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lants. They dried up because they had
p
no roots. 7 Other seed fell among t horns.
The t horns grew up and crowded out the
plants. So the plants did not bear g rain.
8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It grew
up and produced a crop 30, 60, or even
100 times more than the farmer planted.”
9 Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears
should listen.”
10 Later Jesus was a lone. The 12 disci
ples a sked him about the stor ies. So did
the others a round him. 11 He told them,
“The secret of G
od’s kingdom has been
given to you. But to outsiders everything
is told using stor ies. 12 In that way,
“ ‘They will see but never know what
they are seeing.
They will hear but never
understand.
Otherwise they might turn and be
(Isaiah 6:9,10)
forgiven!’ ”
13 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you
understand this stor y? Then how will
you understand any stor ies of this kind?
14 The seed the farmer p
lants is G od’s
message. 15 What is seed scattered on
a path like? The mess age is plante d.
The peop le hear the mess age. Then
Sat an comes. He t akes away the mes
sage that was planted in them. 16 And
what is seed scattered on rocky places
like? The people hear the message. At
once they receive it with joy. 17 But they
have no r oots. So they last only a short
time. They quickly fall away from the
f aith when trouble or suf fer i ng comes
because of the message. 18 And what is
seed scattered a mong t horns like? The
people hear the message. 19 But then the
worr ies of this life come to them. Wealth
comes with its false promises. The peo
ple also long for other t hings. All of these
are the k inds of t hings that c rowd out
the message. They keep it from produc
ing f ruit. 20 And what is seed scattered
on good soil like? The people hear the
message. They accept it. They produce a
good crop 30, 60, or even 100 t imes more
than the farmer planted.”
A Lamp on a Stand
21 Jesus said to them, “Do you b
ring
in a lamp to put it under a l arge bowl
or a bed? Don’t you put it on its stand?
22 What is hidden is m
eant to be seen.
And what is put out of s ight is m
eant to
Mark 4
be brought out into the open. 23 Whoever
has ears s hould listen.”
24 “ T hink caref ul l y a bout what you
hear,” he said. “As you give, so you will
rec eive. In fact, you will rec eive even
more. 25 Whoever has somet hing will
be given more. Whoever has nothing,
even what they have will be taken away
from them.”
The Story of the Growing Seed
26 Jesus also said, “Here is what G
od’s
kingdom is like. A farmer scatters seed
on the g round. 27 N ight and day the
seed c omes up and g rows. It happ ens
whether the farmer s leeps or gets up.
He doesn’t know how it happens. 28 All
by itself the soil produces grain. First the
stalk c omes up. Then the head appears.
Fin ally, the full g
rain app ears in the
head. 29 Before long the g
rain ripens. So
the farmer cuts it down, because the har
vest is ready.”
The Story of the Mustard Seed
30 A gain J
esus said, “What can we say
od’s kingdom is like? What stor y can
G
we use to explain it? 31 It is like a must ard
seed, w
hich is the smallest of all s eeds
on earth. 32 But when you p
lant the seed,
it g
rows. It becomes the largest of all gar
den p
lants. Its branches are so big that
birds can rest in its shade.”
33 Using many stor ies like t hese, Jesus
spoke the word to them. He told them as
much as they c ould understand. 34 He
did not say anyt hing to them without
using a stor y. But when he was a lone
with his disciples, he explained every
thing.
Jesus Calms the Storm
35 When even ing came, J
esus said to
his disciples, “L et’s go over to the other
side of the lake.” 36 They left the c rowd
beh ind. And they took him a long in a
boat, just as he was. T
here were also
other b
oats with him. 37 A wild storm
came up. W
aves c rashed over the boat.
It was about to sink. 38 Jesus was in the
back, sleepi ng on a cushion. The disci
ples woke him up. They said, “Teacher!
Don’t you care if we d
rown?”
39 He got up and ordered the wind to
stop. He said to the waves, “Quiet! Be
still!” Then the wind died down. And it
was completely calm.