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Jesus told a parable about a man who scattered seed in different kinds of soil. The different kinds of soil represent different kinds of people. The seeds thrown by the man represent God’s word. Different kinds of people receive God’s word in different ways.
Satan causes some people to forget God’s Word so they do not accept it. These people are represented by the soil along the path (4:4). Some people accept God’s Word but when troubles or persecution happen to them, they quickly reject God’s Word. These people are represented by the rocky soil (4:5–6). Some people accept God’s Word but worries about daily living cause them to not do anything for God. These people are represented by the soil with thorns (4:7). Some people accept God’s Word and do deeds that honor God. These people are represented by the good soil (4:8).
It is good to translate the section before you decide on a heading for it. Here are some other possible headings for this section:
The parable about four kinds of soil
The parable of the sower and the soils
The four soils parable/story/illustration
A parable of a man scattering seed
There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 13:1–9 and Luke 8:4–8.
Then Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Then Jesus said, “If/since you(plur) have ears for listening, then listen(plur) well!”
Then Jesus said to the people, “Whoever is able to hear what I say should try to understand it.”
Jesus concluded, “You(plur) who are listening, think carefully about what you(plur) have heard.”
Then Jesus said: The phrase that the BSB translates as Then Jesus said introduces the advice that Jesus gave at the conclusion of his parable. In some languages it may be helpful to make explicit that this is the conclusion of the parable. For example, the GNT has:
And Jesus concluded
He who has ears to hear, let him hear: With this saying, Jesus commanded or urged the crowd to give careful attention to the parable that they had just heard. Jesus wanted them to understand and respond correctly to the lesson of the parable.
If you have a similar expression in your language that urges an audience to listen carefully to what you are saying, you may want to use it here.
This saying assumes that everyone in the crowd has ears that are able to hear. So it is addressed to all the people who were listening to Jesus. In some languages it may not be natural or clear to translate the saying literally.
Here are some other ways to translate this saying:
Use “they” or “you” instead of he. For example:
All those who have ears to hear, let them hear.
All of you who have ears to hear, hear.
Use a different type of clause or clauses. In some languages it may be more natural to use an “if” clause or a reason clause. For example:
If you have ears that can hear, then give/pay attention.
Since you have ears that can hear, listen.
Translate the saying without including the word “ears.” For example, the NCV says:
You people who can hear me, listen!
Change the order of the clauses. For example, the GNT says:
Listen, then, if you have ears!
hear…hear: The word hear is used twice in this verse part but with slightly different meanings. The first hear refers to the physical ability to hear. The second hear means to think about, understand and respond to what the parable means.
Here are some other ways to translate these two meanings:
Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand. (NLT)
Anyone who is listening should think about what he has just heard.
let him hear: The Greek verb that the BSB translates as let him hear is an indirect command. It is not a request for permission. The NJB has:
Anyone who has ears for listening should listen!
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy
ὃς ἔχει ὦτα ἀκούειν, ἀκουέτω
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ἔλεγεν Ὅς ἔχει ὦτα ἀκούειν ἀκουέτω)
Here, the phrase ears to hear represents the willingness to understand and obey. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [Whoever wishes to understand, let him understand and obey] or [Whoever can listen to me should pay attention]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / 123person
ὃς ἔχει ὦτα ἀκούειν, ἀκουέτω
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ἔλεγεν Ὅς ἔχει ὦτα ἀκούειν ἀκουέτω)
Jesus is speaking directly to his audience, not about other people. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use the second person plural here. Alternate translation: [You who have ears to hear should hear] or [If you have ears to hear, then hear]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / imperative3p
ἀκουέτω
˱him˲_˓let_be˒_hearing
If your language does not use the third-person imperative in this way, you could state this in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: [he should hear]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / gendernotations
ἀκουέτω
˱him˲_˓let_be˒_hearing
Although the term him is masculine, Jesus is using the word in a generic sense that includes both men and women. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a phrase that makes this clear. Alternate translation: [let that person hear]
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.