Open Bible Data Home About News OET Key
OET OET-RV OET-LV ULT UST BSB MSB BLB AICNT OEB WEBBE WMBB NET LSV FBV TCNT T4T LEB BBE Moff JPS Wymth ASV DRA YLT Drby RV SLT Wbstr KJB-1769 KJB-1611 Bshps Gnva Cvdl TNT Wycl SR-GNT UHB BrLXX BrTr Related Topics Parallel Interlinear Reference Dictionary Search
ParallelVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
Mark Intro C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16
Mark 4 V1 V3 V5 V7 V9 V11 V13 V15 V17 V19 V21 V23 V25 V27 V29 V31 V33 V35 V37 V39 V41
Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.
Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)
OET (OET-RV) And when the crowd had left, the twelve apprentices asked him about the parables.![]()
OET-LV And when he_became down/against/according_to alone, they with the twelve about him were_asking him the parables.
![]()
SR-GNT Καὶ ὅτε ἐγένετο κατὰ μόνας, ἠρώτων αὐτὸν οἱ περὶ αὐτὸν σὺν τοῖς δώδεκα τὰς παραβολάς. ‡
(Kai hote egeneto kata monas, aʸrōtōn auton hoi peri auton sun tois dōdeka tas parabolas.)
Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, cyan:dative/indirect object.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).
ULT And when he was alone, the ones around him with the Twelve were asking him about the parables.
UST Later, when no one else was with them, Jesus’ 12 representatives and some other apprentices asked Jesus to explain the stories he had told.
BSB As soon as [Jesus] was alone [with] the Twelve and those around Him, they asked Him [about] the parable.
MSB As soon as [Jesus] was alone [with] the Twelve and those around Him, they asked Him [about] the parable.[fn]
4:10 CT literal parables
BLB And when He was alone, those around Him with the Twelve began asking Him about the parable.
AICNT And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables.
OEB Afterwards, when he was alone, his followers and the Twelve asked him about his parables;
WEBBE When he was alone, those who were around him with the twelve asked him about the parables.
WMBB (Same as above)
NET When he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables.
LSV And when He was alone, those around Him, with the Twelve, asked Him of the allegory,
FBV When he was by himself, his twelve disciples and the others who were with him asked him what the illustrations meant.
TCNT When he was alone with the twelve and the others who were around him, they asked him about the [fn]parable.
4:10 parable ¦ parables CT
T4T Later, when only the twelve disciples and a few other people were with him, they asked him about the parables.
LEB ¶ And when he was alone, those around him together with the twelve began asking[fn] him about the parables.
4:10 The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began asking”)
BBE And when he was by himself, those who were round him with the twelve put questions to him about the purpose of the stories.
Moff When he was by himself his adherents and the twelve asked him about the parable,
Wymth When He was alone, the Twelve and the others who were about Him requested Him to explain His figurative language.
ASV And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parables.
DRA And when he was alone, the twelve that were with him asked him the parable.
YLT And when he was alone, those about him, with the twelve, did ask him of the simile,
Drby And when he was alone, those about him with the twelve asked him [as to] the parables.
RV And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parables.
SLT And when he was alone, they about him with the twelve asked him of the parable.
Wbstr And when he was alone, they that were about him, with the twelve, asked of him the parable.
KJB-1769 And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable.
KJB-1611 And when hee was alone, they that were about him, with the twelue, asked of him the parable.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)
Bshps And when he was alone, they that were about hym, with the twelue, asked of hym the parable.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)
Gnva And whe he was alone, they that were about him with the twelue, asked him of ye parable.
(And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve, asked him of ye/you_all parable. )
Cvdl And whan he was alone, they that were aboute him wt the twolue, axed him concernynge this parable.
(And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve, asked him concerning this parable.)
TNT And when he was alone they that were aboute him with the .xii. axed him of the similitude.
(And when he was alone they that were about him with the 12 asked him of the similitude. )
Wycl And whanne he was bi hym silf, tho twelue that weren with hym axiden hym to expowne the parable.
(And when he was by himself, those twelve that were with him asked him to expound the parable.)
Luth Und da er allein war, fragten ihn um dieses Gleichnis, die um ihn waren, samt den Zwölfen.
(And there he alone/only was, asked him/it around/by/for this parable/allegory, the around/by/for him/it were, together_with the twelve_(ones).)
ClVg Et cum esset singularis, interrogaverunt eum hi qui cum eo erant duodecim, parabolam.
(And when/with was unique/peculiar, they_asked him these who/which when/with by_him they_were twelve, parable. )
UGNT καὶ ὅτε ἐγένετο κατὰ μόνας, ἠρώτων αὐτὸν οἱ περὶ αὐτὸν σὺν τοῖς δώδεκα τὰς παραβολάς.
(kai hote egeneto kata monas, aʸrōtōn auton hoi peri auton sun tois dōdeka tas parabolas.)
SBL-GNT ⸂Καὶ ὅτε⸃ ἐγένετο κατὰ μόνας, ⸀ἠρώτων αὐτὸν οἱ περὶ αὐτὸν σὺν τοῖς δώδεκα ⸂τὰς παραβολάς⸃.
(⸂Kai hote⸃ egeneto kata monas, ⸀aʸrōtōn auton hoi peri auton sun tois dōdeka ⸂tas parabolas⸃.)
RP-GNT Ὅτε δὲ ἐγένετο καταμόνας, ἠρώτησαν αὐτὸν οἱ περὶ αὐτὸν σὺν τοῖς δώδεκα τὴν παραβολήν.
(Hote de egeneto katamonas, aʸrōtaʸsan auton hoi peri auton sun tois dōdeka taʸn parabolaʸn.)
TC-GNT [fn]Ὅτε δὲ ἐγένετο καταμόνας, [fn]ἠρώτησαν αὐτὸν οἱ περὶ αὐτὸν σὺν τοῖς δώδεκα [fn]τὴν παραβολήν.
(Hote de egeneto katamonas, aʸrōtaʸsan auton hoi peri auton sun tois dōdeka taʸn parabolaʸn. )
Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).
4:10 The scene changes from Jesus’ teaching a very large crowd from a boat to his being alone with the twelve disciples and . . . others. Their question concerns all the parables (4:33-34), not just this one.
The disciples did not understand the parables that Jesus had been teaching. Jesus first explained the reasons that he taught with parables. Then he explained the parable of the sower (4:13–20).
It is good to translate the section before you decide on a heading for it.
Here are some other possible headings for this section:
Jesus explained his reason for teaching with parables
The reason Jesus taught in parables
The purpose of parables
There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 13:10–15 and Luke 8:9–10.
As soon as Jesus was alone with the Twelve and those around Him,
¶ When Jesus was alone with the twelve disciples and his other companions,
¶ After the crowd left him, the twelve disciples and other companions/followers
As soon as Jesus was alone with the Twelve and those around Him: The Greek words that the BSB translate as As soon as Jesus was alone are literally “when he was by himself.” In this context, the word alone indicates that the crowd had left. Jesus’ disciples were still there with him.
It may be more natural in your language to include the phrase the Twelve and the others around him in the clause When he was alone. For example, the REB says:
When Jesus was alone with the Twelve and his other companions
Or you may want to translate the idea of alone by referring to the crowd leaving. For example:
After the crowd left him, the Twelve and the others around him…
the Twelve: Mark used the phrase the Twelve to refer to the twelve disciples. Jesus appointed them as his apostles in 3:14. It may be more natural in your language to include the noun “disciples” or “apostles” here. For example:
the twelve disciples (GNT)
the twelve apostles (GW)
those around Him: The Greek words that the BSB translates as those around Him refer to people who stayed with Jesus. They were probably disciples, but not the twelve disciples whom Jesus had chosen earlier. The REB has:
his other companions
they asked Him about the parable.
they were asking him various questions about the parables.
asked him/Jesus several questions about the meaning of the stories/illustrations he was telling them.
they asked Him about the parable: The phrase asked Him about the parable is a general request for explanation. The words the parable probably refers back to 4:2a, and includes more than the parable of the sower.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
[they] asked him to explain the parables (GNT)
they asked him what the parables meant (NLT)
they asked him about the parables that he had been telling them
If it is more natural in your language to use direct speech here, translate with a general question. For example:
…asked him, “Will you tell us about the parables?”
…asked him, “What do these parables mean?”
the parable: The Greek word that the BSB translates as the parable describes several types of speech such as metaphors, illustrations, and stories that were used to teach a lesson or a truth. Jesus taught the crowd many things in parables (4:2a). See how you translated this word in 4:2a. See also parable, Type 2, in the Glossary.
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
ὅτε ἐγένετο κατὰ μόνας
when ˱he˲_became (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ὅτε ἐγένετο κατά μονάς ἠρώτων αὐτόν οἱ περί αὐτόν σύν τοῖς δώδεκα τάς παραβολάς)
The phrase he was alone does not mean that there was no one at all with Jesus. Rather, it means that the crowds were gone, and Jesus was only with the 12 disciples and some of his other close followers. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state that explicitly. Alternate translation: [when the crowds left] or [when the crowds were gone]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom
οἱ περὶ αὐτὸν
they (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ὅτε ἐγένετο κατά μονάς ἠρώτων αὐτόν οἱ περί αὐτόν σύν τοῖς δώδεκα τάς παραβολάς)
Here, the phrase the ones around him refers to disciples who were near Jesus at the time. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable phrase or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [the disciples who were near him]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / nominaladj
τοῖς δώδεκα
the twelve
See how you translated the phrase the Twelve in [3:16](../03/16.md). Alternate translation: [the 12 apostles] or [the 12 men whom Jesus had chosen to be apostles]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / quotations
ἠρώτων αὐτὸν & τὰς παραβολάς
˓were˒_asking (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ὅτε ἐγένετο κατά μονάς ἠρώτων αὐτόν οἱ περί αὐτόν σύν τοῖς δώδεκα τάς παραβολάς)
It may be more natural in your language to have a direct quotation here. Alternate translation: [were asking him, “Please tell us about the parables”]