Mark 4:8-26

⁸And some fell into the good ground, and coming up and growing it started to produce fruit—yielding thirty times as much, sixty times as much, even a hundred times as much.”

⁹Then He said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

¹⁰But when He was alone, those who were around Him, with the twelve, asked Him about the parable.

¹¹So He said to them: “To you it has been given to know the mystery of the Kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, everything is being given in parables,

¹²so that: ‘Seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; so that they should not return and their sins be forgiven them.’ ”

¹³Then He said to them: “Don't you understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?

¹⁴The sower sows the Word.

¹⁵These are the ones where the Word is sown along the path: as soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the Word that was sown in their hearts.

¹⁶Similarly, these are the ones sown on the rocky area: as soon as they hear the Word they receive it with joy,

¹⁷but since they have no root in themselves they are temporary—when oppression or persecution comes because of the Word, they quickly fall away.

¹⁸And these are the ones sown among the thorns: they hear the Word,

¹⁹but the worries of this age, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the undue desires for other things come in and smother the Word, and it becomes unfruitful.

²⁰And these are the ones sown on the good ground: such people hear the Word, welcome it and produce fruit—thirty times as much, sixty times as much, even a hundred times as much.”

²¹Also He said to them: “The lamp is not brought to be put under a box or under a bed, is it? Is it not to be placed on its stand?

²²For there is no ‘hidden’ that may not be exposed, nor has anything been concealed but that it should come to light.

²³If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!”

²⁴Then He said to them: “Pay attention to what you hear. With the same measure you use it will be measured to you in return; and to you who hear, more will be added.

²⁵Because whoever has, to him more will be given; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”

²⁶He also said: “The Kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter the seed on the ground