Mark 4:3

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.

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.

Easy-to-Read Version
"Listen! A farmer went out to sow seed.

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,

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

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

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 slept with Eve his wife. She conceived and had Cain. She said, "I've gotten a man, with God 's help!"

1 Kings 17:7
Eventually the brook dried up because of the drought. Then God spoke to him: "Get up and go to Zarephath in Sidon and live there. I've instructed a woman who lives there, a widow, to feed you."

Nehemiah 13:6
When this was going on I wasn't there in Jerusalem; in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon, I had traveled back to the king. But later I asked for his permission to leave again. I arrived in Jerusalem and learned of the wrong that Eliashib had done in turning over to him a room in the courts of The Temple of God. I was angry, really angry, and threw everything in the room out into the street, all of Tobiah's stuff. Then I ordered that they ceremonially cleanse the room. Only then did I put back the worship vessels of The Temple of God, along with the Grain-Offerings and the incense.

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.