For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.
Parallel translations
- WEB For the earth bears fruit: first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.
- BSB All by itself the earth produces a crop—first the stalk, then the head, then grain that ripens within.
- 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 I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment;
- Mark 4:31–32It 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:
- Hos 6:3Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.
- 1 Th 3:12–13And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you:
- Col 1:10That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;
- Matt 13:26But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
- Phil 1:6Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
- Isa 61:11For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.
- Eccl 3:1To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
- Eccl 3:11He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.
- Ps 92:13–14Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God.
- Gen 4:11–12And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand;
- Ps 1:3And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
- Gen 1:11–12And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
- Gen 2:4–5These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,
- Prov 4:18But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
- Gen 2:9And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
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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.