Luke 8:9

Contemporary English Version

Jesus' disciples asked him what the story meant.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Then his disciples asked him, “What does this parable mean?”

King James Version (1611)
And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be?

King James Version
And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be?

English Standard Version
And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant,

New American Standard Bible
Now His disciples began asking Him what this parable meant.

New Century Version
Jesus' followers asked him what this story meant.

Amplified Bible
Now His disciples began asking Him what this parable meant.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
His disciples began questioning Him as to what this parable meant.

Legacy Standard Bible
And His disciples began questioning Him as to what this parable meant.

Berean Standard Bible
Then His disciples asked Him what this parable meant.

Complete Jewish Bible
His talmidim asked him what this parable might mean,

Darby Translation
And his disciples asked him [saying], What may this parable be?

Easy-to-Read Version
Jesus' followers asked him, "What does this story mean?"

Geneva Bible (1587)
Then his disciples asked him, demaunding what parable that was.

George Lamsa Translation
And his disciples asked him, What is this parable?

Good News Translation
His disciples asked Jesus what this parable meant,

Lexham English Bible
And his disciples asked him what this parable meant.

Literal Translation
And His disciples questioned Him, saying, What might this parable be?

American Standard Version
And his disciples asked him what this parable might be.

Bible in Basic English
And his disciples put questions to him about the point of the story.

Hebrew Names Version
Then his talmidim asked him, "What does this parable mean?"

International Standard Version
Then his disciples began to ask him what this parable meant.Matthew 13:10; Mark 4:10;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
And his disciples asked him, What is (the signification of) this parable ?

Murdock Translation
And his disciples asked him: what meaneth this similitude?

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And his disciples asked hym, saying what maner of similitude is this?

English Revised Version
And his disciples asked him what this parable might be.

World English Bible
Then his disciples asked him, "What does this parable mean?"

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And his disciples asked him, What is this parable?

Weymouth's New Testament
The disciples proceeded to ask Him what this parable meant.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
But hise disciplis axiden him, what this parable was.

Update Bible Version
And his disciples asked him what this parable might be.

Webster's Bible Translation
And his disciples asked him, saying, What doth this parable mean?

New English Translation
Then his disciples asked him what this parable meant.

New King James Version
Matthew 13:10-17; Mark 4:10-12">[xr] Then His disciples asked Him, saying, "What does this parable mean?"

New Living Translation
His disciples asked him what this parable meant.

New Life Bible
His followers asked Him what this picture-story meant.

New Revised Standard
Then his disciples asked him what this parable meant.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
But his disciples began to question him - What might, this very, parable be?

Douay-Rheims Bible
And his disciples asked him what this parable might be.

Revised Standard Version
And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant,

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
And his disciples axed him sayinge: what maner similitude is this?

Young's Literal Translation
And his disciples were questioning him, saying, `What may this simile be?'

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And his disciples axed him, and sayde: What symilitude is this?

Mace New Testament (1729)
But his disciples having ask'd him the meaning of this parable;

THE MESSAGE
His disciples asked, "Why did you tell this story?"

Simplified Cowboy Version
Later on, when they were alone, some of his cowboys asked about the stories.

Contextual Overview

⁴ When a large crowd from several towns had gathered around Jesus, he told them this story: ⁵ A farmer went out to scatter seed in a field. While the farmer was doing it, some of the seeds fell along the road and were stepped on or eaten by birds. ⁶ Other seeds fell on rocky ground and started growing. But the plants did not have enough water and soon dried up. ⁷ Some other seeds fell where thornbushes grew up and choked the plants. ⁸ The rest of the seeds fell on good ground where they grew and produced a hundred times as many seeds. When Jesus had finished speaking, he said, "If you have ears, pay attention!" ⁹ Jesus' disciples asked him what the story meant. ¹⁰ So he answered: I have explained the secrets about God's kingdom to you, but for others I can only use stories. These people look, but they don't see, and they hear, but they don't understand. ¹¹ This is what the story means: The seed is God's message, ¹² and the seeds that fell along the road are the people who hear the message. But the devil comes and snatches the message out of their hearts, so that they will not believe and be saved. ¹³ The seeds that fell on rocky ground are the people who gladly hear the message and accept it. But they don't have deep roots, and they believe only for a little while. As soon as life gets hard, they give up.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

What: Hosea 6:3, Matthew 13:10, Matthew 13:18, Matthew 13:36, Matthew 15:15, Mark 4:10, Mark 4:34, Mark 7:17, Mark 7:18, John 15:15

Reciprocal: Mark 14:22 - this

Cross-References

Deuteronomy 28:65
You will be restless—always longing for home, but never able to return.

Psalms 116:7
and treated me so kindly that I don't need to worry anymore.

Isaiah 60:8
What is that sailing by like clouds or like doves flying home?

Ezekiel 7:16
Anyone who survives will escape into the hills, like doves who leave the valleys to find safety. All of you will moan because of your sins.

Matthew 11:28
If you are tired from carrying heavy burdens, come to me and I will give you rest.

John 16:33
I have told you this, so that you might have peace in your hearts because of me. While you are in the world, you will have to suffer. But cheer up! I have defeated the world.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And his disciples asked him,.... That is, as Mark says, "when he was alone"; after the multitude were departed, and they were by themselves, it may be in some house with other disciples:

saying, what might this parable be? what is the sense and meaning of it? According to Matthew, they asked why he spake in parables to the people; and to such a question the following words are a proper answer.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

See the parable of the sower explained in the notes at Matthew 13:1-23.