Discovery BoxMark 4:5-17 
Context4:5 Other seed fell on rocky ground 1 where it did not have much soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep. 2 4:6 When the sun came up it was scorched, and because it did not have sufficient root, 3 it withered. 4:7 Other seed fell among the thorns, 4 and they grew up and choked it, 5 and it did not produce grain. 4:8 But 6 other seed fell on good soil and produced grain, sprouting and growing; some yielded thirty times as much, some sixty, and some a hundred times.” 4:9 And he said, “Whoever has ears to hear had better listen!” 7
4:10 When he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. 4:11 He said to them, “The secret 8 of the kingdom of God has been given 9 to you. But to those outside, everything is in parables,
4:12 so that although they look they may look but not see,
and although they hear they may hear but not understand,
so they may not repent and be forgiven.” 10
4:13 He said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? Then 11 how will you understand any parable? 4:14 The sower sows the word. 4:15 These are the ones on the path where the word is sown: Whenever they hear, immediately Satan 12 comes and snatches the word 13 that was sown in them. 4:16 These are the ones sown on rocky ground: As soon as they hear the word, they receive it with joy. 4:17 But 14 they have no root in themselves and do not endure. 15 Then, when trouble or persecution comes because of the word, immediately they fall away.
1 sn The rocky ground in Palestine would be a limestone base lying right under the soil.
2 tn Grk “it did not have enough depth of earth.”
3 tn Grk “it did not have root.”
4 sn Palestinian weeds like these thorns could grow up to six feet in height and have a major root system.
5 sn That is, crowded out the good plants.
6 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in the final stage of the parable.
7 tn The translation “had better listen!” captures the force of the third person imperative more effectively than the traditional “let him hear,” which sounds more like a permissive than an imperative to the modern English reader. This was Jesus’ common expression to listen and heed carefully (cf. Matt 11:15; 13:9, 43; Mark 4:23; Luke 8:8, 14:35).
8 tn Grk “the mystery.”
sn The key term secret (μυστήριον, musthrion) can mean either (1) a new revelation or (2) a revealing interpretation of existing revelation as in Dan 2:17-23, 27-30. Jesus seems to be explaining how current events develop old promises, since the NT consistently links the events of Jesus’ ministry and message with old promises (Rom 1:1-4; Heb 1:1-2). The traditional translation of this word, “mystery,” is misleading to the modern English reader because it suggests a secret which people have tried to uncover but which they have failed to understand (L&N 28.77).
9 tn This is an example of a “divine passive,” with God understood to be the source of the revelation (see ExSyn 437-38).
10 sn A quotation from Isa 6:9-10. Thus parables both conceal or reveal depending on whether one is open to hearing what they teach.
11 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
12 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.
13 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.
14 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
15 tn Grk “are temporary.”
