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Wednesday, April 30th, 2025
the Second Week after Easter
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Read the Bible

Good News Translation

Mark 4:4

As he scattered the seed in the field, some of it fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Jesus, the Christ;   Jesus Continued;   Minister, Christian;   Perseverance;   Sermon;   Sower;   Word of God;   The Topic Concordance - Bearing Fruit;   Word of God;  

Dictionaries:

- Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Apocalyptic;   Christ, Christology;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Allegory;   Mark, the Gospel of;   Sower;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Animals;   Discourse;   Doctrines;   Ear (2);   Field;   Fowl;   Husbandman ;   Nature and Natural Phenomena;   Parable;   Physical ;   Premeditation;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Chief parables and miracles in the bible;   Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types - Fell;   Fowl;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Jesus of Nazareth;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Birds;   Fowl;   Mark, the Gospel According to;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - New Testament;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
As he sowed, some seed fell along the path,
King James Version (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.
King James Version
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.
English Standard Version
And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.
New American Standard Bible
as he was sowing, some seed fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate it up.
New Century Version
While he was planting, some seed fell by the road, and the birds came and ate it up.
Amplified Bible
and as he was sowing, some seed fell by the road, and the birds came and ate it up.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
as he was sowing, some seed fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate it up.
Legacy Standard Bible
and it happened that as he was sowing, some seed fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate it up.
Berean Standard Bible
And as he was sowing, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.
Contemporary English Version
While the farmer was scattering the seed, some of it fell along the road and was eaten by birds.
Complete Jewish Bible
As he sowed, some seed fell alongside the path; and the birds came and ate it up.
Darby Translation
And it came to pass as he sowed, one fell by the wayside, and the birds came and devoured it.
Easy-to-Read Version
While he was scattering the seed, some of it fell by the road. The birds came and ate all that seed.
Geneva Bible (1587)
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.
George Lamsa Translation
And when he had sown, some fell on the roadside, and the fowls came and ate it.
Lexham English Bible
And it happened that while he was sowing, some seed fell on the side of the path, and the birds came and devoured it.
Literal Translation
And as he sowed, it happened that one indeed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the heaven came and devoured it.
American Standard Version
and it came to pass, as he sowed, some seed fell by the way side, and the birds came and devoured it.
Bible in Basic English
And while he was doing it, some was dropped by the wayside, and the birds came and took it for food.
Hebrew Names Version
and it happened, as he sowed, some seed fell by the road, and the birds came and devoured it.
International Standard Version
As he was sowing, some seeds fell along the path, and birds came and ate them up.
Etheridge Translation
and as he sowed, some fell by the way-side, [fn] and the fowl came and devoured it.
Murdock Translation
And as he sowed, some [fn] fell on the side of the path; and a bird came, and devoured it.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And it fortuned as he sowed, that some fell by the way syde, and the fowles of the ayre came, and deuoured it vp.
English Revised Version
and it came to pass, as he sowed, some seed fell by the way side, and the birds came and devoured it.
World English Bible
and it happened, as he sowed, some seed fell by the road, and the birds came and devoured it.
Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And as he sowed, some fell by the way-side, and the birds of the air came and devoured it.
Weymouth's New Testament
As he sows, some of the seed falls by the way-side, and the birds come and peck it up.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And the while he sowith, summe seed felde aboute the weie, and briddis of heuene camen, and eeten it.
Update Bible Version
and it came to pass, as he sowed, some [seed] fell by the wayside, and the birds came and devoured it.
Webster's Bible Translation
And it came to pass as he sowed, some fell by the way-side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it.
New English Translation
And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.
New King James Version
And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air [fn] came and devoured it.
New Living Translation
As he scattered it across his field, some of the seed fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate it.
New Life Bible
As he planted the seed, some fell by the side of the road. Birds came and ate them.
New Revised Standard
And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And it came to pass, as he sowed, some, indeed, fell by the pathway, and the birds came, and devoured it;
Douay-Rheims Bible
And whilst he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the birds of the air came and ate it up.
Revised Standard Version
And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.
Tyndale New Testament (1525)
And it fortuned as he sowed that some fell by the waye syde and the fowles of the ayre came and devoured it vp.
Young's Literal Translation
and it came to pass, in the sowing, some fell by the way, and the fowls of the heaven did come and devour it;
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
& it happened whyle he was sowinge, that some fell by the waye syde. Then came the foules vnder the heauen, and ate it vp.
Mace New Testament (1729)
some of the seed happened to fall by the wayside, which the birds light upon, and devoured.
Simplified Cowboy Version
As he planted, some of the seeds fell on the road, and the birds ate it all up.

Contextual Overview

1 Again Jesus began to teach beside Lake Galilee. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it. The boat was out in the water, and the crowd stood on the shore at the water's edge. 2 He used parables to teach them many things, saying to them: 3 "Listen! Once there was a man who went out to sow grain. 4 As he scattered the seed in the field, some of it fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some of it fell on rocky ground, where there was little soil. The seeds soon sprouted, because the soil wasn't deep. 6 Then, when the sun came up, it burned the young plants; and because the roots had not grown deep enough, the plants soon dried up. 7 Some of the seed fell among thorn bushes, which grew up and choked the plants, and they didn't bear grain. 8 But some seeds fell in good soil, and the plants sprouted, grew, and bore grain: some had thirty grains, others sixty, and others one hundred." 9 And Jesus concluded, "Listen, then, if you have ears!" 10 When Jesus was alone, some of those who had heard him came to him with the twelve disciples and asked him to explain the parables.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Mark 4:15, Genesis 15:11, Matthew 13:4, Matthew 13:19, Luke 8:5, Luke 8:12

Reciprocal: Mark 4:26 - as

Cross-References

Genesis 4:16
And Cain went away from the Lord 's presence and lived in a land called "Wandering," which is east of Eden.
Genesis 4:17
Cain and his wife had a son and named him Enoch. Then Cain built a city and named it after his son.
Genesis 4:19
Lamech had two wives, Adah and Zillah.
Genesis 4:20
Adah gave birth to Jabal, who was the ancestor of those who raise livestock and live in tents.
Genesis 15:17
When the sun had set and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch suddenly appeared and passed between the pieces of the animals.
Exodus 13:12
you must offer every first-born male to the Lord . Every first-born male of your animals belongs to the Lord ,
Leviticus 9:24
Suddenly the Lord sent a fire, and it consumed the burnt offering and the fat parts on the altar. When the people saw it, they all shouted and bowed down with their faces to the ground.
Numbers 16:35
Then the Lord sent a fire that blazed out and burned up the 250 men who had presented the incense.
Numbers 18:12
"I am giving you all the best of the first produce which the Israelites give me each year: olive oil, wine, and grain.
Numbers 18:17
But the first-born of cows, sheep, and goats are not to be bought back; they belong completely to me and are to be sacrificed. Throw their blood against the altar and burn their fat as a food offering, an odor pleasing to me.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And it came to pass, as he sowed,.... Whilst he was preaching the, Gospel, casting about the precious seed of the word, he was laden with:

some fell by the way side; the common beaten path: the word was dispensed among some men comparable to it, on whom it lighted, but made no impression; there it lay, though not long, and was not inwardly received, and took no root, and consequently was of no effect:

and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up; the devils, who have their abode in the air, especially the prince of the posse of them; and the Syriac version reads it in the singular number, "and the fowl came"; that ravenous bird of prey, Satan, who goes about seeking what he may devour; and for this purpose attends where the word is preached, to hinder its usefulness as much as in him lies.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

See the parable of the sower explained in the notes at Matthew 13:1-9.

See the parable of the sower explained in the notes at Matthew 13:1-9.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Mark 4:4. The fowls — του ουρανου, of the air, is the common reading; but it should be omitted, on the authority of nine uncial MSS., upwards of one hundred others, and almost all the versions. Bengel and Griesbach have left it out of the text. It seems to have been inserted in Mark, from Luke 8:5.


 
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