Mark 4:23
in Mark 4If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
If any man hath ears to hear, let him hear.
KJV
If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.
⋯
This verse in Mark 4
Commentary
8 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
bring in a lamp to put it under a basket
on Mark 4:21-23
A lamp is lit to be seen, and nobody sets it under a basket or under a bed. Jesus turns the image toward the mystery just explained to the Twelve, for there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed.
This site's exposition
If anyone has ears to hear
Ryle notes that these verses gather short proverbs that stick in the memory after a sermon's main subject fades. This call is one of them. John Gill takes it as a sign that what Jesus has just said carries great weight.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church3 voices
If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. That is, that none of those things which are said to you by me should escape you.
(ubi sup.) That is, if any man have a sense for understanding the word of God, let him not withdraw himself, let him not turn his ear to fables, but let him lend his ear to search those things which truth hath spoken, his hands for fulfilling them, his tongue for preaching them. There follows, And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear.
If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear. If anyone has the understanding to perceive the word of God, let him not withdraw, let him not turn his hearing to fables, but diligently lend his ear to examining those things which the truth has …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. What is now delivered, being very momentous and important; see Mat 11:15.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1857)
proposed
These verses seem intended to enforce the parable of the sower on the attention of those who heard it. They are remarkable for the succession of short, pithy, proverbial sayings which they contain. Such sayings are eminently calculated to arrest an ignorant hearer. They often strike, and stick in the memory, when the main subject of the sermon is forgotten. We learn, from these verses, that we ought not only to receive knowledge, but to impart it to others .
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1857)
proposed
These verses seem intended to enforce the parable of the sower on the attention of those who heard it. They are remarkable for the succession of short, pithy, proverbial sayings which they contain. Such sayings are eminently calculated to arrest an ignorant hearer. They often strike, and stick in the memory, when the main subject of the sermon is forgotten. We learn, from these verses, that we ought not only to receive knowledge, but to impart it to others . A candle is not lighted in order to be hidden and concealed, but to be set on a candlestick and used. Religious light is not given to a man for himself alone, but for the benefit of others. We are to try to spread and diffuse our knowledge. We are to display to others the precious treasure that we have found; and persuade them to seek it for themselves. We are to tell them of the good news that we have heard, and endeavor to make them believe and value it themselves. We shall all have to give account of our use of knowledge one day. The books of God in the day of judgment will show what we have done. If we have buried our talent in the earth — if we have been content with a lazy, idle, do-nothing Christianity, and cared nothing what happened to others, so long as we went to heaven ourselves — there will be a fearful exposure at last — "There is nothing hidden, which shall not be manifested." It becomes all Christians to lay these things to heart. It is high time that the old tradition, that the clergy alone ought to teach and spread religious knowledge, should be exploded and cast aside forever. To do good and diffuse light is a duty for which all members of Christ's Church are responsible, whether ministers or laymen. Neighbors ought to tell neighbors, if they have found an unfailing remedy in time of plague.
The words behind it
6 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| εἴ | ei | If | G1487 → | 508 times |
| τις | tis | anyone | G5100 → | 528 times |
| ἔχει | echei | has | G2192 → | 707 times |
| ὦτα | ota | ears | G3775 → | 36 times |
| ἀκούειν | akouein | to hear | G191 → | 425 times |
| ἀκουέτω.¶ | akoueto | he should hear. | G191 → | 425 times |
εἴIf
eiG1487 →508 times
τιςanyone
tisG5100 →528 times
ἔχειhas
echeiG2192 →707 times
ὦταears
otaG3775 →36 times
ἀκούεινto hear
akoueinG191 →425 times
ἀκουέτω.¶he should hear.
akouetoG191 →425 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Revelation 2:7He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will grant the right to eat from the tree of life in the…
it leads to
- Revelation 2:17
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will give the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Matthew 11:15
He who has ears, let him hear.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Matthew 13:43
Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Revelation 2:11
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who overcomes will not be harmed by the second death.
- Revelation 13:9
He who has an ear, let him hear:
- Revelation 2:17
Through
Matthew 11:15He who has ears, let him hear.
it leads to
- Revelation 2:7
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will grant the right to eat from the tree of life in the…
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Matthew 13:9
He who has ears, let him hear.”
- Revelation 2:7
Through
Revelation 2:11He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who overcomes will not be harmed by the second death.
it leads to
- Revelation 20:6
Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection! The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and will reign with Him…
- Revelation 20:6
Where this verse is studied
About Mark
This page draws on Bede, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Bede, On the Gospel of Mark; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition); John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Theophylact of Ohrid, Catena Aurea by Aquinas.