But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.
Parallel translations
- WEB But when the fruit is ripe, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
- BSB And as soon as the grain is ripe, he swings the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
- NKJV But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
- NASB Now when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
- NLT And as soon as the grain is ready, the farmer comes and harvests it with a sickle, for the harvest time has come.”
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
When the grain is ripe, the farmer puts in the sickle for harvest. It matters because it points to the certain coming of God's final harvest and judgment.
Overview
The ripened grain and the sickle echo biblical imagery of the harvest at the end of the age. After the kingdom's hidden growth comes a decisive ingathering. This assures believers that God's work will reach its appointed climax, when Christ gathers his people and brings history to its consummation.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Joel 3:13Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great.
- Isa 57:1–2The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come.
- Matt 13:40–43As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
- Matt 13:30Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.
- Rev 14:13–17And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.
- Job 5:26Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age, like as a shock of corn cometh in in his season.
- 2 Tim 4:7–8I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
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 4:29 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.