Mark 4:9-13
Mark 4:9-13 The Message (MSG)
“Are you listening to this? Really listening?” When they were off by themselves, those who were close to him, along with the Twelve, asked about the stories. He told them, “You’ve been given insight into God’s kingdom—you know how it works. But to those who can’t see it yet, everything comes in stories, creating readiness, nudging them toward a welcome awakening. These are people— Whose eyes are open but don’t see a thing, Whose ears are open but don’t understand a word, Who avoid making an about-face and getting forgiven.” He continued, “Do you see how this story works? All my stories work this way.
Mark 4:9-13 King James Version (KJV)
And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable. And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables: that seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them. And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables?
Mark 4:9-13 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)
And He was saying, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” As soon as He was alone, His followers, along with the twelve, began asking Him about the parables. And He was saying to them, “To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but those who are outside get everything in parables, so that WHILE SEEING, THEY MAY SEE AND NOT PERCEIVE, AND WHILE HEARING, THEY MAY HEAR AND NOT UNDERSTAND, OTHERWISE THEY MIGHT RETURN AND BE FORGIVEN.” And He *said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables?
Mark 4:9-13 New Century Version (NCV)
Then Jesus said, “Let those with ears use them and listen!” Later, when Jesus was alone, the twelve apostles and others around him asked him about the stories. Jesus said, “You can know the secret about the kingdom of God. But to other people I tell everything by using stories so that: ‘They will look and look, but they will not learn. They will listen and listen, but they will not understand. If they did learn and understand, they would come back to me and be forgiven.’ ” Then Jesus said to his followers, “Don’t you understand this story? If you don’t, how will you understand any story?
Mark 4:9-13 American Standard Version (ASV)
And he said, Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parables. And he said unto them, Unto you is given the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all things are done in parables: that seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest haply they should turn again, and it should be forgiven them. And he saith unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how shall ye know all the parables?
Mark 4:9-13 New International Version (NIV)
Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.” When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables so that, “ ‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’” Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable?
Mark 4:9-13 New King James Version (NKJV)
And He said to them, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable. And He said to them, “To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables, so that ‘Seeing they may see and not perceive, And hearing they may hear and not understand; Lest they should turn, And their sins be forgiven them.’ ” And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?
Mark 4:9-13 Amplified Bible (AMP)
And He said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear and heed My words.” As soon as He was alone, those who were around Him, together with the twelve [disciples], began asking Him about [the interpretation of] the parables. He said to them, “The mystery of the kingdom of God has been given to you [who have teachable hearts], but those who are outside [the unbelievers, the spiritually blind] get everything in parables, so that THEY WILL CONTINUALLY LOOK BUT NOT SEE, AND THEY WILL CONTINUALLY HEAR BUT NOT UNDERSTAND, OTHERWISE THEY MIGHT TURN [from their rejection of the truth]AND BE FORGIVEN.” [Is 6:9, 10; Matt 13:11-15] Then He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand and grasp the meaning of all the parables? [Matt 13:18-23; Luke 8:11-15]
Mark 4:9-13 New Living Translation (NLT)
Then he said, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.” Later, when Jesus was alone with the twelve disciples and with the others who were gathered around, they asked him what the parables meant. He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secret of the Kingdom of God. But I use parables for everything I say to outsiders, so that the Scriptures might be fulfilled: ‘When they see what I do, they will learn nothing. When they hear what I say, they will not understand. Otherwise, they will turn to me and be forgiven.’” Then Jesus said to them, “If you can’t understand the meaning of this parable, how will you understand all the other parables?
Mark 4:9-13 The Passion Translation (TPT)
If you understand this, then you need to respond.” Afterward, Jesus’ disciples and those close to him remained behind to ask Jesus about his parables. He said to them, “The privilege of intimately knowing the mystery of God’s kingdom realm has been granted to you, but not to the others, where everything is revealed in parables. “For even when they see what I do, they will not understand, and when they hear what I say, they will learn nothing, otherwise they would repent and be forgiven.” Then he said to them, “If you don’t understand this parable, how will you understand any parable?
Mark 4:9-13 English Standard Version 2016 (ESV)
And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, so that “‘they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven.’” And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?
