God’s Word Translation
Mark 4:27
27He sleeps at night and is awake during the day. The seeds sprout and grow, although the man doesn’t know how.
Mark 4:27 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how.
- New International Version (NIV)Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how.
- English Standard Version (ESV)He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how.
- New King James Version (NKJV)and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how.
Context of Mark 4:27
25Those who understand ⌞these mysteries⌟ will be given ⌞more knowledge⌟. However, some people don’t understand ⌞these mysteries⌟. Even what they understand will be taken away from them.” 26Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is like a man who scatters seeds on the ground. He sleeps at night and is awake during the day. The seeds sprout and grow, although the man doesn’t know how. 28The ground produces grain by itself. First the green blade appears, then the head, then the head full of grain. 29As soon as the grain is ready, he cuts it with a sickle, because harvest time has come.”
Read all of Mark 4Mark 4:27 word by word
καὶ καθεύδῃ καὶ ἐγείρηται νύκτα καὶ ἡμέραν, καὶ ὁ σπόρος βλαστᾷ καὶ μηκύνηται ὡς οὐκ οἶδεν αὐτός.Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Andκαίkai · andG2532
- should sleepκαθεύδωkatheudō · to sleepG2518
- riseἐγείρωegeirō · to ariseG1453
- nightνύξnux · nightG3571
- dayἡμέραhēmera · dayG2250
- the seedὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- the seedσπόροςsporos · seedG4703
- should springβλαστάνωblastanō · to sproutG985
- grow upμηκύνωmēkunō · to growG3373
- heαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
- knowethεἴδωeidō · to perceive: understandG1492
- notοὐou · noG3756
- howὡςhōs · as/whenG5613
Cross-references for Mark 4:27
- Ecclesiastes 8:17then I saw everything that God has done. No one is able to grasp the work that is done under the sun. However hard a person may search for it, he will not find ⌞its meaning⌟. Even though a wise person claims to know, he is not able to grasp it.
- Ecclesiastes 11:5Just as you don’t know how the breath of life enters the limbs of a child within its mother’s womb, you also don’t understand how God, who made everything, works.
- John 3:7Don’t be surprised when I tell you that all of you must be born from above.
- 1 Corinthians 15:37What you plant, whether it’s wheat or something else, is only a seed. It doesn’t have the form that the plant will have.
- 2 Thessalonians 1:3We always have to thank God for you, brothers and sisters. It’s right to do this because your faith is showing remarkable growth and your love for each other is increasing.
- 2 Peter 3:18But grow in the good will and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Glory belongs to him now and for that eternal day! Amen.
Commentaries on Mark 4:27
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 27And should sleep and rise night and day - That is, he should sleep by night, and rise by day; for so the words are obviously to be understood. He knoweth not how - How a plant grows is a mystery in nature, which the wisest philosopher in the universe cannot fully explain.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 27And should sleep, and rise night and day - Should sleep in the night and rise by day, for so the expression is to be understood. That is, should live in his usual way, without exerting any influence over the growing grain. By this we are not to infer that men are to use no diligence in the obtaining and in the growth of piety; but the illustration shows only that as we cannot tell how grain grows, so we cannot tell the mode in which piety increases in the…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 21-34Verses 21-34 These declarations were intended to call the attention of the disciples to the word of Christ. By his thus instructing them, they were made able to instruct others; as candles are lighted, not to be covered, but to be placed on a candlestick, that they may give light to a room. This parable of the good seed, shows the manner in which the kingdom of God makes progress in the world. Let but the word of Christ have the place it ought to have in…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 26-29This parable focuses on the seed and how it grows over time. Just as the earth produces crops on its own, the completion (final coming) of God’s kingdom does not depend on human effort. first the stalk, then the head, then the grain that ripens within: These describe the normal stages of a seed’s growth.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 26-2726-27. So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; and should sleep, and rise night and day--go about his other ordinary occupations, leaving it to the well-known laws of vegetation under the genial influences of heaven. This is the sense of "the earth bringing forth fruit of herself," in Mr 4:27.Read the comment
Topics related to Mark 4:27
In the dictionaries
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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