MARK 4:4 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.)

OET (OET-RV) As he spread it, some landed on the path, and the birds came and fed on it.

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 it happened that as he sowed, some fell beside the road, and the birds came and devoured it.

UST As he was scattering them over the soil, some of the seeds fell on the path. Then some birds flew down and ate those seeds up.

BSB And as he was sowing, some [seed] fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.

MSB And as he was sowing, some [seed] fell along the path, and the birds[fn] came and devoured it.

BLB And it came to pass as he sowed, some fell along the road, and the birds came and devoured it.

AICNT And as he sowed, some seed fell by the path, and the birds [[of the air]][fn] came and ate it.

4:4, of the air: Some manuscripts include.

OEB and presently, as he was sowing, some of the seed fell along the path; and the birds came, and ate it up.

WEBBE As he sowed, some seed fell by the road, and the birds[fn] came and devoured it.

4:4 TR adds “of the air”

WMBB (Same as above including footnotes)

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

LSV and it came to pass, in the sowing, some fell by the way, and the birds of the sky came and devoured it;

FBV Now as he was scattering the seeds, some fell on the path, and birds came and ate them up.

TCNT As he sowed, some seed fell [fn]along the path, and the [fn]birds came and devoured it.

4:4 along ¦ on ANT

4:4 birds ¦ birds of the sky TR

T4T As he was scattering them over the soil, some of the seeds fell on the path. Then some birds came and ate those seeds.

LEB And it happened that while he was sowing, _⌊some seed_⌋[fn] fell on the side of the path, and the birds came and devoured it.

4:4 Literally “some of which”

BBE And while he was doing it, some was dropped by the wayside, and the birds came and took it for food.

Moff and as he sowed it chanced that some seed fell on the road, and the birds came and ate it up;

Wymth As he sows, some of the seed falls by the way-side, and the birds come and peck it up.

ASV and it came to pass, as he sowed, some seed fell by the way side, and the birds came and devoured it.

DRA And whilst he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the birds of the air came and ate it up.

YLT and it came to pass, in the sowing, some fell by the way, and the fowls of the heaven did come and devour it;

Drby And it came to pass as he sowed, one fell by the wayside, and the birds came and devoured it.

RV and it came to pass, as he sowed, some seed fell by the way side, and the birds came and devoured it.

SLT And it was in sowing some truly fell by the way, and the flying things of heaven came and ate it down.

Wbstr And it came to pass as he sowed, some fell by the way-side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it.

KJB-1769 And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up.
( And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls/birds of the air came and devoured it up. )

KJB-1611 And it came to passe as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the foules of the aire came, & deuoured it vp.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps And it fortuned as he sowed, that some fell by the way syde, and the fowles of the ayre came, and deuoured it vp.
(And it fortuned as he sowed, that some fell by the way side, and the fowls/birds of the air came, and devoured it up.)

Gnva And it came to passe as he sowed, that some fell by the way side, and the foules of the heauen came, and deuoured it vp.
(And it came to pass as he sowed, that some fell by the way side, and the fowls/birds of the heaven came, and devoured it up. )

Cvdl & it happened whyle he was sowinge, that some fell by the waye syde. Then came the foules vnder the heauen, and ate it vp.
(and it happened while he was sowing, that some fell by the way side. Then came the fowls/birds under the heaven, and ate it up.)

TNT And it fortuned as he sowed that some fell by the waye syde and the fowles of the ayre came and devoured it vp.
(And it fortuned as he sowed that some fell by the way side and the fowls/birds of the air came and devoured it up. )

Wycl And the while he sowith, summe seed felde aboute the weie, and briddis of heuene camen, and eeten it.
(And the while he soweth/sows, some seed field about the way, and birds of heaven came, and eaten it.)

Luth Und es begab sich, indem er säte, fiel etliches an den Weg; da kamen die Vögel unter dem Himmel und fraßen‘s auf.
(And it gifted itself/yourself/themselves, by he sowed, fell several at/to the way/path/road; there came the birds under to_him heaven and ate_it on/in/to.)

ClVg Et dum seminat, aliud cecidit circa viam, et venerunt volucres cæli, et comederunt illud.[fn]
(And while sows, something_else fell around/about way/road, and they_came birds heavens, and they_ate it/this/that. )

4.4 Aliud cecidit secus viam, etc. Lucas: Et conculcatum est, et volucres cœli comederunt Luc. 8.. Via mens, metu carnalium cogitationum trita: unde semen perit nec fructum affert, et a volucribus rapitur, id est a dæmonibus, qui volucres cœli dicuntur sive quia cœlestis et spiritualis naturæ, vel, quia in ære habitant.

4.4 Another fell otherwise/wrongly way/road, etc. Lucas: And conculcatum it_is, and birds heavens they_ate Luc. 8.. Via mens, with_fear carnal thoughts trita: from_where/who seed perit but_not fruit brings, and from birds rapitur, that it_is from demons, who/which birds heavens are_said if/or because heavenly and spiritual of_nature, or, because in/into/on to_be they_live.

UGNT καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν τῷ σπείρειν, ὃ μὲν ἔπεσεν παρὰ τὴν ὁδόν, καὶ ἦλθεν τὰ πετεινὰ καὶ κατέφαγεν αὐτό.
(kai egeneto en tōi speirein, ho men epesen para taʸn hodon, kai aʸlthen ta peteina kai katefagen auto.)

SBL-GNT καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν τῷ σπείρειν ὃ μὲν ἔπεσεν παρὰ τὴν ὁδόν, καὶ ἦλθεν τὰ πετεινὰ καὶ κατέφαγεν αὐτό.
(kai egeneto en tōi speirein ho men epesen para taʸn hodon, kai aʸlthen ta peteina kai katefagen auto.)

RP-GNT Καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν τῷ σπείρειν, ὃ μὲν ἔπεσεν παρὰ τὴν ὁδόν, καὶ ἦλθεν τὰ πετεινὰ καὶ κατέφαγεν αὐτό.
(Kai egeneto en tōi speirein, ho men epesen para taʸn hodon, kai aʸlthen ta peteina kai katefagen auto.)

TC-GNT Καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν τῷ σπείρειν, ὃ μὲν ἔπεσε [fn]παρὰ τὴν ὁδόν, καὶ [fn]ἦλθε τὰ [fn]πετεινὰ καὶ κατέφαγεν αὐτό.
(Kai egeneto en tōi speirein, ho men epese para taʸn hodon, kai aʸlthe ta peteina kai katefagen auto. )

4:4 παρα ¦ επι ANT

4:4 ηλθε ¦ ηλθον ANT

4:4 πετεινα ¦ πετεινα του ουρανου TR

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

SOTN SIL Open Translation 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.

4:4a

And as he was sowing,

As he sowed/scattered the seeds,
While he planted them by throwing,

And as he was sowing: The Greek verb that the BSB translates as sowing is from the same verb that is translated as “sow” in 4:3b. You may want to use the same expression as in 4:3b:

As he was planting by throwing

As he was scattering to plant

But if you used additional words to explain the method of planting or included a footnote in 4:3b, you may want to use a general expression here. It should refer back to the expression you used for “sow” in 4:3b:

As he was planting

As he was doing this

4:4b

some seed fell along the path,

some of the seeds fell on a path,
some of them landed/scattered beside/near the edge of a footpath.

some seed fell along the path: Because of the method of planting, some seeds accidentally fell on places where plants did not grow well. One such place is along the path. Be careful not to imply in your translation that the farmer intended for some of the seeds to fall along the path.

Here are some other ways to translate fell along the path:

landed accidentally along the path

were scattered unintentionally along the path

along: The Greek word that the BSB translates as along usually means “near,” “beside,” or “alongside.” In this context, it may also mean “on.” The English versions show a similar range of meaning. For example:

some seed fell beside the road (NASB)

some of the seed fell on the edge of the path (NJB)

some seed fell on a footpath (NLT96)

Several English versions, including the BSB and the NIV, have “along,” which can mean either “beside” or “upon.” If you have a similar word in your language, you may use that word here. Otherwise use a word with a more specific meaning that is natural in your language. All these meanings fit the parable equally well.It should be noted that the Greek word para normally means “beside” (Louw & Nida, page 716 #83.25). The author could have used epi if he had wanted to specify “upon.” However, in this parable, it is unlikely that the author intended us to make a distinction. Seed would have fallen both on and beside the path. In either location the soil would be hard and the seed would not be ploughed in.

the path: The Greek word that the BSB translates as path refers to a footpath through or alongside a field. People who walk there trample on the soil and make it hard.

4:4c

and the birds came and devoured it.

and birds flew there and devoured them.
Some birds landed there and ate/pecked those seeds until they were gone.

the birds came: It may be more natural in your language to use a different verb rather than the verb came. For example:

the birds flew there

the birds landed there

the birds: The phrase the birds refers to birds in general and does not refer to any birds mentioned before. Introduce the birds in the story in the most natural way in your language. For example:

some birds flew down

there were some birds that landed there

devoured it: The Greek word that the BSB translates as devoured refers to eating something hungrily and completely.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

ate it up (NIV)

ate them until they were gone

If you have a specific word or phrase that describes the way that birds eat, such as the English word “pecked,” you may want to use that word:

pecked…hungrily

it: The pronoun it refers to the seed. If you used a plural form like “seeds” in 4:3b, you may need to use a plural form here also. The GW has:

them

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-words-phrases

καὶ ἐγένετο

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ἐγένετο ἐν τῷ σπείρειν ὅ μέν ἔπεσεν παρά τήν ὁδόν καί ἦλθεν τά πετεινά καί κατέφαγεν αὐτό)

Here, the phrase And it happened that introduces the next thing that happened. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a word or phrase that introduces the next action, or you could leave And it happened that untranslated. Alternate translation: [Then,]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ἐν τῷ σπείρειν

at the_‹time› ˓to_be˒_sowing

While there are many ways to sow or plant seeds, here Jesus is describing a practice in which farmers pick up handfuls of seed and throw them so that they are scattered all over the top of the soil. This method is a quick and easy way to plant seeds in large fields, but some seeds land on ground that is not good for them to grow in. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make it more explicit what kind of sowing this is. Alternate translation: [as he threw the seeds over the ground] or [as he scattered the seeds over the field]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ὃ μὲν ἔπεσεν παρὰ τὴν ὁδόν, καὶ ἦλθεν τὰ πετεινὰ καὶ κατέφαγεν αὐτό

Here Jesus implies that the seeds that fall beside the road do not sink into the ground. Instead, they just sit on top of the hard-packed dirt by the road and are unprotected from birds. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make this idea more explicit. Alternate translation: [some fell on the hard ground beside the road, and the birds came and easily devoured them]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / nominaladj

ὃ

Jesus is using the adjective some as a noun to mean some of the seeds. Your language may use adjectives in the same way. If not, you could translate this word with an equivalent phrase. Alternate translation: [some seed]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun

τὰ πετεινὰ

The phrase the birds represents any birds, not particular birds. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the idea in another way. Alternate translation: [birds]

Note 6 topic: writing-pronouns

αὐτό

Here, although the pronoun it is singular, it refers to the seeds that the farmer sowed. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use the plural form here. Alternate translation: [them]

Parallel MARK 4:4

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

4:4a

4:4b

4:4c