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Thursday, January 22nd, 2026
the Second Week after Epiphany
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Read the Bible

New Century Version

Mark 4:11

Jesus said, "You can know the secret about the kingdom of God. But to other people I tell everything by using stories

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Apostasy;   Blindness;   Jesus, the Christ;   Metaphor;   Minister, Christian;   Mysteries;   Salvation;   Sermon;   Sower;   Wicked (People);   Word of God;   The Topic Concordance - Bearing Fruit;   Disciples/apostles;   Knowledge;   Parables;   Understanding;   Word of God;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Kingdom of god;   Parables;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Apocalyptic;   Mystery;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Parable;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Mystery;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Allegory;   Disciples;   Fulfill;   Jesus, Life and Ministry of;   Kingdom of God;   Mark, the Gospel of;   Messianic Secret;   Mystery;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Mark, Gospel According to;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Disciple (2);   Discourse;   Doctrines;   Ear (2);   Fig-Tree ;   Illustrations;   Interpretation;   Kingdom Kingdom of God;   Light;   Metaphors;   Mystery ;   Mystery Mysteries;   Parable;   Physical ;   Teaching of Jesus;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Mystery;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Chief parables and miracles in the bible;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Mystery;  

Encyclopedias:

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

Devotionals:

- Daily Light on the Daily Path - Devotion for October 12;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
He answered them, “The secret
King James Version (1611)
And he said vnto them, Unto you it is giuen to know the mystery of the kingdome of God: but vnto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:
King James Version
And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:
English Standard Version
And he said to them, "To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables,
New American Standard Bible
And He was saying to them, "To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but for those who are outside, everything comes in parables,
Amplified Bible
He said to them, "The mystery of the kingdom of God has been given to you [who have teachable hearts], but those who are outside [the unbelievers, the spiritually blind] get everything in parables,
New American Standard Bible (1995)
And He was saying to them, "To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but those who are outside get everything in parables,
Legacy Standard Bible
And He was saying to them, "To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but to those who are outside, everything comes in parables,
Berean Standard Bible
He replied, "The mystery of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to those on the outside, everything is expressed in parables,
Contemporary English Version
He answered: I have explained the secret about God's kingdom to you, but for others I can use only stories.
Complete Jewish Bible
He answered them, "To you the secret of the Kingdom of God has been given; but to those outside, everything is in parables,
Darby Translation
And he said to them, To you is given [to know] the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to them who are without, all things are done in parables,
Easy-to-Read Version
Jesus said, "Only you can know the secret truth about God's kingdom. But to those other people I tell everything by using stories.
Geneva Bible (1587)
And he saide vnto them, To you it is giuen to knowe the mysterie of the kingdome of God: but vnto them that are without, all thinges bee done in parables,
George Lamsa Translation
And Jesus said to them, To you is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God, but to the outsiders everything has to be explained by parables.
Good News Translation
"You have been given the secret of the Kingdom of God," Jesus answered. "But the others, who are on the outside, hear all things by means of parables,
Lexham English Bible
And he said to them, "To you has been granted the secret of the kingdom of God, but to those who are outside everything is in parables,
Literal Translation
And He said to them, To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God. But to these, those outside, all things are being given in parables,
American Standard Version
And he said unto them, Unto you is given the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all things are done in parables:
Bible in Basic English
And he said to them, To you is given the secret of the kingdom of God, but to those who are outside, all things are given in the form of stories;
Hebrew Names Version
He said to them, "To you is given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but to those who are outside, all things are done in parables,
International Standard Version
He said to them, "The secret about the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside, everything comes in parables1 Corinthians 5:12; Colossians 4:5; 1 Thessalonians 4:12; 1 Timothy 3:7;">[xr]
Etheridge Translation
And Jeshu said to them, To you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of Aloha; but to those without every thing is in parables:
Murdock Translation
And Jesus said to them: To you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to them without, all is in similitudes:
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And he sayde vnto them: To you it is geuen to knowe the misterie of the kingdome of God: But vnto them that are without, all thynges are done by parables,
English Revised Version
And he said unto them, Unto you is given the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all things are done in parables:
World English Bible
He said to them, "To you is given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but to those who are outside, all things are done in parables,
Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And he said to them, To you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but to them that are without, all things are in parables:
Weymouth's New Testament
"To you," He replied, "has been entrusted the secret truth concerning the Kingdom of God; but to those others outside your number all this is spoken in figurative language;
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And he seide to hem, To you it is youun to knowe the priuete of the kyngdom of God. But to hem that ben with outforth, alle thingis be maad in parablis, that thei seynge se,
Update Bible Version
And he said to them, To you is given the mystery of the kingdom of God: but to those that are outside, all things are done in parables:
Webster's Bible Translation
And he said to them, To you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but to them that are without, all [these] things are done in parables:
New English Translation
He said to them, "The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those outside, everything is in parables,
New King James Version
And He said to them, "To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables,
New Living Translation
He replied, "You are permitted to understand the secret of the Kingdom of God. But I use parables for everything I say to outsiders,
New Life Bible
He said to them, "You were given the secrets about the holy nation of God. Everything is told in picture-stories to those who are outside the holy nation of God.
New Revised Standard
And he said to them, "To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything comes in parables;
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
and he was saying unto them - To you, the sacred secret hath been given of the kingdom of God, whereas, to them who are outside, in parables are all things coming to pass, - that
Douay-Rheims Bible
And he said to them: To you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but to them that are without, all things are done in parables:
Revised Standard Version
And he said to them, "To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables;
Tyndale New Testament (1525)
And he sayde vnto the. To you it is geve to knowe the mistery of the kyngdome of God. But vnto them that are wt out shall all thinges be done in similitudes:
Young's Literal Translation
and he said to them, `To you it hath been given to know the secret of the reign of God, but to those who are without, in similes are all the things done;
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And he sayde vnto the: Vnto you it is geuen, to knowe the mystery of the kyngdome of God: but vnto them that are without, all thinges happen by parables,
Mace New Testament (1729)
he answered, you are admitted into the secret of the gospel-dispensation: but to unbelievers every thing is couch'd in parables; because,
Simplified Cowboy Version
He told them, "The secret of the Boss's outfit has been given to you. But for the sake of everyone else, I teach with stories

Contextual Overview

1 Again Jesus began teaching by the lake. A great crowd gathered around him, so he sat down in a boat near the shore. All the people stayed on the shore close to the water. 2 Jesus taught them many things, using stories. He said, 3 "Listen! A farmer went out to plant his seed. 4 While he was planting, some seed fell by the road, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some seed fell on rocky ground where there wasn't much dirt. That seed grew very fast, because the ground was not deep. 6 But when the sun rose, the plants dried up because they did not have deep roots. 7 Some other seed fell among thorny weeds, which grew and choked the good plants. So those plants did not produce a crop. 8 Some other seed fell on good ground and began to grow. It got taller and produced a crop. Some plants made thirty times more, some made sixty times more, and some made a hundred times more." 9 Then Jesus said, "Let those with ears use them and listen!" 10 Later, when Jesus was alone, the twelve apostles and others around him asked him about the stories.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Unto you: Matthew 11:25, Matthew 13:11, Matthew 13:12, Matthew 13:16, Matthew 16:17, Luke 8:10, Luke 10:21-24, 1 Corinthians 4:7, 2 Corinthians 4:6, Ephesians 1:9, Ephesians 2:4-10, Titus 3:3-7, James 1:16-18, 1 John 5:20

them: 1 Corinthians 5:12, 1 Corinthians 5:13, Colossians 4:5, 1 Thessalonians 4:12, 1 Timothy 3:7

all these: Matthew 13:13

Reciprocal: 2 Chronicles 9:2 - all Proverbs 1:6 - a proverb Proverbs 18:1 - seeketh Isaiah 8:16 - among Daniel 12:10 - but the wise Mark 4:2 - by parables Mark 8:29 - But Mark 12:1 - he began Romans 11:8 - eyes 1 Corinthians 4:1 - mysteries 1 Corinthians 14:2 - howbeit Colossians 1:26 - now

Cross-References

Genesis 3:14
The Lord God said to the snake, "Because you did this, a curse will be put on you. You will be cursed as no other animal, tame or wild, will ever be. You will crawl on your stomach, and you will eat dust all the days of your life.
Genesis 4:14
Today you have forced me to stop working the ground, and now I must hide from you. I must wander around on the earth, and anyone who meets me can kill me."
Genesis 4:15
The Lord said to Cain, "No! If anyone kills you, I will punish that person seven times more." Then the Lord put a mark on Cain warning anyone who met him not to kill him.
Genesis 4:16
So Cain went away from the Lord and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
Genesis 4:19
Lamech married two women, Adah and Zillah.
Genesis 4:20
Adah gave birth to Jabal, who became the first person to live in tents and raise cattle.
Genesis 4:21
Jabal's brother was Jubal, the first person to play the harp and flute.
Genesis 4:26
Seth also had a son, and they named him Enosh. At that time people began to pray to the Lord .
Job 16:18
"Earth, please do not cover up my blood. Don't let my cry ever stop being heard!
Isaiah 26:21
The Lord will leave his place to punish the people of the world for their sins. The earth will show the blood of the people who have been killed; it will not cover the dead any longer.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And he said unto them,.... His disciples;

unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; or the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, the secrets of the Gospel dispensation, the mysterious doctrines of grace;

:-,

but unto them that are without; "to strangers", as the Syriac and Arabic versions render it, who were not the disciples of Christ, nor admitted to any intimacy with him; who came only to amuse themselves with the sight of his person and miracles:

all [these] things are done in parables; are wrapped up in dark sayings, and figurative expressions, the sound of which they heard, and might be pleased with the pretty similes made use of, but understood not the spiritual meaning of them.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

See the notes at Matthew 13:10-17. On Mark 4:12, see the notes at John 12:39-40.

When he was alone - That is, separate from the multitude. When he withdrew from the multitude a few followed him for the purpose of more instruction.

Mark 4:13

Know ye not this parable? - This which is so plain and obvious.

How then will ye know all parables? - Those which are more difficult and obscure. As they were themselves to be “teachers,” it was important that they should be acquainted with the whole system of religion - of much more importance for them at that time than for the mass of the people.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Mark 4:11. Unto you it is given to know — γνωναι, to know, is omitted by ABKL, ten others, the Coptic, and one of the Itala. The omission of this word makes a material alteration in the sense; for without it the passage may be read thus: - To you the mystery of the kingdom of God is given; but all these things are transacted in parables to those without. Griesbach leaves it doubtful. And Professor White says, probabiliter delendum. I should be inclined to omit it, were it not found in the parallel passages in Matthew and Luke, in neither of whom it is omitted by any MS. or version. See the dissertation on parabolical writing at the end of Matthew 13:58.


 
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