Bible Strands
Mark 4:6
But when the sun rose, the seedlings were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — In the parable of the sower, Jesus describes seed falling on rocky ground where shallow soil allows rapid sprouting but leaves the plants exposed.
The words — The Greek verb ἐκαυματίζεται (ekaumatizomai) appears in the aorist passive form ἐκαυματίζεται (ekaumatisthē), literally meaning "it was scorched," directly describing the physical damage to the seedlings.
The thread — The motif of scorching heat withering vegetation runs through Jonah 4:8 and James 1:11, where rising sun and intense heat destroy plants that lack deep grounding.
Why it lands — The text states that seedlings without roots wither when the sun rises, showing that shallow grounding cannot sustain life under sustained heat.
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
But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 17:5 This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind, who makes mere flesh his strength and turns his heart from the LORD.
- Jonah 4:8 As the sun was rising, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint and wished to die, saying, “It is better for me to die than to live.”
- James 1:11 For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its flower falls and its beauty is lost. So too, the rich man will fade away in the midst of his pursuits.
- Psalms 1:3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in season, whose leaf does not wither, and who prospers in all he does.
- Psalms 92:13 Planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God.
- Isaiah 25:4 For You have been a refuge for the poor, a stronghold for the needy in distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like rain against a wall,
- Ephesians 3:17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. Then you, being rooted and grounded in love,
- Colossians 2:7 rooted and built up in Him, established in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
- 2 Thessalonians 2:10 and with every wicked deception directed against those who are perishing, because they refused the love of the truth that would have saved them.
- Jude 1:12 These men are hidden reefs in your love feasts, shamelessly feasting with you but shepherding only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried along by the wind; fruitless trees in autumn, twice dead after being uprooted.