If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Parallel translations
- WEB If any man has ears to hear, let him hear.”
- KJV If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.
- NKJV If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”
- NASB If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”
- NLT Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”
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 again calls those with ears to hear. It matters because it presses each listener to respond attentively to his teaching.
Overview
This repeated summons underscores the urgency of true spiritual hearing. It reminds hearers that the responsibility to perceive and obey rests with them. Jesus calls for more than passive listening, urging the active, faith-filled hearing that bears fruit in the kingdom.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Matt 11:15He who has ears, let him hear.
- Mark 4:9Then Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
- Rev 2:29He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
- Rev 2:11He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who overcomes will not be harmed by the second death.
- Rev 2:17He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will give the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone inscribed with a new name, known only to the one who receives it.
- Rev 2:7He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will grant the right to eat from the tree of life in the Paradise of God.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 4:23 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.