Now when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
Parallel translations
- WEB But when the fruit is ripe, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
- KJV But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is 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.”
- 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 in the sickle; for the harvest is ripe. Come, tread, for the wine press is full, the vats overflow, for their wickedness is great.”
- Isa 57:1–2The righteous perish, and no one lays it to heart. Merciful men are taken away, and no one considers that the righteous is taken away from the evil.
- Matt 13:40–43As therefore the darnel weeds are gathered up and burned with fire; so will it be at the end of this age.
- Matt 13:30Let both grow together until the harvest, and in the harvest time I will tell the reapers, “First, gather up the darnel weeds, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”
- Rev 14:13–17I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write, ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors; for their works follow with them.”
- Job 5:26You shall come to your grave in a full age, like a shock of grain comes in its season.
- 2 Tim 4:7–8I have fought the good fight. I have finished the course. I have kept the faith.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 4:29 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.