Mark 4:26-33
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 4
26And He was saying, 'The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; 27and he goes to bed at night and gets up daily, and the seed sprouts and grows—how, he himself does not know. 28The soil produces crops by itself; first the stalk, then the head, then the mature grain in the head. 29Now when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.'
30And He was saying, 'How shall we picture the kingdom of God, or by what parable shall we present it?
31It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the soil, though it is the smallest of all the seeds that are upon the soil,
32yet when it is sown, it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants, and forms large branches, with the result that THE BIRDS OF THE SKY can NEST UNDER its shade.'
King James Version
Chapter 4
26And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; 27And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how.
28For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.
29But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 4
26"The kingdom of God is like this," he said. "A man scatters seed on the ground. 27He sleeps and rises night and day; the seed sprouts and grows, although he doesn’t know how. 28The soil produces a crop by itself—first the blade, then the head, and then the full grain on the head. 29As soon as the crop is ready, he sends for the sickle, because the harvest has come."
30And he said, "With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable can we use to describe it?
31It’s like a mustard seed that, when sown upon the soil, is the smallest of all the seeds on the ground.
32And when sown, it comes up and grows taller than all the garden plants, and produces large branches, so that the birds of the sky can nest in its shade."
New Living Translation
Chapter 4
26Jesus also said, 'The Kingdom of God is like a farmer who scatters seed on the ground. 27Night and day, while he’s asleep or awake, the seed sprouts and grows, but he does not understand how it happens. 28The earth produces the crops on its own. First a leaf blade pushes through, then the heads of wheat are formed, and finally the grain ripens. 29And as soon as the grain is ready, the farmer comes and harvests it with a sickle, for the harvest time has come.'English Standard Version
Chapter 4
26And he said, "The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. 27He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. 28The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 29But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come."
30And he said, "With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it?
31It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth,
32yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade."
New International Version
Chapter 4
26He also said, "This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come."
30Again he said, "What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it?
31It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth.
32Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade."
New King James Version
Chapter 4
26And He said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, 27and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how. 28For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head. 29But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
30Then He said, “To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what parable shall we picture it?
31It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth;
32but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade.”
