Mark 4:5-17

4:5 Other seed fell on rocky ground ¹  where it did not have much soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep. ²  4:6 When the sun came up it was scorched, and because it did not have sufficient root, ³  it withered. 4:7 Other seed fell among the thorns, ⁴  and they grew up and choked it, ⁵  and it did not produce grain. 4:8 But ⁶  other seed fell on good soil and produced grain, sprouting and growing; some yielded thirty times as much, some sixty, and some a hundred times.” 4:9 And he said, “Whoever has ears to hear had better listen!” ⁷ 

The Purpose of Parables

4:10 When he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. 4:11 He said to them, “The secret ⁸  of the kingdom of God has been given ⁹  to you. But to those outside, everything is in parables,

4:12 so that although they look they may look but not see,

and although they hear they may hear but not understand,

so they may not repent and be forgiven.” ¹⁰ 

4:13 He said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? Then ¹¹  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 ¹²  comes and snatches the word ¹³  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 ¹⁴  they have no root in themselves and do not endure. ¹⁵  Then, when trouble or persecution comes because of the word, immediately they fall away.

[4:5]  ¹ sn The rocky ground in Palestine would be a limestone base lying right under the soil.

[4:5]  ² tn Grk “it did not have enough depth of earth.”

[4:6]  ³ tn Grk “it did not have root.”

[4:7]  ⁵ sn Palestinian weeds like these thorns could grow up to six feet in height and have a major root system.

[4:7]  ⁶ sn That is, crowded out the good plants.

[4:8]  ⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in the final stage of the parable.

[4:9]  ⁹ 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 4:23; Luke 8:8, 14:35).

[4:11]  ¹¹ tn Grk “the mystery.”

[4:11]  ¹² tn This is an example of a “divine passive,” with God understood to be the source of the revelation (see ExSyn 437-38).

[4:12]  ¹³ sn A quotation from Isa 6:9-10. Thus parables both conceal or reveal depending on whether one is open to hearing what they teach.

[4:13]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[4:15]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ 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]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[4:17]  ²⁰ tn Grk “are temporary.”