Mark 4

RKJNT^{(i) 1} And again he began to teach by the seaside: and a great multitude gathered around him, so that he entered into a boat, and sat in it; and the whole multitude was on the shore. ² And he taught them many things by parables, and said to them in his teaching, ³ Listen; Behold, a sower went out to sow: ⁴ And it came to pass, as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside, and the birds of the air came and devoured it. ⁵ And some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of soil: ⁶ But when the sun came up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. ⁷ And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. ⁸ And other seed fell on good ground, and yielded fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some a hundredfold. ⁹ And he said to them, He who has ears to hear, let him hear. ¹⁰ And when he was alone, those who were about him with the twelve asked him about the parable. ¹¹ And he said to them, To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but to those who are outside, all these things are done in parables: ¹² That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest they should be converted, and their sins be forgiven. ¹³ And he said to them, Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? ¹⁴ The sower sows the word. ¹⁵ And these are the ones by the wayside, where the word is sown; when they have heard, Satan comes immediately, and takes away the word that was sown in them. ¹⁶ And likewise, these are the ones who are like seed sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; ¹⁷ But have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution arises for the word's sake, they immediately fall away. ¹⁸ And these are the ones who are like seed sown among thorns; they hear the word, ¹⁹ And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lust for other things enter in, and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. ²⁰ And these are the ones who are like seed sown on good ground; they hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirty, some sixty, and some a hundredfold. ²¹ And he said to them, Is a lamp brought in to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? and not to be set on a lampstand? ²² For there is nothing hidden, which shall not be revealed; nor is anything kept secret that shall not come to light. ²³ If any man has ears to hear, let him hear. ²⁴ And he said to them, Take heed what you hear: with the measure you use, it shall be measured to you: and more besides. ²⁵ For he who has, to him shall more be given: and he who has not, from him shall be taken even that which he has. ²⁶ And he said, The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the ground; ²⁷ And goes to sleep and rises, night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows up, though he does not know how. ²⁸ For the earth brings forth fruit by itself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full grain in the ear. ²⁹ But when the grain is ripe, immediately he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come. ³⁰ And he said, To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? or what parable shall we use for it? ³¹ It is like a grain of mustard seed, which is the smallest seed planted in the ground: ³² But when it is sown, it grows up, and becomes greater than all garden herbs, and shoots out great branches; so that the birds of the air may nest under the shadow of it. ³³ And with many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it. ³⁴ And he did not speak to them without a parable: and when they were alone, he explained all things to his disciples. ³⁵ And the same day, when evening had come, he said to them, Let us pass over to the other side. ³⁶ And when they had sent the multitude away, they took him just as he was in the boat. And there were also with him other boats. ³⁷ And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was almost swamped. ³⁸ And he was in the stern, asleep on a pillow: and they awoke him, and said to him, Teacher, do you not care that we perish? ³⁹ And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. ⁴⁰ And he said to them, Why are you so fearful? how is it that you have no faith? ⁴¹ And they were exceedingly fearful, and said to one another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?