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Tuesday, July 29th, 2025
the Week of Proper 12 / Ordinary 17
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Read the Bible

THE MESSAGE

Mark 4:16

"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.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Apostasy;   Backsliders;   Character;   Instability;   Jesus, the Christ;   Jesus Continued;   Minister, Christian;   Sermon;   Sower;   Word of God;   Thompson Chain Reference - Shallowness;   The Topic Concordance - Bearing Fruit;   Disobedience;   Word of God;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Perseverance;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Allegory;   Apocalyptic;   Parable;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Allegory;   Mark, the Gospel of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Heart;   Stone;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Allegory;   Discourse;   Doctrines;   Ear (2);   Metaphors;   Mystery ;   Parable;   Physical ;   Stone;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Chief parables and miracles in the bible;   Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types - Stony;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Jesus of Nazareth;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - New Testament;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
And others are like seed sown on rocky ground. When they hear the word, immediately they receive it with joy.
King James Version (1611)
And these are they likewise which are sowen on stonie ground, who when they haue heard the word, immediately receiue it with gladnesse:
King James Version
And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness;
English Standard Version
And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy.
New American Standard Bible
"And in a similar way these are the ones sown with seed on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy;
New Century Version
Others are like the seed planted on rocky ground. They hear the teaching and quickly accept it with joy.
Amplified Bible
"In a similar way these [in the second group] are the ones on whom seed was sown on rocky ground, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy [but accept it only superficially];
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"In a similar way these are the ones on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy;
Legacy Standard Bible
And in a similar way, these are the ones being sown on the rocky places: those who, when hearing the word, immediately receive it with joy;
Berean Standard Bible
Some are like the seeds sown on rocky ground. They hear the word and at once receive it with joy.
Contemporary English Version
The seeds that fell on rocky ground are the people who gladly hear the message and accept it right away.
Complete Jewish Bible
Likewise, those receiving seed on rocky patches are people who hear the message and joyfully accept it at once;
Darby Translation
And these are they in like manner who are sown upon the rocky places, who when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy,
Easy-to-Read Version
"Other people are like the seed planted on rocky ground. They hear the teaching, and they quickly and gladly accept it.
Geneva Bible (1587)
And likewise they that receiue the seede in stony ground, are they, which whe they haue heard the word, straightwayes receiue it with gladnesse.
George Lamsa Translation
And those which were sown upon the rock, are those who when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with joy;
Good News Translation
Other people are like the seeds that fall on rocky ground. As soon as they hear the message, they receive it gladly.
Lexham English Bible
And these are like the ones sown on the rocky ground, who whenever they hear the word immediately receive it with joy.
Literal Translation
And likewise, these are the ones having been sown on the rocky places, who, when they hear the Word, they immediately receive it with joy,
American Standard Version
And these in like manner are they that are sown upon the rocky places, who, when they have heard the word, straightway receive it with joy;
Bible in Basic English
And in the same way, these are they who are planted on the stones, who, when the word has come to their ears, straight away take it with joy;
Hebrew Names Version
These in like manner are those who are sown on the rocky places, who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with joy.
International Standard Version
Others are like the seedsThese are the ones
">[fn] sown on the stony ground. When they hear the word, they accept it at once with joy,
Etheridge Translation
And these who upon the rock are sowed, these are they who, when they have heard the word, at once with joy receive it:
Murdock Translation
And those sown on the rock, are they who, when they hear the word, immediately with joy receive it.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And lykewyse they that receaue seede into the stonie grounde, are they, which when they haue hearde the worde, at once receaue it with gladnesse.
English Revised Version
And these in like manner are they that are sown upon the rocky places, who, when they have heard the word, straightway receive it with joy;
World English Bible
These in like manner are those who are sown on the rocky places, who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with joy.
Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And these are they likewise who have received the seed on stony ground, who when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with joy: But have not root in themselves, and so indure but for a time:
Weymouth's New Testament
In the same way those who receive the seed on the rocky places are those who, when they have heard the Message, at once accept it joyfully,
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And in lijk maner ben these that ben sowun on stony placis, whiche whanne thei han herd the word, anoon thei taken it with ioye;
Update Bible Version
And these are those that are sown on the rocky [places], who, when they have heard the word, right away receive it with joy;
Webster's Bible Translation
And these are they likewise who are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness;
New English Translation
These are the ones sown on rocky ground: As soon as they hear the word, they receive it with joy.
New King James Version
These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness;
New Living Translation
The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy.
New Life Bible
The seed that fell among rocks is like people who receive the Word with joy when they hear it.
New Revised Standard
And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: when they hear the word, they immediately receive it with joy.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And these are likewise they upon the rocky places sown, - who, as soon as they hear the word, straightway, with joy receive it,
Douay-Rheims Bible
And these likewise are they that are sown on the stony ground: who when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with joy.
Revised Standard Version
And these in like manner are the ones sown upon rocky ground, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy;
Tyndale New Testament (1525)
And likewise they that are sowen on the stonye groude are they: which when they have harde the worde at once receave it wt gladnes
Young's Literal Translation
`And these are they, in like manner, who on the rocky ground are sown: who, whenever they may hear the word, immediately with joy do receive it,
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And likewyse are they that are sowen on the stonye grounde: which when they haue herde the worde, receaue it with ioye,
Mace New Testament (1729)
in like manner, they who receive seed on stony-ground, are such as upon hearing the word, do immediately receive it with joy.
Simplified Cowboy Version
The seed in the rocks stands for those who love the good news and immediately act like it changes their whole world.

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

which: Mark 6:20, Mark 10:17-22, Ezekiel 33:31, Ezekiel 33:32, Matthew 8:19, Matthew 8:20, Matthew 13:20, Matthew 13:21, Luke 8:13, John 5:35, Acts 8:13, Acts 8:18-21, Acts 24:25, Acts 24:26, Acts 26:28

Reciprocal: 2 Chronicles 24:2 - Joash 2 Chronicles 26:5 - he sought God Isaiah 58:2 - they seek Ezekiel 36:26 - the stony Mark 4:5 - General Luke 8:6 - General John 2:23 - many Acts 2:42 - they 1 Corinthians 15:1 - which also Hebrews 6:5 - tasted 1 John 2:19 - went out

Cross-References

Genesis 3:8
When they heard the sound of God strolling in the garden in the evening breeze, the Man and his Wife hid in the trees of the garden, hid from God.
Exodus 20:18
All the people, experiencing the thunder and lightning, the trumpet blast and the smoking mountain, were afraid—they pulled back and stood at a distance. They said to Moses, "You speak to us and we'll listen, but don't have God speak to us or we'll die."
2 Kings 24:20
The source of all this doom to Jerusalem and Judah was God 's anger— God turned his back on them as an act of judgment. And then Zedekiah revolted against the king of Babylon.
Job 1:12
God replied, "We'll see. Go ahead—do what you want with all that is his. Just don't hurt him." Then Satan left the presence of God .
Job 2:7
Satan left God and struck Job with terrible sores. Job was ulcers and scabs from head to foot. They itched and oozed so badly that he took a piece of broken pottery to scrape himself, then went and sat on a trash heap, among the ashes.
Psalms 5:11
But you'll welcome us with open arms when we run for cover to you. Let the party last all night! Stand guard over our celebration. You are famous, God , for welcoming God-seekers, for decking us out in delight.
Jeremiah 23:39
"Are you paying attention? You'd better, because I'm about to take you in hand and throw you to the ground, you and this entire city that I gave to your ancestors. I've had it with the lot of you. You're never going to live this down. You're going down in history as a disgrace."
Jeremiah 52:3
The source of all this doom to Jerusalem and Judah was God 's anger. God turned his back on them as an act of judgment. Zedekiah revolted against the king of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar set out for Jerusalem with a full army. He set up camp and sealed off the city by building siege mounds around it. He arrived on the ninth year and tenth month of Zedekiah's reign. The city was under siege for nineteen months (until the eleventh year of Zedekiah).
Luke 13:26
"You'll protest, ‘But we've known you all our lives!' only to be interrupted with his abrupt, ‘Your kind of knowing can hardly be called knowing. You don't know the first thing about me.'
John 1:3
Everything was created through him; nothing—not one thing!— came into being without him. What came into existence was Life, and the Life was Light to live by. The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness; the darkness couldn't put it out.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground,.... Such sort of hearers of the word are signified by the stony ground, on which the seed were sown, who are constant hearers of the word, and have some understanding of it, and some sort of affection for it, and yet their hearts are not truly broken by it; they are not brought to a thorough sight and sense of sin, and of their need of Christ, and salvation by him; their stony hearts are not taken away, and hearts of flesh given them:

who when they have heard the word immediately receive it with gladness; seem highly pleased, and greatly delighted with it, as being a well connected scheme things; and which declares things, as heaven and eternal happiness, which they, from a principle of self love, are desirous of enjoying.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

See the notes at Matthew 13:18-23.


 
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