Mark 4:27 BSB — MannaFest

Mark 4:27

Night and day he sleeps and wakes, and the seed sprouts and grows, though he knows not how.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should spring up and grow, he knoweth not how.

KJV

And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how.

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Commentary

3 voices

Gregory the Dialogist

Catena Aurea by Aquinas (604)

(in Ezech. 2. Hom. 3) Or else; Man casts seed into the ground, when he places a good intention in his heart; and he sleeps, when he already rests in the hope which attends on a good work. But he rises night and day, because he advances amidst prosperity and adversity, though he knows it not, for he is as yet unable to measure his increase, and yet virtue, once conceived, goes on increasing. When therefore we conceive good desires, we put seed into the ground; when we begin to work rightly, we are the blade.

The record, by era

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

Albert Barnes

1798–1870

Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)

And should sleep, and rise night and day - Should sleep in the night and rise by day, for so the expression is to be understood. That is, should live in his usual way, without exerting any influence over the growing grain. By this we are not to infer that men are to use no diligence in the obtaining and in the growth of piety; but the illustration shows only that as we cannot tell how grain grows, so we cannot tell the mode in which piety increases in the heart. He knoweth not how - This is still true.

J.C. Ryle

1816–1900

Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1857)

The parable contained in these verses is short, and only recorded in Mark's Gospel. But it is one that ought to be deeply interesting to all who have reason to hope that they are true Christians. It sets before us the history of the work of grace in an individual soul. It summons us to an examination of our own experience in divine things. There are some expressions in the parable which we must not press too far. Such are the "sleeping and rising" of the farmer, and the "night and day."

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

17 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
καὶ	kai	and	G2532 →
καθεύδῃ	katheudē	he may sleep	G2518 →
καὶ	kai	and	G2532 →
ἐγείρηται	egeirētai	he may be risen	G1453 →
νύκτα	nukta	night	G3571 →
καὶ	kai	and	G2532 →
ἡμέραν,	hēmeran	day,	G2250 →
καὶ	kai	and	G2532 →
ὁ	ho	the	G3588 →
σπόρος	sporos	seed	G4703 →
βλαστᾷ	blasta	may sprout	G985 →
καὶ	kai	and	G2532 →
μηκύνηται	mēkunētai	it may grow	G3373 →
ὡς	hōs	how	G5613 →
οὐκ	ouk	not	G3756 →
οἶδεν	oiden	knows
αὐτός.	autos	he himself.	G846 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
2 Peter 3:18
But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
leads to
- Colossians 1:10
  so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,
- Ephesians 4:15
  Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Christ Himself, who is the head.
- 1 Peter 2:2
  Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,
- Colossians 3:10
  and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.
- Philippians 3:8
  More than that, I count all things as loss compared to the surpassing excellence of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may…
Through
Ecclesiastes 11:5
As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the bones are formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things.
leads to
- Romans 11:33
  O, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and untraceable His ways!
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- Isaiah 40:28
  Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary; His understanding is beyond searching…
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- John 3:8
  The wind blows where it wishes. You hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

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About Mark

Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee — Rembrandt (1633), public domain

Mark: the study guide →Read chapter 4 →The featured study →

Continue: Mark 4 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About Mark

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About Mark