Mark 4:3

Easy-to-Read Version

"Listen! A farmer went out to sow seed.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
“Listen! Consider the sower who went out to sow.

King James Version (1611)
Hearken, Behold, there went out a sower to sow:

King James Version
Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow:

English Standard Version
"Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow.

New American Standard Bible
"Listen to this! Behold, the sower went out to sow;

New Century Version
"Listen! A farmer went out to plant his seed.

Amplified Bible
"Listen! A sower went out to sow seed;

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Listen to this! Behold, the sower went out to sow;

Legacy Standard Bible
"Listen to this! Behold, the sower went out to sow;

Berean Standard Bible
"Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed.

Contemporary English Version
Now listen! A farmer went out to scatter seed in a field.

Complete Jewish Bible
"Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed.

Darby Translation
Hearken: Behold, the sower went forth to sow.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Hearken: Beholde, there went out a sower to sowe.

George Lamsa Translation
Listen; Behold, a sower went out to sow.

Good News Translation
"Listen! Once there was a man who went out to sow grain.

Lexham English Bible
"Listen! Behold, the sower went out to sow.

Literal Translation
Listen! Behold, the sower went out to sow.

American Standard Version
Hearken: Behold, the sower went forth to sow:

Bible in Basic English
A man went out to put seed in the earth:

Hebrew Names Version
"Listen! Behold, the farmer went forth to sow,

International Standard Version
"Listen! A sower went out to sow.

Etheridge Translation
Listen: Behold, a sower went forth to sow;

Murdock Translation
Hear ye: Behold a sower went forth to sow.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Hearken: Beholde, there went out a sower to sowe:

English Revised Version
Hearken: Behold, the sower went forth to sow:

World English Bible
"Listen! Behold, the farmer went forth to sow,

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
Behold, a sower went out to sow.

Weymouth's New Testament
"Listen: the sower goes out to sow.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Here ye. Lo! a man sowynge goith out to sowe.

Update Bible Version
Listen: Look, the sower went forth to sow:

Webster's Bible Translation
Hearken; Behold, a sower went out to sow:

New English Translation
"Listen! A sower went out to sow.

New King James Version
"Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow.

New Living Translation
"Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seed.

New Life Bible
"Listen! A man went out to plant seed.

New Revised Standard
"Listen! A sower went out to sow.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Hearken! Lo! the sower went forth to sow;

Douay-Rheims Bible
Hear ye: Behold, the sower went out to sow.

Revised Standard Version
"Listen! A sower went out to sow.

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
Herken to. Beholde There wet out a sower to sowe.

Young's Literal Translation
`Hearken, lo, the sower went forth to sow;

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Herken to, beholde, there wente out a sower to sowe:

Mace New Testament (1729)
give your attention to what I say, a sower went out to sow: as he sowed,

THE MESSAGE
"Listen. What do you make of this? A farmer planted seed. As he scattered the seed, some of it fell on the road and birds ate it. Some fell in the gravel; it sprouted quickly but didn't put down roots, so when the sun came up it withered just as quickly. Some fell in the weeds; as it came up, it was strangled among the weeds and nothing came of it. Some fell on good earth and came up with a flourish, producing a harvest exceeding his wildest dreams.

Simplified Cowboy Version
"A farmer went out to plant his fields.

Contextual Overview

¹ Another time Jesus began teaching by the lake, and a large crowd gathered around him. He got into a boat so that he could sit and teach from the lake. All the people stayed on the shore near the water. ² Jesus used stories to teach them many things. One of his lessons included this story: ³ "Listen! A farmer went out to sow seed. ⁴ While he was scattering the seed, some of it fell by the road. The birds came and ate all that seed. ⁵ Other seed fell on rocky ground, where there was not enough dirt. It grew quickly there because the soil was not deep. ⁶ But then the sun rose and the plants were burned. They died because they did not have deep roots. ⁷ Some other seed fell among thorny weeds. The weeds grew and stopped the good plants from growing. So they did not make grain. ⁸ But some of the seed fell on good ground. There it began to grow, and it made grain. Some plants made 30 times more grain, some 60 times more, and some 100 times more." ⁹ Then Jesus said, "You people who hear me, listen!" ¹⁰ Later, Jesus was away from the people. The twelve apostles and his other followers asked him about the stories.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Hearken: Mark 4:9, Mark 4:23, Mark 7:14, Mark 7:16, Deuteronomy 4:1, Psalms 34:11, Psalms 45:10, Proverbs 7:24, Proverbs 8:32, Isaiah 46:3, Isaiah 46:12, Isaiah 55:1, Isaiah 55:2, Acts 2:14, Hebrews 2:1-3, James 2:5, Revelation 2:7, Revelation 2:11, Revelation 2:29

there: Mark 4:14, Mark 4:26-29, Ecclesiastes 11:6, Isaiah 28:23-26, Matthew 13:3, Matthew 13:24, Matthew 13:26, Luke 8:5-8, John 4:35-38, 1 Corinthians 3:6-9

Cross-References

Genesis 4:1
Adam had sexual relations with his wife Eve. She became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Cain. Eve said, "With the Lord 's help, I have made a man!"

Numbers 18:12
"And I give you all the best olive oil and all the best new wine and grain. These are the things that the Israelites give to me, the Lord . These are the first things that they gather in their harvest.

1 Kings 17:7
There was no rain, so after a while the stream became dry.

Nehemiah 13:6
I was not in Jerusalem while all of this was happening. I had gone back to the king of Babylon. I went back to Babylon in the 32nd year that Artaxerxes was king of Babylon. Later, I asked the king for permission to go back to Jerusalem.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Hearken, behold, there went out a sower to sow. By whom is meant Jesus Christ, who came forth from God as a teacher, and went out into the land of Judea to preach the Gospel, which is sowing spiritual things among men; and this may be also applicable to any faithful minister of the word.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

See the parable of the sower explained in the notes at Matthew 13:1-9.

See the parable of the sower explained in the notes at Matthew 13:1-9.