Mark 4

Bible in Basic English (BBE)

1 Ref And again he was teaching by the seaside. And a very great number of people had come to him, so that he got into a boat on the sea and took his seat; and all the people were on the land by the seaside.

2 Ref And he gave them teaching about a number of things in the form of stories, and said to them in his teaching, Give ear:

3 Ref A man went out to put seed in the earth:

4 Ref And while he was doing it, some was dropped by the wayside, and the birds came and took it for food.

5 Ref And some went on the stones, where it had not much earth; and it came up straight away, because the earth was not deep:

6 Ref And when the sun was high, it was burned; and because it had no root, it became dry and dead.

7 Ref And some went among the thorns, and the thorns came up, and it had no room for growth and gave no fruit.

8 Ref And some, falling on good earth, gave fruit, coming up and increasing, and giving thirty, sixty, and a hundred times as much.

9 Ref And he said to them, Whoever has ears, let him give ear.

10 Ref And when he was by himself, those who were round him with the twelve put questions to him about the purpose of the stories.

11 Ref And he said to them, To you is given the secret of the kingdom of God, but to those who are outside, all things are given in the form of stories;

12 Ref So that seeing they may see, and it will not be clear to them; and hearing it, they will not get the sense; for fear that they may be turned again to me and have forgiveness.

13 Ref And he said to them, If you are not clear about this story, how will you be clear about the others?

14 Ref The seed is the word.

15 Ref And these are they by the wayside, where the word is planted; and when they have given ear, the Evil One comes straight away and takes away the word which has been planted in them.

16 Ref And in the same way, these are they who are planted on the stones, who, when the word has come to their ears, straight away take it with joy;

17 Ref And they have no root in themselves, but go on for a time; then, when trouble comes or pain, because of the word, they quickly become full of doubts.

18 Ref And others are those planted among the thorns; these are they who have given ear to the word,

19 Ref And the cares of this life, and the deceits of wealth, and the desire for other things coming in, put a stop to the growth of the word, and it gives no fruit.

20 Ref And these are they who were planted on the good earth; such as give ear to the word, and take it into their hearts, and give fruit, thirty and sixty and a hundred times as much.

21 Ref And he said to them, When the light comes in, do people put it under a vessel, or under the bed, and not on its table?

22 Ref There is nothing covered which will not be seen openly, and nothing has been made secret which will not come to light.

23 Ref If any man has ears, let him give ear.

24 Ref And he said to them, Take care what you give ear to: in the same measure as you give you will get, and more will be given to you.

25 Ref He who has, to him will be given: and he who has not, from him will be taken even that which he has.

26 Ref And he said, Such is the kingdom of God, as if a man put seed in the earth,

27 Ref And went to sleep and got up, night and day, and the seed came to growth, though he had no idea how.

28 Ref The earth gives fruit by herself; first the leaf, then the head, then the full grain.

29 Ref But when the grain is ready, he quickly sends men to get it cut, because the time for cutting has come.

30 Ref And he said, What picture may we give of the kingdom of God, or with what story may we make it clear?

31 Ref It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is put in the earth, is smaller than all the seeds on the earth,

32 Ref But when it is planted, it comes up, and becomes taller than all the plants, and puts out great branches, so that the birds of heaven are able to take rest in its shade.

33 Ref And with a number of such stories he gave them his teaching, as they were able to take it:

34 Ref And without a story he said nothing to them: but privately to his disciples he made all things clear.

35 Ref And on that day, when the evening had come, he said to them, Let us go over to the other side.

36 Ref And going away from the people, they took him with them, as he was, in the boat. And other boats were with him.

37 Ref And a great storm of wind came up, and the waves came into the boat, so that the boat was now becoming full.

38 Ref And he himself was in the back of the boat, sleeping on the cushion: and they, awaking him, said, Master, is it nothing to you that we are in danger of destruction?

39 Ref And he came out of his sleep, and gave strong orders to the wind, and said to the sea, Peace, be at rest. And the wind went down, and there was a great calm.

40 Ref And he said to them, Why are you full of fear? have you still no faith?

41 Ref And their fear was great, and they said one to another, Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea do his orders?

World English Bible (WEB)

1 Ref Again he began to teach by the seaside. A great multitude was gathered to him, so that he entered into a boat in the sea, and sat down. All the multitude were on the land by the sea.

2 Ref He taught them many things in parables, and told them in his teaching,

3 Ref "Listen! Behold, the farmer went out to sow,

4 Ref and it happened, as he sowed, some seed fell by the road, and the birds{TR adds "of the air"} came and devoured it.

5 Ref Others fell on the rocky ground, where it had little soil, and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of soil.

6 Ref When the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.

7 Ref Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.

8 Ref Others fell into the good ground, and yielded fruit, growing up and increasing. Some brought forth thirty times, some sixty times, and some one hundred times as much."

9 Ref He said, "Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear."

10 Ref When he was alone, those who were around him with the twelve asked him about the parables.

11 Ref He said to them, "To you is given the mystery of the Kingdom of God, but to those who are outside, all things are done in parables,

12 Ref that 'seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest perhaps they should turn again, and their sins should be forgiven them.'"

13 Ref He said to them, "Don't you understand this parable? How will you understand all of the parables?

14 Ref The farmer sows the word.

15 Ref These are the ones by the road, where the word is sown; and when they have heard, immediately Satan comes, and takes away the word which has been sown in them.

16 Ref These in like manner are those who are sown on the rocky places, who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with joy.

17 Ref They have no root in themselves, but are short-lived. When oppression or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they stumble.

18 Ref Others are those who are sown among the thorns. These are those who have heard the word,

19 Ref and the cares of this age, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

20 Ref These are those which were sown on the good ground: such as hear the word, and accept it, and bear fruit, some thirty times, some sixty times, and some one hundred times."

21 Ref He said to them, "Is the lamp brought to be put under a basket{Literally, a modion, a dry measuring basket containing about a peck (about 9 litres)} or under a bed? Isn't it put on a lampstand?

22 Ref For there is nothing hidden, except that it should be made known; neither was anything made secret, but that it should come to light.

23 Ref If any man has ears to hear, let him hear."

24 Ref He said to them, "Take heed what you hear. With whatever measure you measure, it will be measured to you, and more will be given to you who hear.

25 Ref For whoever has, to him will more be given, and he who doesn't have, from him will be taken away even that which he has."

26 Ref He said, "The Kingdom of God is as if a man should cast seed on the earth,

27 Ref and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should spring up and grow, he doesn't know how.

28 Ref For the earth bears fruit: first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.

29 Ref But when the fruit is ripe, immediately he puts forth the sickle, because the harvest has come."

30 Ref He said, "How will we liken the Kingdom of God? Or with what parable will we illustrate it?

31 Ref It's like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, though it is less than all the seeds that are on the earth,

32 Ref yet when it is sown, grows up, and becomes greater than all the herbs, and puts out great branches, so that the birds of the sky can lodge under its shadow."

33 Ref With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it.

34 Ref Without a parable he didn't speak to them; but privately to his own disciples he explained all things.

35 Ref On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, "Let's go over to the other side."

36 Ref Leaving the multitude, they took him with them, even as he was, in the boat. Other small boats were also with him.

37 Ref There arose a great wind storm, and the waves beat into the boat, so much that the boat was already filled.

38 Ref He himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion, and they woke him up, and told him, "Teacher, don't you care that we are dying?"

39 Ref He awoke, and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" The wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

40 Ref He said to them, "Why are you so afraid? How is it that you have no faith?"

41 Ref They were greatly afraid, and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?"

American Standard-ASV1901 (ASV)

1 Ref And again he began to teach by the sea side. And there is gathered unto him a very great multitude, so that he entered into a boat, and sat in the sea; and all the multitude were by the sea on the land.

2 Ref And he taught them many things in parables, and said unto them in his teaching,

3 Ref Hearken: Behold, the sower went forth to sow:

4 Ref and it came to pass, as he sowed, some `seed' fell by the way side, and the birds came and devoured it.

5 Ref And other fell on the rocky `ground', where it had not much earth; and straightway it sprang up, because it had no deepness of earth:

6 Ref and when the sun was risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.

7 Ref And other fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.

8 Ref And others fell into the good ground, and yielded fruit, growing up and increasing; and brought forth, thirtyfold, and sixtyfold, and a hundredfold.

9 Ref And he said, Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

10 Ref And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parables.

11 Ref And he said unto them, Unto you is given the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all things are done in parables:

12 Ref that seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest haply they should turn again, and it should be forgiven them.

13 Ref And he saith unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how shall ye know all the parables?

14 Ref The sower soweth the word.

15 Ref And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; and when they have heard, straightway cometh Satan, and taketh away the word which hath been sown in them.

16 Ref And these in like manner are they that are sown upon the rocky `places', who, when they have heard the word, straightway receive it with joy;

17 Ref and they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, straightway they stumble.

18 Ref And others are they that are sown among the thorns; these are they that have heard the word,

19 Ref and the cares of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.

20 Ref And those are they that were sown upon the good ground; such as hear the word, and accept it, and bear fruit, thirtyfold, and sixtyfold, and a hundredfold.

21 Ref And he said unto them, Is the lamp brought to be put under the bushel, or under the bed, `and' not to be put on the stand?

22 Ref For there is nothing hid, save that it should be manifested; neither was `anything' made secret, but that it should come to light.

23 Ref If any man hath ears to hear, let him hear.

24 Ref And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete it shall be measured unto you; and more shall be given unto you.

25 Ref For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken away even that which he hath.

26 Ref And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed upon the earth;

27 Ref and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should spring up and grow, he knoweth not how.

28 Ref The earth beareth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.

29 Ref But when the fruit is ripe, straightway he putteth forth the sickle, because the harvest is come.

30 Ref And he said, How shall we liken the kingdom of God? or in what parable shall we set it forth?

31 Ref It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown upon the earth, though it be less than all the seeds that are upon the earth,

32 Ref yet when it is sown, groweth up, and becometh greater than all the herbs, and putteth out great branches; so that the birds of the heaven can lodge under the shadow thereof.

33 Ref And with many such parables spake he the word unto them, as they were able to hear it;

34 Ref and without a parable spake he not unto them: but privately to his own disciples he expounded all things.

35 Ref And on that day, when even was come, he saith unto them, Let us go over unto the other side.

36 Ref And leaving the multitude, they take him with them, even as he was, in the boat. And other boats were with him.

37 Ref And there ariseth a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the boat, insomuch that the boat was now filling.

38 Ref And he himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion: and they awake him, and say unto him, Teacher, carest thou not that we perish?

39 Ref And he awoke, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

40 Ref And he said unto them, Why are ye fearful? have ye not yet faith?

41 Ref And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?

Chapter 4 of 16

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