Mark 4

Jesus began teaching again beside the sea. Such a large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat down in it, out on the water, while the whole crowd stayed on the shore.

1And he began again to teach by the sea side: and there was gathered unto him a great multitude, so that he entered into a ship, and sat in the sea; and the whole multitude was by the sea on the land.

NoteThe sea here is the Sea of Galilee, a freshwater lake about thirteen miles long in northern Israel, ringed with towns and worked by fishing crews. The King James "a ship" translates a word for a small open fishing boat, not a large vessel. Sitting was the normal posture of a teacher addressing a crowd; standing up was for reading aloud.

2He taught them many things using parables. This is part of what he told them as he taught:

2And he taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine,

NoteA parable is a short comparison drawn from ordinary life, a picture or story set beside a subject to throw light on it. The King James "doctrine" here means simply his teaching, what he taught and the act of teaching it, without the later sense of a fixed body of dogma.

3"Listen! A farmer went out to plant his seed.

3Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow:

Note"Hearken" is older English for listen. Sowing was done by walking the field and flinging handfuls of seed broadcast across it, sometimes before the ground was plowed, which is why in this story seed lands in so many places the farmer did not intend.

4As he was scattering the seed, some of it fell on the path, and birds came and ate it up.

4And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up.

NoteThe "way side" is a footpath beaten hard by feet, running along the edge of a field or straight across it. "Fowls of the air" is simply birds.

5Some seed fell on rocky ground, where there was not much soil. It sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow.

5And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth:

NoteStony ground is not soil with loose stones in it but a thin skin of earth lying over a shelf of limestone bedrock. It warms fast and holds no water, so seed shoots up early and has nowhere for roots to go.

6But when the sun came up, the young plants were burned, and they dried up and died because they had no roots.

6But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.

7Some seed fell among thorny weeds. The weeds grew up and crowded the plants out, so they produced no grain.

7And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.

NoteThe thorns are the wild thorny scrub of uncultivated ground. Its roots survive in the soil after clearing and shoot up again alongside the crop.

8Other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew, and produced a crop. Some plants made thirty times as much as was planted, some sixty times, and some a hundred times."

8And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred.

NoteGrain yields in ancient Galilee are usually reckoned at something like five to ten times the amount of seed sown. Thirty, sixty and a hundredfold describe a harvest far beyond even a good year.

9Then he said to them, "Anyone who has ears to hear with should listen."

9And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Note"He that hath ears to hear, let him hear" is a set formula for flagging a saying that has to be worked at. It is not a remark about physical hearing.

10Later, when Jesus was alone, the people around him, along with the twelve disciples he had chosen, asked him about the parable.

10And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable.

Note"The twelve" is Mark's shorthand for the twelve men Jesus had singled out from his followers, named in chapter 3. Others traveled with him too, which is why this verse distinguishes the twelve from "they that were about him."

11He said to them, "You have been given the secret of God's kingdom. But for those outside the group, everything comes in parables,

11And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:

NoteThe King James "mystery" translates a Greek word meaning a secret that has now been let out: something once hidden, now disclosed to a particular group. It does not mean a puzzle or something unknowable in principle. "Them that are without" means those outside that circle, outsiders.

12so that they may look and look but never really see, and hear and hear but never really understand. If they did, they might turn back to God and have their sins forgiven."

12That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.

NoteThese words quote Isaiah 6:9-10, where a prophet is told in advance that his preaching will leave his hearers unmoved. The Greek word joining this verse to the last can carry the sense of purpose, "in order that," or of result, "with the result that," and "lest at any time" is open the same way. The grammar does not settle which is meant, and both readings are ancient. "Converted" in 1611 English means turned around or turned back, not what the word suggests to a modern ear.

13Then he said to them, "You do not understand this parable? Then how will you understand any of the parables?

13And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables?

14The farmer plants the word, which is God's message.

14The sower soweth the word.

15Some people are like the seed on the path where the word is planted. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was planted in them.

15And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.

NoteSatan is a name taken from the Hebrew word for accuser or adversary, the figure Mark presents as the enemy behind opposition to Jesus.

16Others are like the seed planted on rocky ground. When they hear the word, they accept it right away and are glad.

16And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness;

17But it never takes root in them, so they last only a little while. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly give up.

17And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended.

Note"Offended" in the King James does not mean insulted or affronted. The Greek verb means to be tripped up or made to stumble, so the picture is of people who trip over the trouble and fall away.

18Others are like the seed planted among thorny weeds. They hear the word,

18And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word,

19but then the worries of this life, the false promises of money, and the craving for other things crowd in. These choke the word, and it produces nothing.

19And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.

Note"The deceitfulness of riches" means the way wealth makes promises it does not keep. "The lusts of other things" means strong cravings for other things generally, without the narrowly sexual sense the English word has since taken on.

20And others are like the seed planted in good soil. They hear the word, take it in, and produce a crop, some thirty times as much, some sixty, and some a hundred."

20And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.

21He said to them, "Does anyone bring in a lamp to put it under a basket or under a bed? Doesn't he put it on a lampstand?

21And he said unto them, Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? and not to be set on a candlestick?

NoteA "candle" in 1611 English is an oil lamp: a small clay bowl of oil with a wick in the lip. The "bushel" is not an abstract measure but the household container used for measuring out dry grain, holding roughly two gallons and big enough to smother a lamp. A "candlestick" is the stand the lamp was set on to throw light across a room.

22Nothing is hidden that will not be shown, and nothing is kept secret except to be brought out into the open.

22For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad.

Note"Come abroad" in 1611 English means come out into the open, be made public.

23If anyone has ears to hear with, he should listen."

23If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.

24He also said to them, "Pay attention to what you hear. The measure you use will be measured back to you, and you will be given even more.

24And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given.

Note"With what measure ye mete" pictures grain being scooped into a measuring container in a market: the size of the container you use on others is the one that will be used on you. "Mete" means to measure out.

25The person who has something will be given more. But the person who has nothing will lose even what he has."

25For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath.

26He also said, "God's kingdom is like this. A man scatters seed on the ground.

26And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground;

27Night and day, whether he is asleep or awake, the seed sprouts and grows, and he does not know how it happens.

27And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how.

28The soil produces the crop all by itself. First the green stalk comes up, then the head of grain, then the full, ripe grain in the head.

28For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.

Note"Corn" in the King James means grain of any kind, here wheat or barley. It does not mean maize, which was unknown in England when the translation was made. "The blade" is the young green shoot, "the ear" the head at the top where the kernels form.

29As soon as the grain is ready, the man cuts it with his curved blade, because it is harvest time."

29But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.

Note"Putteth in the sickle" means he sets to work with the sickle, a short curved blade used to cut standing grain by hand. The wording echoes Joel 3:13, where harvest stands for a decisive act of God.

30He also said, "What can we compare God's kingdom to? What picture can we use to describe it?

30And he said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it?

31It is like a mustard seed. When it is planted in the ground, it is smaller than any other seed on earth.

31It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth:

NoteAmong Jewish teachers the mustard seed was proverbial for the smallest thing the eye could see, and that proverb is what the comparison trades on rather than a claim about botany. The plant itself is an annual that can reach eight or ten feet in one season, large for a garden plant though not a tree.

32But once it is planted, it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants. It puts out big branches, so birds can rest in its shade."

32But when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it.

NoteBirds sheltering in the branches of a great tree was a stock image in the Hebrew scriptures for an empire or kingdom giving shelter to the nations under it, as in Ezekiel 17 and Daniel 4.

33Jesus used many parables like these to tell them the message, as much as they were able to take in.

33And with many such parables spake he the word unto them, as they were able to hear it.

Note"As they were able to hear it" means as much of it as they could take in, not how loudly he spoke.

34He did not say anything to the crowd without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything to them.

34But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples.

35That same day, when evening came, he said to them, "Let's cross over to the other side of the sea."

35And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side.

Note"The other side" is the eastern shore of the lake, largely non-Jewish territory. The crossing is several miles of open water, and setting out at evening was ordinary for fishing crews.

36So they sent the crowd away and took Jesus along, just as he was, in the boat. Other boats went with him too.

36And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships.

Note"Even as he was" appears to mean they pushed off with him still in the boat he had been teaching from, without his going ashore first. "Little ships" again means small open fishing boats.

37A fierce windstorm came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was filling with water.

37And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.

NoteThe Sea of Galilee sits about 700 feet below sea level in a bowl of hills, and cold air funneling down the ravines onto warm water can raise violent squalls with almost no warning. An open fishing boat could be swamped in minutes.

38Jesus was in the back of the boat, asleep on a cushion. They woke him up and said, "Teacher, don't you care that we are about to drown?"

38And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?

Note"The hinder part" is the stern, the back of the boat. The King James "a pillow" renders a phrase that has the definite article in Greek, "the cushion," probably the helmsman's seat cushion, a standing piece of the boat's equipment. "Master" here translates the ordinary word for a teacher, not an owner or a lord.

39He got up, ordered the wind to stop, and said to the sea, "Quiet! Be still!" The wind died down, and everything became completely calm.

39And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

Note"Rebuked" and the command "Peace, be still" use the same vocabulary Mark uses in chapter 1 when Jesus silences an unclean spirit. The verb behind "be still" means to be muzzled or gagged.

40He said to them, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?"

40And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?

41They were filled with fear and said to one another, "Who is this man? Even the wind and the sea obey him."

41And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?

Note"They feared exceedingly" renders a Hebrew-flavored construction, literally "they feared a great fear." "What manner of man is this" is more literally "Who then is this?", a question about who he is rather than about what sort of person he is.