And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables?
Parallel translations
- WEB He said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How will you understand all of the parables?
- BSB Then Jesus said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand any of the parables?
- NKJV And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?
- NASB And He *said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables?
- NLT Then Jesus said to them, “If you can’t understand the meaning of this parable, how will you understand all the other parables?
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus tells the disciples that grasping this parable is key to understanding all the others. It matters because the sower reveals the pattern of how God's word is received.
Overview
Jesus mildly rebukes their slowness, stressing the foundational importance of this parable. If they cannot understand the sower, the rest will remain closed to them. The verse highlights that receptive hearing of the word is the gateway to all kingdom truth, inviting humble, attentive learning.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Rev 3:19As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
- Luke 24:25Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:
- Mark 7:17–18And when he was entered into the house from the people, his disciples asked him concerning the parable.
- Matt 13:51–52Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord.
- Heb 5:11–14Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing.
- Matt 15:15–17Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable.
- Matt 13:18–23Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.
- 1 Cor 3:1–2And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
- Matt 16:8–9Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread?
- Luke 8:11–15Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Mark drives urgently to the cross, showing Jesus the Son of God as the suffering Servant who 'came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'
How Mark 4:13 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.