Mark 4:27-37
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 4
27and he goes to bed at night and gets up daily, and the seed sprouts and grows—how, he himself does not know. 28The soil produces crops by itself; first the stalk, then the head, then the mature grain in the head. 29Now when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.'
30And He was saying, 'How shall we picture the kingdom of God, or by what parable shall we present it?
31It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the soil, though it is the smallest of all the seeds that are upon the soil,
32yet when it is sown, it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants, and forms large branches, with the result that THE BIRDS OF THE SKY can NEST UNDER its shade.'
33And with many such parables He was speaking the word to them, so far as they were able to understand it;
34and He did not speak to them without a parable; but He was explaining everything privately to His own disciples.
35On that day, when evening came, He *said to them, 'Let’s go over to the other side.'
36After dismissing the crowd, they *took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him.
37And a fierce gale of wind *developed, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling with water.
King James Version
28For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.
29But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.
30And he said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God or with what comparison shall we compare it
31It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth:
33And with many such parables spake he the word unto them, as they were able to hear it.
34But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples.
35And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side.
36And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships.
37And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 4
27He sleeps and rises night and day; the seed sprouts and grows, although he doesn’t know how. 28The soil produces a crop by itself—first the blade, then the head, and then the full grain on the head. 29As soon as the crop is ready, he sends for the sickle, because the harvest has come."
30And he said, "With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable can we use to describe it?
31It’s like a mustard seed that, when sown upon the soil, is the smallest of all the seeds on the ground.
32And when sown, it comes up and grows taller than all the garden plants, and produces large branches, so that the birds of the sky can nest in its shade."
33He was speaking the word to them with many parables like these, as they were able to understand.
34He did not speak to them without a parable. Privately, however, he explained everything to his own disciples.
35On that day, when evening had come, he told them, "Let’s cross over to the other side of the sea."
36So they left the crowd and took him along since he was in the boat. And other boats were with him.
37A great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking over the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped.
New Living Translation
Chapter 4
27Night and day, while he’s asleep or awake, the seed sprouts and grows, but he does not understand how it happens. 28The earth produces the crops on its own. First a leaf blade pushes through, then the heads of wheat are formed, and finally the grain ripens. 29And as soon as the grain is ready, the farmer comes and harvests it with a sickle, for the harvest time has come.'
30Jesus said, 'How can I describe the Kingdom of God? What story should I use to illustrate it?
31It is like a mustard seed planted in the ground. It is the smallest of all seeds,
32but it becomes the largest of all garden plants; it grows long branches, and birds can make nests in its shade.'
33Jesus used many similar stories and illustrations to teach the people as much as they could understand.
34In fact, in his public ministry he never taught without using parables; but afterward, when he was alone with his disciples, he explained everything to them.
35As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, 'Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.'
36So they took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind (although other boats followed).
37But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water.
English Standard Version
Chapter 4
27He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. 28The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 29But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come."
30And he said, "With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it?
31It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth,
32yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade."
33With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it.
34He did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.
35On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, "Let us go across to the other side."
36And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him.
37And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling.
New International Version
Chapter 4
27Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come."
30Again he said, "What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it?
31It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth.
32Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade."
33With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand.
34He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.
35That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, "Let us go over to the other side."
36Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him.
37A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped.
New King James Version
Chapter 4
27and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how. 28For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head. 29But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
30Then He said, “To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what parable shall we picture it?
31It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth;
32but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade.”
33And with many such parables He spoke the word to them as they were able to hear it.
34But without a parable He did not speak to them. And when they were alone, He explained all things to His disciples.
35On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.”
36Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him.
37And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling.
