Mark 4:31
29 And as soon as the grain is ripe, he swings the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
30 Then He asked, “To what can we compare the kingdom of God? With what parable shall we present it?
It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds sown upon the earth.
32 But after it is planted, it grows to be the largest of all garden plants and puts forth great branches, so that the birds of the air nest in its shade.”
33 With many such parables Jesus spoke the word to them, to the extent that they could understand.
Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds sown upon the earth.
- KJV
- It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth:
- WEB
- It’s like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, though it is less than all the seeds that are on the earth,
- ASV
- It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown upon the earth, though it be less than all the seeds that are upon the earth,
- DARBY
- As to a grain of mustard [seed], which, when it is sown upon the earth, is less than all seeds which are upon the earth,
- BLB
- [It is] like a grain of mustard, which, when it may be sown upon the earth, is smallest of all the seeds that [are] upon the earth.
- ÅB
- Det er slik som sennepskornet, som er mindre enn alt annet frø på jorden når det såes i jorden;
- OTB
- Det er som et sennepsfrø, som, når det blir sådd i jorden, er det minste av alle frø på jorden.
- B1930
- Det er likesom sennepskornet, som er mindre enn alt annet frø på jorden når det såes i jorden;
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Acts 19:20
So the word of the Lord powerfully continued to spread and prevail.
Read in contextGenesis 22:17–18
I will surely bless you, and I will multiply your descendants like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will possess the gates of their enemies.
Read in contextLuke 13:18–19
Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? To what can I compare it?
Read in contextDaniel 2:44–45
In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will shatter all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, but will itself stand forever.
Read in contextMalachi 1:11
For My name will be great among the nations, from where the sun rises to where it sets. In every place, incense and pure offerings will be presented in My name, because My name will be great among the nations,” says the LORD of Hosts.
Read in contextIsaiah 53:2
He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no stately form or majesty to attract us, no beauty that we should desire Him.
Read in contextPsalms 72:16–19
May there be an abundance of grain in the land; may it sway atop the hills. May its fruit trees flourish like the forests of Lebanon, and its people like the grass of the field.
Read in contextActs 4:4
But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand.
Read in context