All by itself the earth produces a crop—first the stalk, then the head, then grain that ripens within.
Parallel translations
- WEB For the earth bears fruit: first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.
- KJV For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.
- NKJV For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head.
- NASB The soil produces crops by itself; first the stalk, then the head, then the mature grain in the head.
- NLT The earth produces the crops on its own. First a leaf blade pushes through, then the heads of wheat are formed, and finally the grain ripens.
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
The earth produces fruit by stages, blade then ear then full grain. It matters because it shows the kingdom develops gradually and surely toward harvest.
Overview
The orderly progression of growth illustrates the kingdom's steady, God-given development. There is a process from small beginnings to mature fruit. This encourages patience and confidence that, despite slow or hidden beginnings, God brings his purposes to full and certain completion.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Phil 1:9–11And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,
- Mark 4:31–32It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds sown upon the earth.
- Hos 6:3So let us know—let us press on to know the LORD. As surely as the sun rises, He will appear; He will come to us like the rain, like the spring showers that water the earth.
- 1 Th 3:12–13And may the Lord cause you to increase and overflow with love for one another and for everyone else, just as our love for you overflows,
- Col 1:10so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,
- Matt 13:26When the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the weeds also appeared.
- Phil 1:6being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
- Isa 61:11For as the earth brings forth its growth, and as a garden enables seed to spring up, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations.
- Eccl 3:1To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven:
- Eccl 3:11He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men, yet they cannot fathom the work that God has done from beginning to end.
- Ps 92:13–14Planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God.
- Gen 4:11–12Now you are cursed and banished from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.
- Ps 1:3He is like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in season, whose leaf does not wither, and who prospers in all he does.
- Gen 1:11–12Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth vegetation: seed-bearing plants and fruit trees, each bearing fruit with seed according to its kind.” And it was so.
- Gen 2:4–5This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made them.
- Prov 4:18The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining brighter and brighter until midday.
- Gen 2:9Out of the ground the LORD God gave growth to every tree that is pleasing to the eye and good for food. And in the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
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 4:28 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.