But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away.
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.
- BSB But when the sun rose, the seedlings were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.
- 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 17:5–8Yahweh says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man, and makes flesh his arm, and whose heart departs from Yahweh.
- Jonah 4:8When the sun arose, God prepared a sultry east wind; and the sun beat on Jonah’s head, so that he fainted, and requested for himself that he might die, and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.”
- Jas 1:11For the sun arises with the scorching wind, and withers the grass, and the flower in it falls, and the beauty of its appearance perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in his pursuits.
- Jude 1:12These are hidden rocky reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you, shepherds who without fear feed themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;
- Col 2:7rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith, even as you were taught, abounding in it in thanksgiving.
- Ps 1:3–4He will be like a tree planted by the streams of water, that produces its fruit in its season, whose leaf also does not wither. Whatever he does shall prosper.
- Eph 3:17that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; to the end that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
- 2 Th 2:10and with all deception of wickedness for those who are being lost, because they didn’t receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
- Isa 25:4For you have been a stronghold to the poor, a stronghold to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat, when the blast of the dreaded ones is like a storm against the wall.
- Ps 92:13–15They are planted in Yahweh’s house. They will flourish in our God’s courts.
- Rev 7:16They will never be hungry, neither thirsty any more; neither will the sun beat on them, nor any heat;
- Song 1:6Don’t stare at me because I am dark, because the sun has scorched me. My mother’s sons were angry with me. They made me keeper of the vineyards. I haven’t kept my own vineyard.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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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.