# Mark 4.31
**Book:** [Mark](/codex/john-mark/) · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT
## Immediate context (±2 verses)
**ASV** ([ASV](/codex/asv/))
> 29. But when the fruit is ripe, straightway he putteth forth the sickle, because the harvest is come. 30. And he said, How shall we liken the kingdom of God? or in what parable shall we set it forth?
>
> **31. 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,**
>
> 32. yet when it is sown, groweth up, and becometh greater than all the herbs, and putteth out great branches; so that the birds of the heaven can lodge under the shadow thereof. 33. And with many such parables spake he the word unto them, as they were able to hear it; (Mark 4:29-33, ASV)
**WEB** ([WEB](/codex/web/))
> 29. But when the fruit is ripe, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.” 30. He said, “How will we liken God’s Kingdom? Or with what parable will we illustrate it?
>
> **31. 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,**
>
> 32. yet when it is sown, grows up, and becomes greater than all the herbs, and puts out great branches, so that the birds of the sky can lodge under its shadow.” 33. With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it. (Mark 4:29-33, WEB)
**KJV** ([KJV](/codex/kjv/))
> 29. But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come. brought: or, ripe 30. And he said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it?
>
> **31. 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:**
>
> 32. But when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it. 33. And with many such parables spake he the word unto them, as they were able to hear it. (Mark 4:29-33, KJV)
**YLT** ([YLT](/codex/ylt/))
> 29. and whenever the fruit may yield itself, immediately he doth send forth the sickle, because the harvest hath come.' 30. And he said, 'To what may we liken the reign of God, or in what simile may we compare it?
>
> **31. 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;**
>
> 32. and whenever it may be sown, it cometh up, and doth become greater than any of the herbs, and doth make great branches, so that under its shade the fowls of the heaven are able to rest.' 33. And with many such similes he was speaking to them the word, as they were able to hear, (Mark 4:29-33, YLT)
## Setting
- **Speaker:** Jesus (within Mark's narrative; Mark composed traditionally on Peter's preaching)
- **Audience:** the crowds gathered by the Sea of Galilee, with further private explanation given to the Twelve (Mark 4:34)
- **Location:** the lakeside of the Sea of Galilee; Jesus teaching from a boat (Mark 4:1)
- **Time period:** events c. AD 30; Mark composed c. AD 55-70 for a Gentile-Roman Christian audience
## Theological reading
The verse opens the parable of the mustard seed, one of the shortest Kingdom parables in the Gospels and one of the most disputed at the surface level. The prefatory clause ("less than all the seeds that are upon the earth") has produced a popular skeptical objection that Jesus erred botanically. For the focused engagement with that objection, see [Mustard Seed Smallest Seed Objection Defeater](/codex/mustard-seed-smallest-seed-objection-defeater/).
The parable's load-bearing theological claim is not the seed's exact size in modern taxonomy but the Kingdom's growth-trajectory from apparent insignificance to comprehensive shelter. Three exegetical observations frame the reading.
First, the Greek phrase sits inside an agricultural sowing context. The participle *σπαρῇ* ("sown") two clauses earlier sets the reference class: the comparison is among seeds *as sown* by Palestinian farmers, not among seeds globally extant. The Greek uses the comparative *μικρότερον* ("smaller, lesser"), not the absolute superlative *ἐλάχιστον* ("least"), which strengthens the agricultural-reference-class reading.
Second, the mustard seed is a Jewish proverbial idiom for extreme smallness, attested in rabbinic literature (*m. Niddah* 5:2; *m. Toharot* 8:8; *b. Berakhot* 31a) and used by Jesus himself for the same purpose at [Matt 17:20](/codex/matthew-17-20/) and [Luke 17:6](/codex/luke-17-6/) ("if ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed"). The proverbial usage is the natural first-century Jewish reading.
Third, the parable invokes Old Testament kingdom-as-tree imagery from [Dan 4:20-22](/codex/daniel-4-20-22/) (Nebuchadnezzar's tree-vision) and [Ezek 17:22-24](/codex/ezekiel-17-22-24/) (the planting of the cedar shoot), where great kingdoms are pictured as trees in which birds nest. The birds in v. 32 are the peoples and nations finding shelter under God's reign. Jesus is using a familiar prophetic image and applying it to His own movement.
The parable's payoff (v. 32) lands historically: a Galilean rabbi and twelve disciples become a faith spanning continents, languages, and centuries. The Kingdom has grown the way Jesus said it would. The botanical detail is the parable's set-piece; the Kingdom claim is its load-bearing point.
## Key words
- *σπείρω (speirō)*, "to sow." The controlling agricultural verb in vv. 31-32; sets the reference class for the "smallest seed" comparison.
- *σίναπι (sinapi)*, "mustard seed." Jewish proverbial image for extreme smallness; appears in the rabbinic literature and in Jesus' teaching as the proverbial smallest cultivated seed.
- *μικρότερον (mikroteron)*, "smaller, lesser." Greek comparative (not absolute superlative); carries an implicit reference class set by the immediate context.
- *βασιλεία (basileia)*, "kingdom, reign, royal rule." The Kingdom of God / Kingdom of Heaven is the theological subject of the whole parable cluster.
## 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.
## Quoted in
**Arguments and defeaters:**
- [Mustard Seed Smallest Seed Objection Defeater](/codex/mustard-seed-smallest-seed-objection-defeater/)
**Concepts:**
- [Bible Scientific Errors Objection](/codex/bible-scientific-errors-objection/)
- [Evilbible.com](/codex/evilbible-com/), via [Mark 4.30-32](/codex/mark-4-30-32/)
- [Jesus Said](/codex/jesus-said/), via [Mark 4.3-32](/codex/mark-4-3-32/)