MARK 4:3 Parallel Verse View

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.)

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject.
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).

AICNT “Listen. Behold, the sower went out to sow.

OEB ‘Listen! The sower went out to sow;

WEBBE “Listen! Behold, the farmer went out to sow.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET “Listen! A sower went out to sow.

LSV “Listen, behold, the sower went forth to sow;

FBV “Listen,” he said. “A sower went out to sow.

TCNT “Listen! A sower went out to sow.

T4T “Consider well the meaning of this illustration: A man/farmer went out to his field to sow some seeds.

LEB “Listen! Behold, the sower went out to sow.

BBE A man went out to put seed in the earth:

Moff "Listen, a sower went out to sow,

Wymth "Listen: the sower goes out to sow.

ASV Hearken: Behold, the sower went forth to sow:

DRA Hear ye: Behold, the sower went out to sow.

YLT 'Hearken, lo, the sower went forth to sow;

Drby Hearken: Behold, the sower went forth to sow.

RV Hearken: Behold, the sower went forth to sow:

SLT Hear ye; behold, he sowing went out to sow:

Wbstr Hearken; Behold, a sower went out to sow:

KJB-1769 Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow:

KJB-1611 Hearken, Behold, there went out a sower to sow:
(Same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps Hearken: Beholde, there went out a sower to sowe:
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Gnva Hearken: Beholde, there went out a sower to sowe.
(Hearken: Behold, there went out a sower to sow. )

Cvdl Herken to, beholde, there wente out a sower to sowe:
(Hearken to, behold, there went out a sower to sow:)

TNT Herken to. Beholde There wet out a sower to sowe.
(Hearken to. Behold There wet out a sower to sow. )

Wycl Here ye. Lo! a man sowynge goith out to sowe.
(Here ye/you_all. Lo! a man sowing goeth/goes out to sow.)

Luth Höret zu! Siehe, es ging ein Sämann aus, zu säen.
(Hear to/for! See/Look, it went a sower out, to/for sow.)

ClVg Audite: ecce exiit seminans ad seminandum.
(Listen: behold went_out sowing to to_be_sown. )

UGNT ἀκούετε! ἰδοὺ, ἐξῆλθεν ὁ σπείρων σπεῖραι.
(akouete! idou, exaʸlthen ho speirōn speirai.)

SBL-GNT Ἀκούετε. ἰδοὺ ἐξῆλθεν ὁ ⸀σπείρων σπεῖραι.
(Akouete. idou exaʸlthen ho ⸀speirōn speirai.)

RP-GNT Ἀκούετε· ἰδού, ἐξῆλθεν ὁ σπείρων τοῦ σπεῖραι.
(Akouete; idou, exaʸlthen ho speirōn tou speirai.)

TC-GNT Ἀκούετε· ἰδού, ἐξῆλθεν ὁ σπείρων [fn]τοῦ σπεῖραι.
(Akouete; idou, exaʸlthen ho speirōn tou speirai. )

4:3 του ¦ — ECM^† NA SBL TH WH

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 4:1–9: Jesus told a parable about four types of soil

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.

4:3a

“Listen!

“Listen^(plur) to this!
“You^(plur) listen to this story!

Listen: In Greek, this parable begins with two words: “Listen, look!” These words indicate that Jesus wanted the people to listen carefully to the parable that follows. Many English versions translate only the word that means Listen, as the BSB does. They do not translate both words.An exception to this is the KJV, which says “Hearken, behold.” Use whatever expression is natural in your language when someone wants people to listen carefully to a story that he is about to tell.

4:3b

A farmer went out to sow his seed.

A farmer went to sow/scatter seeds on his field.
There was once a man who went to his prepared land to plant it by throwing seeds over it.

farmer: The Greek word that the BSB translates as farmer is literally “one who sows/plants (seed).” Some English versions follow the Greek and use the more specific term “sower” (RSV). Others simply say “a man” (GNT) and allow the verb to explain his work. Use whatever term will be most natural in your language here.

went out: The Greek word that the BSB translates as went out indicates that the farmer went to his field. It may be more natural in your language not to translate the word out.

In some languages it may be necessary to say where the farmer went from. The farmer probably went from his home.

to sow: The Greek word that the BSB translates as sow refers to throwing seeds to the side and in front of the farmer. This method allowed the farmer to plant a large area quickly. In that culture, farmers did not plant grain seeds by putting them in the ground one by one.

If your readers know that this is the way the Jews planted seeds, they will more easily understand what the parable means. In languages that do not have a word for sow, you may be able to use a descriptive phrase such as:

to plant by throwing/scattering

to scatter in order to plant

This method was the normal way for Jewish farmers to plant. It does not describe a foolish farmer. If your readers might think that this method of planting is foolish, you may want to include a footnote. For example:
The Jewish custom was to scatter seeds over ground that the farmer had plowed, or that he would plow afterwards to cover the seeds. In this way, the farmer could plant a large area quickly.

It may also be helpful to include a picture here of a farmer scattering his seeds.

seed: The Greek word that the BSB translates as seed here refers to many seeds. You may want to use the plural form “seeds.” If you use a plural form here, you should also use plural pronouns throughout 4:5–8 to refer to these seeds. See, for example, the note on “it” at 4:4c.

The farmer was probably planting wheat seeds or seeds of another kind of grain. If you need to say what kind of seed the farmer was planting, here are some suggestions:

Use a general word for grain.
Supply the name of a specific crop grown in Israel in that time, such as wheat or barley.
If you do not have a general word for grain and do not have wheat or barley in your area, compare this to something that is commonly grown in your area. For example, if rice or millet is common, you could say:
a farmer went out to plant something like rice/millet

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / parables

ἀκούετε! ἰδοὺ, ἐξῆλθεν ὁ σπείρων

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἀκούετε Ἰδού ἐξῆλθεν ὁ σπείρων σπεῖραι)

To teach the people in the crowd, Jesus offers a story or illustration. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could indicate that explicitly. Alternate translation: [Listen to this story: Behold, the sower went out]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / imperative

ἀκούετε! ἰδοὺ

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἀκούετε Ἰδού ἐξῆλθεν ὁ σπείρων σπεῖραι)

Here, the words Listen and Behold draw the attention of the audience and ask them to listen carefully. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express these words with a word or phrase that asks the audience to listen, or you could draw the audience’s attention in another way. Alternate translation: [Picture this:] or [Pay attention to this:]

Note 3 topic: writing-participants

ἐξῆλθεν ὁ σπείρων

came_out the_‹one› sowing

Here Jesus introduces a sower as a character in his story. If your language has its own way of introducing new participants, you could use it here in your translation. Alternate translation: [there was a sower. He went out]

Parallel MARK 4:3

Section 4:1–9: Jesus told a parable about four types of soil

4:3a

4:3b