Mark 4:12

Mark 4:12 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.
• New International Version (NIV)so that, “ ‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’ ”
• English Standard Version (ESV)so that "'they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven.'"
• New King James Version (NKJV)so that ‘Seeing they may see and not perceive, And hearing they may hear and not understand; Lest they should turn, And their sins be forgiven them.’ ”

Context of Mark 4:12

10As soon as He was alone, those who were around Him, together with the twelve [disciples], began asking Him about [the interpretation of] the parables. 11He 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, so that they will continually look but not see, and they will continually hear but not understand, otherwise they might turn [from their rejection of the truth] and be forgiven.” 13Then He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand and grasp the meaning of all the parables? 14The sower sows the word [of God, the good news regarding the way of salvation].

Mark 4:12 word by word

ἵνα βλέποντες βλέπωσιν καὶ μὴ ἴδωσιν καὶ ἀκούοντες ἀκούωσιν καὶ μὴ συνιῶσιν μήποτε ἐπιστρέψωσιν καὶ ἀφεθῇ αὐτοῖςRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Thatἵναhina · in order that/toG2443
• seeingβλέπωblepō · to seeG991
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• notμήmē · notG3361
• perceiveὁράωhoraō · to see: seeG3708
• hearingἀκούωakouō · to hearG191
• understandσυνίημιsuniēmi · to understandG4920
• lest at any timeμήποτεmēpote mē pote · lestG3379
• they should be convertedἐπιστρέφωepistrephō · to turnG1994
• sinsὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• sinsἁμάρτημαhamartēma · sinG265
• should be forgivenἀφίημιaphiēmi · to release: forgiveG863
• themαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846

Cross-references for Mark 4:12

• Deuteronomy 29:4Yet to this day the Lord has not given you a heart and mind to understand, nor eyes to see, nor ears to hear.
• Isaiah 6:9And He said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on listening, but do not understand; Keep on looking, but do not comprehend.’
• Isaiah 44:18They do not know, nor do they understand, for God has muddied their eyes so that they cannot see, and their hearts (minds) as well so that they cannot understand.
• Jeremiah 5:21‘Now hear this, O foolish people without heart, Who have eyes but do not see, Who have ears but do not hear.
• Matthew 13:14In them the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, ‘You will hear and keep on hearing, but never understand; And you will look and keep on looking, but never comprehend;
• Luke 8:10And He said, “To you [who have been chosen] it has been granted to know and recognize the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is in parables, so that though seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.
• John 12:37Even though He had done so many signs (attesting miracles) right before them, yet they still did not believe and failed to trust Him—
• Acts 28:25They disagreed among themselves and they began to leave after Paul had made one last statement: “The Holy Spirit rightly spoke through Isaiah the prophet to your fathers, saying,
• Romans 11:8just as it is written [in Scripture], “God gave them a spirit of stupor, Eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear, [a spiritual apathy that has continued] to this very day.”
• Jeremiah 31:18I have surely heard Ephraim (Israel) moaning and grieving, ‘You have chastised me, and I was chastised, Like a bull unaccustomed to the yoke or an untrained calf; Bring me back that I may be restored, For You are the Lord my God.
• Ezekiel 18:27Again, when a wicked man turns away from his wickedness which he has committed and practices justice and righteousness, he will save his life.
• Acts 3:19So repent [change your inner self—your old way of thinking, regret past sins] and return [to God—seek His purpose for your life], so that your sins may be wiped away [blotted out, completely erased], so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord [restoring you like a cool wind on a hot day];
• 2 Timothy 2:25He must correct those who are in opposition with courtesy and gentleness in the hope that God may grant that they will repent and be led to the knowledge of the truth [accurately understanding and welcoming it],
• Hebrews 6:6and then have fallen away—it is impossible to bring them back again to repentance, since they again nail the Son of God on the cross [for as far as they are concerned, they are treating the death of Christ as if they were not saved by it], and are holding Him up again to public disgrace.

Commentaries on Mark 4:12

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 10-13Verses 10-13 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…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 11-12The true followers of Jesus could understand the secret of the kingdom of God. They knew the kingdom had arrived (1:14–15). They knew that the Christ, the Son of God, was among them (1:1). To those on the outside, it seemed like riddles. When Jesus answered the disciples’ question, he showed that he used parables to keep outsiders from understanding. This was so that they would be unable to repent and be forgiven. The quotation from Isaiah 6:9–10 in the…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 11-1211-12. And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them, &c.--See on Mt 13:10-17.Read the comment

Topics related to Mark 4:12

• Apostasy
• Blindness
• Jesus, the Christ
• Minister, Christian
• Quotations and Allusions
• Sermon
• Sower
• Wicked (People)
• Word of God

In the dictionaries

• Alone
• Care
• Cast
• Comparison
• Doctrine
• Parable
• Conversion
• Hap; Haply
• Jesus Christ
• Mark, the Gospel According to

Commentaries on Mark 4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Catena Aurea
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• John Lightfoot Commentary
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings