Bible Strands
Mark 4:3
“Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Jesus addresses a gathered crowd while delivering parabolic instruction. He introduces the agricultural scene at the opening of his teaching sequence.
The words — Ἀκούετε (Akouete) translates literally as "do listen!" and Ἰδοὺ (Idou) means "Behold." These terms function as a direct command to focus attention on the sower's departure.
The thread — The sowing imagery recurs in John 4:35 regarding ready harvest fields, 1 Corinthians 3:6 where planting and watering precede growth, and James 2:5 which addresses believers with a call to hear.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to actively receive the spoken word before evaluating its outcome. It demands a practical examination of how one's own receptivity determines the result of what is sown.
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
Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow:
Cross-references
- John 4:35 Do you not say, ‘There are still four months until the harvest’? I tell you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are ripe for harvest.
- 1 Corinthians 3:6 I planted the seed and Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.
- James 2:5 Listen, my beloved brothers: Has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him?
- Deuteronomy 4:1 Hear now, O Israel, the statutes and ordinances I am teaching you to follow, so that you may live and may enter and take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you.
- Matthew 13:26 When the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the weeds also appeared.
- Mark 4:26 Jesus also said, “The kingdom of God is like a man who scatters seed on the ground.
- Luke 8:5 “A farmer went out to sow his seed. And as he was sowing, some seed fell along the path, where it was trampled, and the birds of the air devoured it.
- Psalms 34:11 Come, children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
- Psalms 45:10 Listen, O daughter! Consider and incline your ear: Forget your people and your father’s house,
- Proverbs 7:24 Now, my sons, listen to me, and attend to the words of my mouth.