Mark 4:4

4:4 And as he sowed, some seed ¹  fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.

Mark 4:15

4:15 These are the ones on the path where the word is sown: Whenever they hear, immediately Satan ²  comes and snatches the word ³  that was sown in them.

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¹ tn Mark’s version of the parable, like Luke’s (cf. Luke 8:4-8), uses the collective singular to refer to the seed throughout, so singular pronouns have been used consistently throughout this parable in the English translation. However, the parallel account in Matt 13:1-9 begins with plural pronouns in v. 4 but then switches to the collective singular in v. 5 ff.

² sn Interestingly, the synoptic parallels each use a different word for Satan here: Matt 13:19 has “the evil one,” while Luke 8:12 has “the devil.” This illustrates the fluidity of the gospel tradition in often using synonyms at the same point of the parallel tradition.

³ sn The word of Jesus has the potential to save if it germinates in a person’s heart, something the devil is very much against.