The Gospel according to Mark, Chapter 4ΚΑΤΑ ΜΑΡΚΟΝ Δ′

Καὶ πάλιν ἤρξατο διδάσκειν παρὰ τὴν θάλασσαν· καὶ συνάγεται πρὸς αὐτὸν ὄχλος πλεῖστος, ὥστε αὐτὸν εἰς πλοῖον ἐμβάντα καθῆσθαι ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ, καὶ πᾶς ὁ ὄχλος πρὸς τὴν θάλασσαν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἦσαν.

And again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very great crowd gathers to him, so that he got into a boat and sat in the sea, and all the crowd was beside the sea on the land.

καὶ ἐδίδασκεν αὐτοὺς ἐν παραβολαῖς πολλά, καὶ ἔλεγεν αὐτοῖς ἐν τῇ διδαχῇ αὐτοῦ·

And he taught them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them:

Ἀκούετε. ἰδοὺ ἐξῆλθεν ὁ σπείρων σπεῖραι.

Listen! Behold, the sower went out to sow.

καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν τῷ σπείρειν ὃ μὲν ἔπεσεν παρὰ τὴν ὁδόν, καὶ ἦλθεν τὰ πετεινὰ καὶ κατέφαγεν αὐτό.

And it happened, as he sowed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.

καὶ ἄλλο ἔπεσεν ἐπὶ τὸ πετρῶδες ὅπου οὐκ εἶχεν γῆν πολλήν, καὶ εὐθὺς ἐξανέτειλεν διὰ τὸ μὴ ἔχειν βάθος γῆς·

And other seed fell on the rocky ground, where it had not much soil, and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of soil.

καὶ ὅτε ἀνέτειλεν ὁ ἥλιος ἐκαυματίσθη, καὶ διὰ τὸ μὴ ἔχειν ῥίζαν ἐξηράνθη.

And when the sun rose it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away.

καὶ ἄλλο ἔπεσεν εἰς τὰς ἀκάνθας, καὶ ἀνέβησαν αἱ ἄκανθαι καὶ συνέπνιξαν αὐτό, καὶ καρπὸν οὐκ ἔδωκεν.

And other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.

καὶ ἄλλα ἔπεσεν εἰς τὴν γῆν τὴν καλήν, καὶ ἐδίδου καρπὸν ἀναβαίνοντα καὶ αὐξανόμενα, καὶ ἔφερεν ἓν τριάκοντα καὶ ἓν ἑξήκοντα καὶ ἓν ἑκατόν.

And other seed fell into the good soil and yielded fruit, growing up and increasing, and bore thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.

καὶ ἔλεγεν· Ὃς ἔχει ὦτα ἀκούειν ἀκουέτω.

And he said, 'Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear.'

Καὶ ὅτε ἐγένετο κατὰ μόνας, ἠρώτων αὐτὸν οἱ περὶ αὐτὸν σὺν τοῖς δώδεκα τὰς παραβολάς.

And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables.

καὶ ἔλεγεν αὐτοῖς· Ὑμῖν τὸ μυστήριον δέδοται τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ θεοῦ· ἐκείνοις δὲ τοῖς ἔξω ἐν παραβολαῖς τὰ πάντα γίνεται,

And he said to them, 'To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those outside everything comes in parables,

ἵνα βλέποντες βλέπωσι καὶ μὴ ἴδωσιν, καὶ ἀκούοντες ἀκούωσι καὶ μὴ συνιῶσιν, μήποτε ἐπιστρέψωσιν καὶ ἀφεθῇ αὐτοῖς.

so that seeing they may see and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand, lest they should turn and it be forgiven them.'

Καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς· Οὐκ οἴδατε τὴν παραβολὴν ταύτην, καὶ πῶς πάσας τὰς παραβολὰς γνώσεσθε;

And he said to them, 'Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand all the parables?'

ὁ σπείρων τὸν λόγον σπείρει.

The sower sows the word.

οὗτοι δέ εἰσιν οἱ παρὰ τὴν ὁδὸν ὅπου σπείρεται ὁ λόγος, καὶ ὅταν ἀκούσωσιν εὐθὺς ἔρχεται ὁ Σατανᾶς καὶ αἴρει τὸν λόγον τὸν ἐσπαρμένον εἰς αὐτούς.

And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.

καὶ οὗτοί εἰσιν ὁμοίως οἱ ἐπὶ τὰ πετρώδη σπειρόμενοι, οἳ ὅταν ἀκούσωσιν τὸν λόγον εὐθὺς μετὰ χαρᾶς λαμβάνουσιν αὐτόν,

And these likewise are the ones sown on the rocky ground, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy,

καὶ οὐκ ἔχουσιν ῥίζαν ἐν ἑαυτοῖς ἀλλὰ πρόσκαιροί εἰσιν, εἶτα γενομένης θλίψεως ἢ διωγμοῦ διὰ τὸν λόγον εὐθὺς σκανδαλίζονται.

and they have no root in themselves but are short-lived; then, when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they fall away.

καὶ ἄλλοι εἰσὶν οἱ εἰς τὰς ἀκάνθας σπειρόμενοι· οὗτοί εἰσιν οἱ τὸν λόγον ἀκούσαντες,

And others are the ones sown among the thorns; these are the ones who hear the word,

καὶ αἱ μέριμναι τοῦ αἰῶνος καὶ ἡ ἀπάτη τοῦ πλούτου καὶ αἱ περὶ τὰ λοιπὰ ἐπιθυμίαι εἰσπορευόμεναι συμπνίγουσιν τὸν λόγον, καὶ ἄκαρπος γίνεται.

but the cares of the age and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

καὶ ἐκεῖνοί εἰσιν οἱ ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν τὴν καλὴν σπαρέντες, οἵτινες ἀκούουσιν τὸν λόγον καὶ παραδέχονται καὶ καρποφοροῦσιν ἓν τριάκοντα καὶ ἓν ἑξήκοντα καὶ ἓν ἑκατόν.

And those are the ones sown on the good soil, who hear the word and receive it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.

Καὶ ἔλεγεν αὐτοῖς· Μήτι ἔρχεται ὁ λύχνος ἵνα ὑπὸ τὸν μόδιον τεθῇ ἢ ὑπὸ τὴν κλίνην; οὐχ ἵνα ἐπὶ τὴν λυχνίαν τεθῇ;

And he said to them, 'Does the lamp come to be put under the basket or under the bed? Is it not to be put on the lampstand?'

οὐ γάρ ἐστιν κρυπτὸν ἐὰν μὴ ἵνα φανερωθῇ, οὐδὲ ἐγένετο ἀπόκρυφον ἀλλ' ἵνα ἔλθῃ εἰς φανερόν.

For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light.

εἴ τις ἔχει ὦτα ἀκούειν ἀκουέτω.

If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.

Καὶ ἔλεγεν αὐτοῖς· Βλέπετε τί ἀκούετε. ἐν ᾧ μέτρῳ μετρεῖτε μετρηθήσεται ὑμῖν καὶ προστεθήσεται ὑμῖν.

And he said to them, 'Take heed what you hear. With the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and more will be added to you.

ὃς γὰρ ἔχει, δοθήσεται αὐτῷ· καὶ ὃς οὐκ ἔχει, καὶ ὃ ἔχει ἀρθήσεται ἀπ' αὐτοῦ.

For whoever has, to him will be given; and whoever has not, even what he has will be taken away from him.

Καὶ ἔλεγεν· Οὕτως ἐστὶν ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ ὡς ἄνθρωπος βάλῃ τὸν σπόρον ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς

And he said, 'The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground,

καὶ καθεύδῃ καὶ ἐγείρηται νύκτα καὶ ἡμέραν, καὶ ὁ σπόρος βλαστᾷ καὶ μηκύνηται ὡς οὐκ οἶδεν αὐτός.

and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should sprout and grow — he himself does not know how.

αὐτομάτη ἡ γῆ καρποφορεῖ, πρῶτον χόρτον, εἶτα στάχυν, εἶτα πλήρη σῖτον ἐν τῷ στάχυϊ.

The earth bears fruit of itself: first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.

ὅταν δὲ παραδοῖ ὁ καρπός, εὐθὺς ἀποστέλλει τὸ δρέπανον, ὅτι παρέστηκεν ὁ θερισμός.

But when the grain is ripe, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.

Καὶ ἔλεγεν· Πῶς ὁμοιώσωμεν τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ, ἢ ἐν τίνι αὐτὴν παραβολῇ θῶμεν;

And he said, 'With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or in what parable shall we set it forth?'

ὡς κόκκῳ σινάπεως, ὃς ὅταν σπαρῇ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, μικρότερον ὂν πάντων τῶν σπερμάτων τῶν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς,

It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth;

καὶ ὅταν σπαρῇ, ἀναβαίνει καὶ γίνεται μεῖζον πάντων τῶν λαχάνων καὶ ποιεῖ κλάδους μεγάλους, ὥστε δύνασθαι ὑπὸ τὴν σκιὰν αὐτοῦ τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ κατασκηνοῦν.

yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes greater than all the garden plants and puts out great branches, so that the birds of the air can nest under its shade.

Καὶ τοιαύταις παραβολαῖς πολλαῖς ἐλάλει αὐτοῖς τὸν λόγον, καθὼς ἠδύναντο ἀκούειν·

And with many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it;

χωρὶς δὲ παραβολῆς οὐκ ἐλάλει αὐτοῖς, κατ' ἰδίαν δὲ τοῖς ἰδίοις μαθηταῖς ἐπέλυεν πάντα.

but without a parable he did not speak to them; and privately to his own disciples he explained everything.

Καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ὀψίας γενομένης· Διέλθωμεν εἰς τὸ πέραν.

And on that day, when evening had come, he said to them, 'Let us go across to the other side.'

καὶ ἀφέντες τὸν ὄχλον παραλαμβάνουσιν αὐτὸν ὡς ἦν ἐν τῷ πλοίῳ, καὶ ἄλλα πλοῖα ἦν μετ' αὐτοῦ.

And leaving the crowd, they took him with them, just as he was, in the boat; and other boats were with him.

καὶ γίνεται λαῖλαψ μεγάλη ἀνέμου, καὶ τὰ κύματα ἐπέβαλλεν εἰς τὸ πλοῖον, ὥστε ἤδη γεμίζεσθαι τὸ πλοῖον.

And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling.

καὶ αὐτὸς ἦν ἐν τῇ πρύμνῃ ἐπὶ τὸ προσκεφάλαιον καθεύδων· καὶ ἐγείρουσιν αὐτὸν καὶ λέγουσιν αὐτῷ· Διδάσκαλε, οὐ μέλει σοι ὅτι ἀπολλύμεθα;

But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, 'Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?'

καὶ διεγερθεὶς ἐπετίμησεν τῷ ἀνέμῳ καὶ εἶπεν τῇ θαλάσσῃ· Σιώπα, πεφίμωσο. καὶ ἐκόπασεν ὁ ἄνεμος, καὶ ἐγένετο γαλήνη μεγάλη.

And waking, he rebuked the wind and said to the sea, 'Peace! Be still!' And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· Τί δειλοί ἐστε; οὔπω ἔχετε πίστιν;

And he said to them, 'Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?'

καὶ ἐφοβήθησαν φόβον μέγαν, καὶ ἔλεγον πρὸς ἀλλήλους· Τίς ἄρα οὗτός ἐστιν ὅτι καὶ ὁ ἄνεμος καὶ ἡ θάλασσα ὑπακούει αὐτῷ;

And they feared a great fear, and said to one another, 'Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?'