Mark 4

₃‘Listen to what I tell you. A man went to his field to sow seeds. He was the sower. ₄As he sowed, some seeds fell onto the path in the wheat_field. The birds came and they ate the seeds. ₅Some of the seeds fell into rocky_ground. The ground was not deep, so the seeds quickly started to grow. ₆But when the sun came up and it became hot, the sun burnt the plants and they died, because they did not have deep and strong roots. ₇Some of the seeds fell among weeds. The weeds grew faster than the wheat and stopped the plants from growing and they did not make any grains_of_wheat. ₈But some seeds fell into good ground. The plants came up and grew and there were a lot of grains_of_wheat on them. One plant had 30 times more grains, another plant had 60 times more grains and another plant had 100 times more grains.’

‘Don't you understand this parable? If you do not understand this, then you will not understand any other parables. ₁₄The seed that the sower sows is the message of God. ₁₅The seeds that fell onto the road are like people who hear the words of the message but Satan comes immediately and he takes away the words that God has sown into their hearts. ₁₆The seeds that fell into rocky_ground are like people who hear the message and immediately they are happy about it. ₁₇But they are like grass that does not have deep roots and does not live for a long time. They hear the message and they believe it, but when people give them trouble and oppress them because they believe, they stop believing.

₁₈The seeds that fell among weeds are like people who hear the message ₁₉but they start to worry about the things of this_life. They think only about money and they want to have a lot of different things. The things of this world are like weeds that grow over the plants so they can not grow. For these people, other things are more important than the message of God. That is why the message can not change their lives. They are like plants that have no fruit. ₂₀The seeds that fell into good ground are like people who hear the message and they believe it and it turns their lives to God. There is fruit in their lives. Some people have 30 times more fruit than the seeds that the sower sowed, some people have 60 times more and some people have 100 times more fruit.’

‘You do not put a lamp under a bowl or under a bed. No one does that. You put a lamp on the table. ₂₂God is King and no one can hide this like a secret. Everyone will know it and everyone will see it. There are things that people do not know now, but God will show them to everyone. ₂₃If you understand what I say, then you must do what I say.’

‘Where God is King, it is like when a man sows seeds in the ground. ₂₇He sleeps in the night and gets up the next morning. The seeds start to grow and the plants grow bigger. The man does not know how it happens. ₂₈It is the ground that makes the seeds start growing and become plants that make wheat. First there is a small plant, then a small head_of_wheat and later it becomes a big head of wheat. ₂₉When the wheat is ripe, the man immediately cuts it off with a sickle because it is time to harvest.’

‘How can I explain to you what it is like when God is King? What story can I tell? ₃₁It is like when someone plants a mustard_seed in the ground. A mustard seed is the smallest seed on earth. ₃₂But when he plants it and it starts to grow, then it becomes bigger than all the other plants in the garden. The plants have big branches and the birds make nests in their shade.’