But when the sun rose, the seedlings were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.
Parallel translations
- WEB When the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.
- KJV But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.
- NKJV But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away.
- NASB And when the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.
- NLT But the plant soon wilted under the hot sun, and since it didn’t have deep roots, it died.
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 sun rises the rootless plant is scorched and withers. It matters because it shows that shallow faith collapses under heat and trial.
Overview
The scorching sun represents the testing that exposes a faith without roots. What sprang up quickly dies just as quickly because it has no inner depth. Jesus teaches that perseverance, not merely a fast start, marks true reception of the word, a sober call to count the cost of following him.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Jer 17:5–8This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind, who makes the flesh his strength and turns his heart from the LORD.
- Jonah 4:8As the sun was rising, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint and wished to die, saying, “It is better for me to die than to live.”
- Jas 1:11For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its flower falls and its beauty is lost. So too, the rich man will fade away in the midst of his pursuits.
- Jude 1:12These men are hidden reefs in your love feasts, shamelessly feasting with you but shepherding only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried along by the wind; fruitless trees in autumn, twice dead after being uprooted.
- Col 2:7rooted and built up in Him, established in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
- Ps 1:3–4He 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.
- Eph 3:17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. Then you, being rooted and grounded in love,
- 2 Th 2:10and with every wicked deception directed against those who are perishing, because they refused the love of the truth that would have saved them.
- Isa 25:4For You have been a refuge for the poor, a stronghold for the needy in distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like rain against a wall,
- Ps 92:13–15Planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God.
- Rev 7:16‘Never again will they hunger, and never will they thirst; nor will the sun beat down upon them, nor any scorching heat.’
- Song 1:6Do not stare because I am dark, for the sun has gazed upon me. My mother’s sons were angry with me; they made me a keeper of the vineyards, but my own vineyard I have neglected.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 4:6 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.