Mark 4:19

but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Jesus addresses a crowd gathered around him (Mark 4:1), explaining the third of four soil types in the parable of the sower.

The words — μέριμναι (merimnai), "cares," is a rare Greek term used only here in the New Testament, carrying the sense of persistent, consuming anxiety.

The thread — 1 Timothy 6:9 and 6:17 develop the "deceitfulness of wealth" by warning that the desire for riches ensnares and displaces hope; 1 John 2:15 generalizes the threat to love of the world itself.

Why it lands — The verse names three specific, identifiable pressures and asks the reader to recognize which one is already choking their own fruitfulness.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

King James Version

And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.

Cross-references

1 John 2:15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
1 Timothy 6:9 Those who want to be rich, however, fall into temptation and become ensnared by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction.
1 Timothy 6:17 Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be conceited and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of wealth, but in God, who richly provides all things for us to enjoy.
Matthew 19:23 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.
Philippians 4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
1 Peter 4:2 Consequently, he does not live out his remaining time on earth for human passions, but for the will of God.
Luke 12:29 And do not be concerned about what you will eat or drink. Do not worry about it.
John 15:2 He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit, and every branch that does bear fruit, He prunes to make it even more fruitful.
Luke 10:41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord replied, “you are worried and upset about many things.
Luke 21:34 But watch yourselves, or your hearts will be weighed down by dissipation, drunkenness, and the worries of life—and that day will spring upon you suddenly like a snare.