And again he began to teach by the sea side. And there is gathered unto him a very great multitude, so that he entered into a boat, and sat in the sea; and all the multitude were by the sea on the land.
And he taught them many things in parables, and said unto them in his teaching,
Hearken: Behold, the sower went forth to sow:
and it came to pass, as he sowed, some seed fell by the way side, and the birds came and devoured it.
And other fell on the rocky ground, where it had not much earth; and straightway it sprang up, because it had no deepness of earth:
and when the sun was risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.
And other fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.
And others fell into the good ground, and yielded fruit, growing up and increasing; and brought forth, thirtyfold, and sixtyfold, and a hundredfold.
And he said, Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parables.
And he said unto them, Unto you is given the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all things are done in parables:
that seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest haply they should turn again, and it should be forgiven them.
And he saith unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how shall ye know all the parables?
The sower soweth the word.
And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; and when they have heard, straightway cometh Satan, and taketh away the word which hath been sown in them.
And these in like manner are they that are sown upon the rocky places, who, when they have heard the word, straightway receive it with joy;
and they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, straightway they stumble.
And others are they that are sown among the thorns; these are they that have heard the word,
and the cares of the {Or, age}world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.
And those are they that were sown upon the good ground; such as hear the word, and accept it, and bear fruit, thirtyfold, and sixtyfold, and a hundredfold.
And he said unto them, Is the lamp brought to be put under the bushel, or under the bed, and not to be put on the stand?
For there is nothing hid, save that it should be manifested; neither was anything made secret, but that it should come to light.
If any man hath ears to hear, let him hear.
And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete it shall be measured unto you; and more shall be given unto you.
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.
And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed upon the earth;
and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should spring up and grow, he knoweth not how.
The earth {Or, yielded}beareth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.
But when the fruit {Or, alloweth}is ripe, straightway he {Or, sendeth forth}putteth forth the sickle, because the harvest is come.
And he said, How shall we liken the kingdom of God? or in what parable shall we set it forth?
{Greek: As unto.}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,
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.
And with many such parables spake he the word unto them, as they were able to hear it;
and without a parable spake he not unto them: but privately to his own disciples he expounded all things.
And on that day, when even was come, he saith unto them, Let us go over unto the other side.
And leaving the multitude, they take him with them, even as he was, in the boat. And other boats were with him.
And there ariseth a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the boat, insomuch that the boat was now filling.
And he himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion: and they awake him, and say unto him, Teacher, carest thou not that we perish?
And he awoke, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
And he said unto them, Why are ye fearful? have ye not yet faith?
And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?
Querverweise zu Markus 4,12 Mk 4,12
but Jehovah hath not given you a heart to know, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day.
I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus, Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a calf unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art Jehovah my God.
Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth.
Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a darling child? for as often as I speak against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my heart {Hebrew: soundeth.}yearneth for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith Jehovah.
And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye {Or, continually}indeed, but understand not; and see ye {Or, continually}indeed, but perceive not.
Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive.
Because he considereth, and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
Yet saith the house of Israel, The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal? are not your ways unequal?
Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord Jehovah. Return ye, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; {Or, so shall they not be a stumblingblock of iniquity unto you}so iniquity shall not be your {Hebrew: stumblingblock.}ruin.
Cast away from you all your transgressions, wherein ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord Jehovah: wherefore turn yourselves, and live.
Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and {Or, their heart should understand}understand with their heart, and turn again, and be healed.
Repent ye therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that so there may come seasons of refreshing from the presence of the Lord;
They know not, neither do they consider: for he hath {Hebrew: daubed.}shut their eyes, that they cannot see; and their hearts, that they cannot understand.
in meekness {Or, instructing}correcting them that oppose themselves; if peradventure God may give them repentance unto the knowledge of the truth,
Hear now this, O foolish people, and without {Hebrew: heart.}understanding; that have eyes, and see not; that have ears, and hear not:
and then fell away, it is impossible to renew them again unto repentance; {Or, the while}seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.
And unto them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which saith, {Isaiah 6:9, 10.}By hearing ye shall hear, and shall in no wise understand;And seeing ye shall see, and shall in no wise perceive:
For this people's heart is waxed gross,And their ears are dull of hearing,And their eyes they have closed;Lest haply they should perceive with their eyes,And hear with their ears,And understand with their heart,And should turn again,And I should heal them.
And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to the rest in parables; that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.
But though he had done so many signs before them, yet they believed not on him:
that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, {Isaiah 53:1}Lord, who hath believed our report?And to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?
For this cause they could not believe, for that Isaiah said again,
{Isaiah 6:10}He hath blinded their eyes, and he hardened their heart;Lest they should see with their eyes,and perceive with their heart,And should turn,And I should heal them.
These things said Isaiah, because he saw his glory; and he spake of him.
And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Spirit through Isaiah the prophet unto your fathers,
saying, {Isaiah 6:9, 10}Go thou unto this people, and say,By hearing ye shall hear, and shall in no wise understand;And seeing ye shall see, and shall in no wise perceive:
For this people's heart is waxed gross,And their ears are dull of hearing,And their eyes they have closed;Lest, haply they should perceive with their eyes,And hear with their ears,And understand with their heart,And should turn again,And I should heal them.
according as it is written, {Isaiah 29:10; Deuteronomy 29:4.}God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear, unto this very day.
And David saith, {Psalm 69:22 f.}Let their table be made a snare, and a trap,And a stumblingblock, and a recompense unto them:
Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see,And bow thou down their back always.