Mark 4:3

4:3 “Listen! A sower went out to sow. ¹ 

Mark 4:23-24

4:23 If anyone has ears to hear, he had better listen!” ²  4:24 And he said to them, “Take care about what you hear. The measure you use will be the measure you receive, ³  and more will be added to you.

Mark 7:14

7:14 Then ⁴  he called the crowd again and said to them, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand.

Mark 7:16

7:16 [[EMPTY]] ⁵ 

Matthew 11:15

11:15 The one who has ears had better listen! ⁶ 

Matthew 13:9

13:9 The one who has ears had better listen!” ⁷ 

Matthew 15:10

True Defilement

15:10 Then he called the crowd to him and said, ⁸  “Listen and understand.

Luke 8:18

8:18 So listen carefully, ⁹  for whoever has will be given more, but ¹⁰  whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has ¹¹  will be taken from him.”

Revelation 3:6

3:6 The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

Revelation 3:13

3:13 The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

Revelation 3:22

3:22 The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”

¹ sn A sower went out to sow. The background for this well-known parable, drawn from a typical scene in the Palestinian countryside, is a field through which a well worn path runs. Sowing would occur in late fall or early winter (October to December) in the rainy season, looking for sprouting in April or May and a June harvest. The use of seed as a figure for God’s giving life has OT roots (Isa 55:10-11). The point of the parable of the sower is to illustrate the various responses to the message of the kingdom of God (cf. 4:11).

² tn The translation “had better listen!” captures the force of the third person imperative more effectively than the traditional “let him hear,” which sounds more like a permissive than an imperative to the modern English reader. This was Jesus’ common expression to listen and heed carefully (cf. Matt 11:15; 13:9, 43; Mark 4:9; Luke 8:8, 14:35).

³ tn Grk “by [the measure] with which you measure it will be measured to you.”

⁴ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

⁵ tc Most later mss add 7:16 “Let anyone with ears to hear, listen.” This verse is included in A D W Θ Ë^1,13 33 Ï latt sy, but is lacking in important Alexandrian mss and a few others (א B L Δ* 0274 28 2427). It appears to be a scribal gloss (see 4:9 and 4:23), perhaps introduced as a reiteration of the thought in 7:14, and is almost certainly not an original part of the Greek text of Mark. The present translation follows NA²⁷ in omitting the verse number, a procedure also followed by a number of other modern translations.

⁶ tn The translation “had better listen!” captures the force of the third person imperative more effectively than the traditional “let him hear,” which sounds more like a permissive than an imperative to the modern English reader. This was Jesus’ common expression to listen and heed carefully (cf. Matt 13:9, 43; Mark 4:9, 23; Luke 8:8, 14:35).

⁷ tn The translation “had better listen!” captures the force of the third person imperative more effectively than the traditional “let him hear,” which sounds more like a permissive than an imperative to the modern English reader. This was Jesus’ common expression to listen and heed carefully (cf. Matt 11:15, 13:43; Mark 4:9, 23; Luke 8:8, 14:35).

⁸ tn Grk “And calling the crowd, he said to them.” The participle προσκαλεσάμενος (proskalesamenos) has been translated as attendant circumstance. The emphasis here is upon Jesus’ speaking to the crowd.

⁹ tn Or “Therefore pay close attention”; Grk “Take heed therefore how you hear.”

¹⁰ tn Grk “and.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

¹¹ sn The phrase what he thinks he has is important, because it is not what a person thinks he has that is important but whether he actually has something or not. Jesus describes the person who does not heed his word as having nothing. The person who has nothing loses even that which he thought was something but was not. In other words, he has absolutely nothing at all. Jesus’ teaching must be taken seriously.