MARK 4:9 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) Then Yeshua added, “Anyone who wants to understand, let them consider it.”

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

UST Then Jesus told them, “You should think carefully about what you just heard me say!”

AICNT [And he said],[fn] “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

4:9, And he said, Absent from some manuscripts.

OEB And Jesus said, ‘Let anyone who has ears to hear with hear.’

WEBBE He said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear.”

WMBB (Same as above)

NET And he said, “Whoever has ears to hear had better listen!”

LSV And He said to them, “He who is having ears to hear—let him hear.”

FBV If you have ears to hear, listen to what I'm saying.”

TCNT Then he [fn]said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

4:9 said ¦ said to them ANT TR

T4T Then Jesus said, “If you want to understand this [MTY], you should consider carefully what I have just said.”

LEB And he said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear!”

BBE And he said to them, Whoever has ears, let him give ear.

Moff He added, "Anyone who has ears to hear, let him listen to this."

Wymth "Listen," He added, "every one who has ears to listen with!"

ASV And he said, Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

DRA And he said: He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

YLT And he said to them, 'He who is having ears to hear — let him hear.'

Drby And he said, He that has ears to hear, let him hear.

RV And he said, Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
(And he said, Who hath/has ears to hear, let him hear. )

SLT And he said to them, He having ears to hear, let him hear.

Wbstr And he said to them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

KJB-1769 And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
(And he said unto them, He that hath/has ears to hear, let him hear. )

KJB-1611 And he said vnto them, He that hath eares to heare, let him heare.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above)

Bshps And he saide vnto them: He that hath eares to heare, let hym heare.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Gnva Then he said vnto them, He that hath eares to heare, let him heare.
(Then he said unto them, He that hath/has ears to hear, let him hear. )

Cvdl And he sayde vnto them: Who so hath eares to heare, let him heare.
(And he said unto them: Whoso/Whoever hath/has ears to hear, let him hear.)

TNT And he sayde vnto them: he that hath eares to heare let him heare.
(And he said unto them: he that hath/has ears to hear let him hear. )

Wycl And he seide, He that hath eeris of heryng, here he.
(And he said, He that hath/has ears of hearing, here he.)

Luth Und er sprach zu ihnen: Wer Ohren hat zu hören, der höre!
(And he spoke to/for to_them: Who ears has to/for hear/listen, the/of_the listen!)

ClVg Et dicebat: Qui habet aures audiendi, audiat.
(And he_said: Who has ears to_listen, hear. )

UGNT καὶ ἔλεγεν, ὃς ἔχει ὦτα ἀκούειν, ἀκουέτω.
(kai elegen, hos eⱪei ōta akouein, akouetō.)

SBL-GNT καὶ ἔλεγεν· ⸂Ὃς ἔχει⸃ ὦτα ἀκούειν ἀκουέτω.
(kai elegen; ⸂Hos eⱪei⸃ ōta akouein akouetō.)

RP-GNT Καὶ ἔλεγεν, Ὁ ἔχων ὦτα ἀκούειν ἀκουέτω.
(Kai elegen, Ho eⱪōn ōta akouein akouetō.)

TC-GNT Καὶ [fn]ἔλεγεν, [fn]Ὁ ἔχων ὦτα ἀκούειν ἀκουέτω.
(Kai elegen, Ho eⱪōn ōta akouein akouetō. )

4:9 ελεγεν ¦ ελεγεν αυτοις ANT TR

4:9 ο εχων ¦ ος εχει CT

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.

4:9

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!

UTN uW Translation Notes:

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]

Parallel MARK 4:9

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

4:9