New International Version
Mark 4:26
26He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground.
Mark 4:26 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground;
- English Standard Version (ESV)And he said, "The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And He said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground,
- New Living Translation (NLT)Jesus also said, “The Kingdom of God is like a farmer who scatters seed on the ground.
Context of Mark 4:26
24“Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more. 25Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.” He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head.
Read all of Mark 4Mark 4:26 word by word
Καὶ ἔλεγεν· οὕτως ἐστὶν ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ, ὡς ἄνθρωπος βάλῃ τὸν σπόρον ἐπὶ τῆς γῆςRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Andκαίkai · andG2532
- he saidλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
- Soοὕτωςhoutō · thus(-ly)G3779
- isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
- the kingdomὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- the kingdomβασιλείαbasileia · kingdomG932
- of Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
- asὡςhōs · as/whenG5613
- ifἐάνean · ifG1437
- a manἄνθρωποςanthrōpos · a humanG444
- should castβάλλωballō · to throw: sowG906
- seedσπόροςsporos · seedG4703
- intoἐπίepi · upon/to/againstG1909
- the groundγῆgē · earth: soilG1093
Cross-references for Mark 4:26
- Matthew 3:2and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
- Matthew 4:17From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
- Matthew 13:11He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.
- Luke 13:18Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to?
- Mark 4:3“Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed.
- Proverbs 11:18A wicked person earns deceptive wages, but the one who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward.
- Ecclesiastes 11:4Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap.
- Isaiah 28:24When a farmer plows for planting, does he plow continually? Does he keep on breaking up and working the soil?
- Isaiah 32:20how blessed you will be, sowing your seed by every stream, and letting your cattle and donkeys range free.
- Matthew 13:3Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed.
- Luke 8:5“A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up.
- John 4:36Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together.
- John 12:24Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.
- 1 Corinthians 3:6I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.
- James 3:18Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.
- 1 Peter 1:23For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.
Commentaries on Mark 4:26
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 26So is the kingdom of God - This parable is mentioned only by Mark, a proof that Mark did not abridge Matthew. Whitby supposes it to refer to the good ground spoken of before, and paraphrases is thus: - "What I have said of the seed sown upon good ground, may be illustrated by this parable. The doctrine of the kingdom, received in a good and honest heart, is like seed sown by a man in his ground, properly prepared to receive it; for when he hath sown it…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 26So is the kingdom of God - The gospel, or religion in the soul, may be compared to this. See the notes at Matthew 3:2. This parable is recorded only by Mark.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 4:26
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
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