And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.
Parallel translations
- WEB Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.
- BSB Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the seedlings, and they yielded no crop.
- NKJV And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop.
- NASB Other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no crop.
- NLT Other seed fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants so they produced no grain.
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
Some seed falls among thorns that choke it so it bears no fruit. It matters because it pictures a heart where competing concerns smother the word.
Overview
The thorns grow alongside the seed and strangle its growth. This represents hearers in whom worldly cares and desires crowd out the word. Jesus warns that good beginnings can be rendered fruitless when rival affections are allowed to dominate the heart, a danger every believer must guard against.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Jer 4:3For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.
- Luke 8:14And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.
- Gen 3:17–18And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
- 1 Jn 2:15–16Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
- Luke 8:7And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it.
- Matt 13:22He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.
- Luke 21:34And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.
- Matt 13:7And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:
- Mark 4:18–19And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word,
- Luke 12:15And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.
- 1 Tim 6:9–10But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.
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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 4:7 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
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