Mark 4:13-20

4:13 He said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? Then ¹  how will you understand any parable? 4:14 The sower sows the word. 4:15 These are the ones on the path where the word is sown: Whenever they hear, immediately Satan ²  comes and snatches the word ³  that was sown in them. 4:16 These are the ones sown on rocky ground: As soon as they hear the word, they receive it with joy. 4:17 But ⁴  they have no root in themselves and do not endure. ⁵  Then, when trouble or persecution comes because of the word, immediately they fall away. 4:18 Others are the ones sown among thorns: They are those who hear the word, 4:19 but ⁶  worldly cares, the seductiveness of wealth, ⁷  and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, ⁸  and it produces nothing. 4:20 But ⁹  these are the ones sown on good soil: They hear the word and receive it and bear fruit, one thirty times as much, one sixty, and one a hundred.”

Mark 4:33-34

The Use of Parables

4:33 So ¹⁰  with many parables like these, he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear. 4:34 He did not speak to them without a parable. But privately he explained everything to his own disciples.

[4:13]  ¹ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[4:15]  ² sn Interestingly, the synoptic parallels each use a different word for Satan here: Matt 13:19 has “the evil one,” while Luke 8:12 has “the devil.” This illustrates the fluidity of the gospel tradition in often using synonyms at the same point of the parallel tradition.

[4:15]  ³ sn The word of Jesus has the potential to save if it germinates in a person’s heart, something the devil is very much against.

[4:17]  ³ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[4:17]  ⁴ tn Grk “are temporary.”

[4:19]  ⁴ tn Grk “and.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[4:19]  ⁵ tn Grk “the deceitfulness of riches.” Cf. BDAG 99 s.v. ἀπάτη 1, “the seduction which comes from wealth.”

[4:19]  ⁶ sn That is, their concern for spiritual things is crowded out by material things.

[4:20]  ⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[4:33]  ⁶ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.