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Andκαὶhe was sayingἔλεγενto them,αὐτοῖς“To youὙμῖνthe mysteryτὸ μυστήριονof the kingdomτῆς βασιλείαςof Godτοῦ θεοῦhas been given;δέδοταιbutδὲfor thoseἐκείνοις τοῖςoutside,ἔξωeverythingτὰ πάνταcomesγίνεταιinἐνparables,παραβολαῖς
Mark 4:11
Study it in the app“And he was saying to them, “To you the mystery of the kingdom of God has been given; but for those outside, everything comes in parables,”
With the Greek beneath
Mark 4:11, word by word
- he was sayingἔλεγενelegen
say
To express something in words to others.
Where else “elegen” appears- the mysteryμυστήριονmystērion
mystery
Mystery: what was hidden and God makes known.
Where else “mystērion” appears- of the kingdomβασιλείαςbasileias
kingdom of God
God's rule, which comes with Jesus.
Where else “basileias” appears- of Godθεοῦtheou
God
The Creator and Lord of all, the one God of Israel.
Where else “theou” appears- has been givenδέδοταιdedotai
give
To hand something to another freely, as a gift.
Where else “dedotai” appears- outsideἔξωexō
outside
Points to the space on the other side of a door, a wall or a group.
Where else “exō” appears- comesγίνεταιginetai
come
To reach a place, or fall upon someone.
Where else “ginetai” appears- parablesπαραβολαῖςparabolais
parable
A story from daily life that teaches about God.
Where else “parabolais” appears
Parallel passages
Other books that tell the same thing or quote these words.
Why Jesus speaks in parables
See them side by side
Mark 4:10-12
10And when he was alone, those around him with the Twelve were asking him about the parables. 11And he was saying to them, “To you the mystery of the kingdom of God has been given; but for those outside, everything comes in parables, 12so that ‘seeing they may see and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand, lest they turn and it be forgiven them.’”
10And the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11But he answered and said to them, “Because to you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12For whoever has, more will be given to him, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 13This is why I speak to them in parables: because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, ‘You will indeed hear and never understand, and you will indeed see and never perceive. 15For the heart of this people has grown dull, and with their ears they have heard with difficulty, and they have closed their eyes, so that they do not see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I will heal them.’ 16But happy are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear. 17For truly I tell you that many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.
9And his disciples were asking him what this parable might mean. 10And he said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is in parables, so that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.
The context
10And when he was alone, those around him with the Twelve were asking him about the parables.
11 · This verse (above)
12so that ‘seeing they may see and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand, lest they turn and it be forgiven them.’”
To study Mark 4 in a group
1. What it says
What happened in the boat when the storm came, and what did Jesus do (vv. 37–39)?
2. What it means
What did Jesus mean by “whoever has ears to hear, let them hear” when telling the parable of the sower (vv. 3–9)?
3. How I live it
Jesus asked his disciples, “Why are you cowards?” (v. 40). What fear of today could you bring before him?