Mark - Chapter 4

Passage

And again he began to teach by the seaside, and a great crowd gathered around him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and all the crowd was on the land by the sea. And he taught them many things in parables, and said to them in his teaching: Listen: Behold, the sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside, and the birds of the air came and ate it up. And other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil; and it sprang up quickly, because the soil was not deep. And when the sun was risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it produced no fruit. And some fell on good ground, and brought forth fruit that grew up and increased, and yielded thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold. And he said: Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear. And when he was alone, the twelve who were with him asked him about the parable. And he said to them: To you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those outside, everything is done in parables, So that seeing they may see and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand, so that they may not at any time be converted and have their sins forgiven. And he says to them: Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. And these are the ones by the wayside, where the word is sown: as soon as they have heard it, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. And likewise these are the ones sown on rocky ground: when they hear the word, they immediately receive it with joy. But they have no root in themselves and last only for a time; then when trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. And others are the ones sown among thorns: these are they who hear the word, But the cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches, and desires for other things come in and choke the word, and it becomes fruitless. And these are the ones sown on good ground, who hear the word and receive it, and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold. And he said to them: Is a lamp brought in to be put under a bushel basket or under a bed, and not to be set on a lampstand? For there is nothing hidden that shall not be made known, nor anything kept secret that shall not come to light. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear. And he said to them: Pay attention to what you hear. The measure you give will be the measure you receive, and more shall be given to you. For whoever has, more shall be given to him; and whoever has not, even what he has shall be taken away from him. And he said: The kingdom of God is like this: as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, And should sleep and rise, night and day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he does not know how. For the earth brings forth fruit by itself: first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. And when the fruit is ripe, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come. And he said: To what shall we compare the kingdom of God? Or what parable shall we use for it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is smaller than all the seeds on the earth; But when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all garden plants, and puts out great branches, so that the birds of the air can dwell in its shade. And with many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it. And he did not speak to them without a parable; but in private he explained everything to his disciples. And that day, when evening had come, he says to them: Let us cross over to the other side. And leaving the crowd, they took him with them, just as he was, in the boat; and other boats were with him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was filling up. And he was in the back of the boat, sleeping on a cushion; and they wake him and say to him: Master, do you not care that we are perishing? And he got up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea: Peace, be still. And the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. And he said to them: Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith? And they were filled with great fear, and said to one another: Who do you think this is, that even the wind and the sea obey him?