorched, and because of not having root it did wither;

and other fell toward the thorns, and the thorns did come up, and choke it, and fruit it gave not;

and other fell to the good ground, and was giving fruit, coming up and increasing, and it bare, one thirty-fold, and one sixty, and one an hundred.'

And he said to them, `He who is having ears to hear -- let him hear.'

10 And when he was alone, those about him, with the twelve, did ask him of the simile,

11 and he said to them, `To you it hath been given to know the secret of the reign of God, but to those who are without, in similes are all the things done;

12 that seeing they may see and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand, lest they may turn, and the sins may be forgiven them.'

13 And he saith to them, `Have ye not known this simile? and how shall ye know all the similes?

14 He who is sowing doth sow the word;

15 and these are they by the way where the word is sown: and whenever they may hear, immediately cometh the Adversary, and he taketh away the word that hath been sown in their hearts.

16 `And these are they, in like manner, who on the rocky ground are sown: who, whenever they may hear the word, immediately with joy do receive it,

17 and have not root in themselves, but are temporary; afterward tribulation or persecution having come because of the word, immediately they are stumbled.

18 `And these are they who toward the thorns are sown: these are they who are hearing the word,

19 and the anxieties of this age, and the deceitfulness of the riches, and the desires concerning the other things, entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.

20 `And these are they who on the good ground have been sown: who do hear the word, and receive, and do bear fruit, one thirty-fold, and one sixty, and one an hundred.'

21 And he said to them, `Doth the lamp come that under the measure it may be put, or under the couch -- not that it may be put on the lamp-stand?

22 for there is not anything hid that may not be manifested, nor was anything kept hid but that it may come to light.

23 If any hath ears to hear -- let him hear.'

24 And he said to them, `Take heed what ye hear; in what measure ye measure, it shall be measured to you; and to you who hear it shall be added;

25 for whoever may have, there shall be given to him, and whoever hath not, also that which he hath shall be taken from him.'

26 And he said, `Thus is the reign of God: as if a man may cast the seed on the earth,

27 and may sleep, and may rise night and day, and the seed spring up and grow, he hath not known how;

28 for of itself doth the earth bear fruit, first a blade, afterwards an ear, afterwards full corn in the ear;

29 and whenever the fruit may yield itself, immediately he doth send forth the sickle, because the harvest hath come.'

30 And he said, `To what may we liken the reign of God, or in what simile may we compare it?

31 As a grain of mustard, which, whenever it may be sown on the earth, is less than any of the seeds that are on the earth;

32 and whenever it may be sown, it cometh up, and doth become greater than any of the herbs, and doth make great branches, so that under its shade the fowls of the heaven are able to rest.'

33 And with many such similes he was speaking to them the word, as they were able to hear,

34 and without a simile he was not speaking to them, and by themselves, to his disciples he was expounding all.

35 And he saith to them on that day, evening having come, `We may pass over to the other side;'

36 and having let away the multitude, they take him up as he was in the boat, and other little boats also were with him.

37 And there cometh a great storm of wind, and the waves were beating on the boat, so that it is now being filled,

38 and he himself was upon the stern, upon the pillow sleeping, and they wake him up, and say to him, `Teacher, art thou not caring that we perish?'

39 And having waked up, he rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, `Peace, be stilled;' and the wind did lull, and there was a great calm:

40 and he said to them, `Why are ye so fearful? how have ye not faith?'

41 and they feared a great fear, and said one to another, `Who, then, is this, that even the wind and the sea do obey him?'

The Parable of the Sower(A)(B)

Again Jesus began to teach by the lake.(C) The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. He taught them many things by parables,(D) and in his teaching said: “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed.(E) As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”(F)

Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”(G)

10 When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. 11 He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God(H) has been given to you. But to those on the outside(I) everything is said in parables 12 so that,

“‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
    and ever hearing but never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’[a](J)

13 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14 The farmer sows the word.(K) 15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan(L) comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth(M) and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”

A Lamp on a Stand

21 He said to them, “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand?(N) 22 For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open.(O) 23 If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.”(P)

24 “Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more.(Q) 25 Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.”(R)

The Parable of the Growing Seed

26 He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like.(S) A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”(T)

The Parable of the Mustard Seed(U)

30 Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like,(V) or what parable shall we use to describe it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. 32 Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.”

33 With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand.(W) 34 He did not say anything to them without using a parable.(X) But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.

Jesus Calms the Storm(Y)

35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat.(Z) There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”(AA)

41 They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

Footnotes

  1. Mark 4:12 Isaiah 6:9,10