# Mark 4.26-29

<!-- type: passage | created: 2026-06-13 | updated: 2026-06-13 -->

**Book:** [Mark](/codex/john-mark/) · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

## Immediate context (±2 verses)

**ASV** ([ASV](/codex/asv/))
> 24. And he said unto them, <span class="rl-speech">Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete it shall be measured unto you; and more shall be given unto you.</span> 25. <span class="rl-speech">For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken away even that which he hath.</span>
>
> **26. And he said, <span class="rl-speech">So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed upon the earth;</span> 27. <span class="rl-speech">and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should spring up and grow, he knoweth not how.</span> 28. <span class="rl-speech">The earth beareth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.</span> 29. <span class="rl-speech">But when the fruit is ripe, straightway he putteth forth the sickle, because the harvest is come.</span>**
>
> 30. And he said, <span class="rl-speech">How shall we liken the kingdom of God? or in what parable shall we set it forth?</span> 31. <span class="rl-speech">It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown upon the earth, though it be less than all the seeds that are upon the earth,</span> (Mark 4:24-31, ASV)

**WEB** ([WEB](/codex/web/))
> 24. He said to them, <span class="rl-speech">“Take heed what you hear. With whatever measure you measure, it will be measured to you, and more will be given to you who hear.</span> 25. <span class="rl-speech">For whoever has, to him will more be given, and he who doesn’t have, even that which he has will be taken away from him.”</span>
>
> **26. He said, <span class="rl-speech">“God’s Kingdom is as if a man should cast seed on the earth,</span> 27. <span class="rl-speech">and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should spring up and grow, he doesn’t know how.</span> 28. <span class="rl-speech">For the earth bears fruit: first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.</span> 29. <span class="rl-speech">But when the fruit is ripe, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”</span>**
>
> 30. He said, <span class="rl-speech">“How will we liken God’s Kingdom? Or with what parable will we illustrate it?</span> 31. <span class="rl-speech">It’s like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, though it is less than all the seeds that are on the earth,</span> (Mark 4:24-31, WEB)

**KJV** ([KJV](/codex/kjv/))
> 24. And he said unto them, <span class="rl-speech">Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given.</span> 25. <span class="rl-speech">For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath.</span>
>
> **26. And he said, <span class="rl-speech">So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground;</span> 27. <span class="rl-speech">And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how.</span> 28. <span class="rl-speech">For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.</span> 29. <span class="rl-speech">But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come. <sup>brought: or, ripe</sup></span>**
>
> 30. And he said, <span class="rl-speech">Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it?</span> 31. <span class="rl-speech">It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth:</span> (Mark 4:24-31, KJV)

**YLT** ([YLT](/codex/ylt/))
> 24. And he said to them, <span class="rl-speech">'Take heed what ye hear; in what measure ye measure, it shall be measured to you; and to you who hear it shall be added;</span> 25. <span class="rl-speech">for whoever may have, there shall be given to him, and whoever hath not, also that which he hath shall be taken from him.'</span>
>
> **26. And he said, <span class="rl-speech">'Thus is the reign of God: as if a man may cast the seed on the earth,</span> 27. <span class="rl-speech">and may sleep, and may rise night and day, and the seed spring up and grow, he hath not known how;</span> 28. <span class="rl-speech">for of itself doth the earth bear fruit, first a blade, afterwards an ear, afterwards full corn in the ear;</span> 29. <span class="rl-speech">and whenever the fruit may yield itself, immediately he doth send forth the sickle, because the harvest hath come.'</span>**
>
> 30. And he said, <span class="rl-speech">'To what may we liken the reign of God, or in what simile may we compare it?</span> 31. <span class="rl-speech">As a grain of mustard, which, whenever it may be sown on the earth, is less than any of the seeds that are on the earth;</span> (Mark 4:24-31, YLT)

## Setting

- **Speaker:** _TBD_
- **Audience:** _TBD_
- **Location:** _TBD_
- **Time period:** _TBD_

## Theological reading

_Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added._

## Key words

_Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word._

- _TBD_
- _TBD_
- _TBD_
- _TBD_

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## Quoted in

**Concepts:**

- [Divine Conservationism](/codex/divine-conservationism/)
- [Jesus Said](/codex/jesus-said/), via [Mark 4.3-32](/codex/mark-4-3-32/)

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## Notes

_Your annotations._

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## Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the **most literal English translations available** (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the **public domain in the United States**, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

- **[ASV](/codex/asv/)** (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
- **[WEB](/codex/web/)** (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
- **[KJV](/codex/kjv/)** (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
- **[YLT](/codex/ylt/)** (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See [Bibles](/codex/bibles/) for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.