Mark 4:11

THE MESSAGE

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
He answered them, “The secret

King James Version (1611)
And he said vnto them, Unto you it is giuen to know the mystery of the kingdome of God: but vnto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:

King James Version
And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:

English Standard Version
And he said to them, "To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables,

New American Standard Bible
And He was saying to them, "To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but for those who are outside, everything comes in parables,

New Century Version
Jesus said, "You can know the secret about the kingdom of God. But to other people I tell everything by using stories

Amplified Bible
He said to them, "The mystery of the kingdom of God has been given to you [who have teachable hearts], but those who are outside [the unbelievers, the spiritually blind] get everything in parables,

New American Standard Bible (1995)
And He was saying to them, "To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but those who are outside get everything in parables,

Legacy Standard Bible
And He was saying to them, "To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but to those who are outside, everything comes in parables,

Berean Standard Bible
He replied, "The mystery of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to those on the outside, everything is expressed in parables,

Contemporary English Version
He answered: I have explained the secret about God's kingdom to you, but for others I can use only stories.

Complete Jewish Bible
He answered them, "To you the secret of the Kingdom of God has been given; but to those outside, everything is in parables,

Darby Translation
And he said to them, To you is given [to know] the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to them who are without, all things are done in parables,

Easy-to-Read Version
Jesus said, "Only you can know the secret truth about God's kingdom. But to those other people I tell everything by using stories.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And he saide vnto them, To you it is giuen to knowe the mysterie of the kingdome of God: but vnto them that are without, all thinges bee done in parables,

George Lamsa Translation
And Jesus said to them, To you is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God, but to the outsiders everything has to be explained by parables.

Good News Translation
"You have been given the secret of the Kingdom of God," Jesus answered. "But the others, who are on the outside, hear all things by means of parables,

Lexham English Bible
And he said to them, "To you has been granted the secret of the kingdom of God, but to those who are outside everything is in parables,

Literal Translation
And He said to them, To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God. But to these, those outside, all things are being given in parables,

American Standard Version
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:

Bible in Basic English
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;

Hebrew Names Version
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,

International Standard Version
He said to them, "The secret about the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside, everything comes in parables1 Corinthians 5:12; Colossians 4:5; 1 Thessalonians 4:12; 1 Timothy 3:7;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
And Jeshu said to them, To you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of Aloha; but to those without every thing is in parables:

Murdock Translation
And Jesus said to them: To you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to them without, all is in similitudes:

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And he sayde vnto them: To you it is geuen to knowe the misterie of the kingdome of God: But vnto them that are without, all thynges are done by parables,

English Revised Version
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:

World English Bible
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,

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And he said to them, To you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but to them that are without, all things are in parables:

Weymouth's New Testament
"To you," He replied, "has been entrusted the secret truth concerning the Kingdom of God; but to those others outside your number all this is spoken in figurative language;

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And he seide to hem, To you it is youun to knowe the priuete of the kyngdom of God. But to hem that ben with outforth, alle thingis be maad in parablis, that thei seynge se,

Update Bible Version
And he said to them, To you is given the mystery of the kingdom of God: but to those that are outside, all things are done in parables:

Webster's Bible Translation
And he said to them, To you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but to them that are without, all [these] things are done in parables:

New English Translation
He said to them, "The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those outside, everything is in parables,

New King James Version
And 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, all things come in parables,

New Living Translation
He replied, "You are permitted to understand the secret of the Kingdom of God. But I use parables for everything I say to outsiders,

New Life Bible
He said to them, "You were given the secrets about the holy nation of God. Everything is told in picture-stories to those who are outside the holy nation of God.

New Revised Standard
And he said to them, "To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything comes in parables;

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
and he was saying unto them - To you, the sacred secret hath been given of the kingdom of God, whereas, to them who are outside, in parables are all things coming to pass, - that

Douay-Rheims Bible
And he said to them: To you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but to them that are without, all things are done in parables:

Revised Standard Version
And he said to them, "To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables;

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
And he sayde vnto the. To you it is geve to knowe the mistery of the kyngdome of God. But vnto them that are wt out shall all thinges be done in similitudes:

Young's Literal Translation
and he said to them, `To you it hath been given to know the secret of the reign of God, but to those who are without, in similes are all the things done;

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And he sayde vnto the: Vnto you it is geuen, to knowe the mystery of the kyngdome of God: but vnto them that are without, all thinges happen by parables,

Mace New Testament (1729)
he answered, you are admitted into the secret of the gospel-dispensation: but to unbelievers every thing is couch'd in parables; because,

Simplified Cowboy Version
He told them, "The secret of the Boss's outfit has been given to you. But for the sake of everyone else, I teach with stories

Contextual Overview

¹He went back to teaching by the sea. A crowd built up to such a great size that he had to get into an offshore boat, using the boat as a pulpit as the people pushed to the water's edge. He taught by using stories, many stories. ³"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. ⁹ "Are you listening to this? Really listening?" ¹⁰When they were off by themselves, those who were close to him, along with the Twelve, asked about the stories. He told them, "You've been given insight into God's kingdom—you know how it works. But to those who can't see it yet, everything comes in stories, creating readiness, nudging them toward receptive insight. These are people— Whose eyes are open but don't see a thing, Whose ears are open but don't understand a word, Who avoid making an about-face and getting forgiven." ¹³ He continued, "Do you see how this story works? All my stories work this way. ¹⁴"The farmer plants the Word. Some people are like the seed that falls on the hardened soil of the road. No sooner do they hear the Word than Satan snatches away what has been planted in them. ¹⁶"And some are like the seed that lands in the gravel. When they first hear the Word, they respond with great enthusiasm. But there is such shallow soil of character that when the emotions wear off and some difficulty arrives, there is nothing to show for it. ¹⁸"The seed cast in the weeds represents the ones who hear the kingdom news but are overwhelmed with worries about all the things they have to do and all the things they want to get. The stress strangles what they heard, and nothing comes of it. ²⁰ "But the seed planted in the good earth represents those who hear the Word, embrace it, and produce a harvest beyond their wildest dreams."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Unto you: Matthew 11:25, Matthew 13:11, Matthew 13:12, Matthew 13:16, Matthew 16:17, Luke 8:10, Luke 10:21-24, 1 Corinthians 4:7, 2 Corinthians 4:6, Ephesians 1:9, Ephesians 2:4-10, Titus 3:3-7, James 1:16-18, 1 John 5:20

them: 1 Corinthians 5:12, 1 Corinthians 5:13, Colossians 4:5, 1 Thessalonians 4:12, 1 Timothy 3:7

all these: Matthew 13:13

Reciprocal: 2 Chronicles 9:2 - all Proverbs 1:6 - a proverb Proverbs 18:1 - seeketh Isaiah 8:16 - among Daniel 12:10 - but the wise Mark 4:2 - by parables Mark 8:29 - But Mark 12:1 - he began Romans 11:8 - eyes 1 Corinthians 4:1 - mysteries 1 Corinthians 14:2 - howbeit Colossians 1:26 - now

Cross-References

Genesis 3:14
God told the serpent: "Because you've done this, you're cursed, cursed beyond all cattle and wild animals, Cursed to slink on your belly and eat dirt all your life. I'm declaring war between you and the Woman, between your offspring and hers. He'll wound your head, you'll wound his heel."

Genesis 4:15
God told him, "No. Anyone who kills Cain will pay for it seven times over." God put a mark on Cain to protect him so that no one who met him would kill him.

Genesis 4:16
Cain left the presence of God and lived in No-Man's-Land, east of Eden.

Genesis 4:19
Lamech married two wives, Adah and Zillah. Adah gave birth to Jabal, the ancestor of all who live in tents and herd cattle. His brother's name was Jubal, the ancestor of all who play the lyre and flute. Zillah gave birth to Tubal-Cain, who worked at the forge making bronze and iron tools. Tubal-Cain's sister was Naamah.

Job 16:18
"O Earth, don't cover up the wrong done to me! Don't muffle my cry! There must be Someone in heaven who knows the truth about me, in highest heaven, some Attorney who can clear my name— My Champion, my Friend, while I'm weeping my eyes out before God. I appeal to the One who represents mortals before God as a neighbor stands up for a neighbor. "Only a few years are left before I set out on the road of no return."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And he said unto them,.... His disciples;

unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; or the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, the secrets of the Gospel dispensation, the mysterious doctrines of grace;

:-,

but unto them that are without; "to strangers", as the Syriac and Arabic versions render it, who were not the disciples of Christ, nor admitted to any intimacy with him; who came only to amuse themselves with the sight of his person and miracles:

all [these] things are done in parables; are wrapped up in dark sayings, and figurative expressions, the sound of which they heard, and might be pleased with the pretty similes made use of, but understood not the spiritual meaning of them.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

See the notes at Matthew 13:10-17. On Mark 4:12, see the notes at John 12:39-40.

When he was alone - That is, separate from the multitude. When he withdrew from the multitude a few followed him for the purpose of more instruction.

Mark 4:13

Know ye not this parable? - This which is so plain and obvious.

How then will ye know all parables? - Those which are more difficult and obscure. As they were themselves to be “teachers,” it was important that they should be acquainted with the whole system of religion - of much more importance for them at that time than for the mass of the people.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Mark 4:11. Unto you it is given to know — γνωναι, to know, is omitted by ABKL, ten others, the Coptic, and one of the Itala. The omission of this word makes a material alteration in the sense; for without it the passage may be read thus: - To you the mystery of the kingdom of God is given; but all these things are transacted in parables to those without. Griesbach leaves it doubtful. And Professor White says, probabiliter delendum. I should be inclined to omit it, were it not found in the parallel passages in Matthew and Luke, in neither of whom it is omitted by any MS. or version. See the dissertation on parabolical writing at the end of Matthew 13:58.