Book List
Prev Mark Chapter 4 Next
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Click *H for Haydock Commentary.
Click * Footnote to expand footnote
Click any word in Latin to activate the parser. Then click on the display to expand the parser.

4:1 Et iterum coepit docere ad mare : et congregata est ad eum turba multa, ita ut navim ascendens sederet in mari, et omnis turba circa mare super terram erat :
*H And again he began to teach by the sea side; and a great multitude was gathered together unto him, so that he went up into a ship and sat in the sea: and all the multitude was upon the land by the sea side.


Ver. 1. If we examine S. Matthew on this point, we shall discover that this discourse was made on the same day as the preceding discourse; for S. Matthew informs us, that having finished this exhortation, he the same day went and taught by the sea. Ven. Bede.

A.D. 31.
* Footnote * Matthew 13 : 1 The same day Jesus going out of the house, sat by the sea side.
* Footnote * Luke 8 : 4 And when a very great multitude was gathered together and hastened out of the cities, unto him, he spoke by a similitude.
4:2 et docebat eos in parabolis multa, et dicebat illis in doctrina sua :
And he taught them many things in parables, and said unto them in his doctrine:
4:3 Audite : ecce exiit seminans ad seminandum.
Hear ye: Behold, the sower went out to sow.
4:4 Et dum seminat, aliud cecidit circa viam, et venerunt volucres caeli, et comederunt illud.
And whilst he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the birds of the air came and ate it up.
4:5 Aliud vero cecidit super petrosa, ubi non habuit terram multam : et statim exortum est, quoniam non habebat altitudinem terrae :
And other some fell upon stony ground, where it had not much earth; and it shot up immediately, because it had no depth of earth.
4:6 et quando exortus est sol, exaestuavit : et eo quod non habebat radicem, exaruit.
And when the sun was risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.
4:7 Et aliud cecidit in spinas : et ascenderunt spinae, et suffocaverunt illud, et fructum non dedit.
And some fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.
4:8 Et aliud cecidit in terram bonam : et dabat fructum ascendentem et crescentem, et afferebat unum triginta, unum sexaginta, et unum centum.
And some fell upon good ground; and brought forth fruit that grew up, and increased and yielded, one thirty, another sixty, and another a hundred.
4:9 Et dicebat : Qui habet aures audiendi, audiat.
And he said: He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
4:10 Et cum esset singularis, interrogaverunt eum hi qui cum eo erant duodecim, parabolam.
*H And when he was alone, the twelve that were with him asked him the parable.


Ver. 10. When he was alone: in Greek Οτε εγενετο Καταμονας ; i.e. when he was retired and alone, either in the house, out of the city, or at a distance from the multitude. T.

4:11 Et dicebat eis : Vobis datum est nosse mysterium regni Dei : illis autem, qui foris sunt, in parabolis omnia fiunt :
*H And he said to them: To you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but to them that are without, all things are done in parables:


Ver. 11. Such as are out of the Church, though they both hear and read, they cannot understand. Ven. Bede, in C. iv, Mark.

4:12 ut videntes videant, et non videant : et audientes audiant, et non intelligant : nequando convertantur, et dimittantur eis peccata.
*H That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.


Ver. 12. That seeing they may see, &c. In punishment of their wilfully shutting their eyes, (Matt. xiii. 15.) God justly withdrew those lights and graces which otherwise he would have given them, for their effectual conversion. Ch. — These speeches here and elsewhere, we are not to understand as if he spoke in parables to this end that the hearers might not understand, lest they should be converted; but we must learn the true sense from the corresponding texts in Matt. xiii, and Acts xxviii, where our Saviour and S. Paul render it thus: with their ears they have been dull of hearing, and their eyes they have shut. lest, perhaps, they may see, and understand, and be converted, and I heal them. Whereby it is evident, that the speaking in parables was not the cause, (for many besides the apostles heard and understood) but themselves, who would not hear and understand, and be converted: and thus they were the real cause of their own wilful and obstinate infidelity. And therefore also he spoke in parables, because they were not worthy to understand, as the others were to whom he expounded them. B.

* Footnote * Isaias 6 : 9 And he said: Go, and thou shalt say to this people: Hearing, hear, and understand not: and see the vision, and know it not.
* Footnote * Matthew 13 : 14 And the prophecy of Isaias is fulfilled in them, who saith: By hearing you shall hear, and shall not understand: and seeing you shall see, and shall not perceive.
* Footnote * John 12 : 40 He hath blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart and be converted: and I should heal them.
* Footnote * Acts 28 : 26 Saying: Go to this people and say to them: With the ear you shall hear and shall not understand: and seeing you shall see and shall not perceive.
* Footnote * Romans 11 : 8 As it is written: God hath given them the spirit of insensibility; eyes that they should not see and ears that they should not hear, until this present day.
4:13 Et ait illis : Nescitis parabolam hanc ? Et quomodo omnes parabolas cognoscetis ?
And he saith to them: Are you ignorant of this, parable? and how shall you know all parables?
4:14 Qui seminat, verbum seminat.
He that soweth, soweth the word.
4:15 Hi autem sunt, qui circa viam, ubi seminatur verbum, et cum audierint, confestim venit Satanas, et aufert verbum, quod seminatum est in cordibus eorum.
And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown, and as soon as they have heard, immediately Satan cometh and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.
4:16 Et hi sunt similiter, qui super petrosa seminantur : qui cum audierint verbum, statim cum gaudio accipiunt illud :
And these likewise are they that are sown on the stony ground: who when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with joy.
4:17 et non habent radicem in se, sed temporales sunt : deinde orta tribulatione et persecutione propter verbum, confestim scandalizantur.
And they have no root in themselves, but are only for a time: and then when tribulation and persecution ariseth for the word they are presently scandalized.
4:18 Et alii sunt qui in spinas seminantur : hi sunt qui verbum audiunt,
And others there are who are sown among thorns: these are they that hear the word,
4:19 et aerumnae saeculi, et deceptio divitiarum, et circa reliqua concupiscentiae introeuntes suffocant verbum, et sine fructu efficitur.
And the cares of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts after other things entering in choke the word, and it is made fruitless.
* Footnote * 1_Timothy 6 : 17 Charge the rich of this world not to be highminded nor to trust in the uncertainty of riches, but in the living God (who giveth us abundantly all things to enjoy)
4:20 Et hi sunt qui super terram bonam seminati sunt, qui audiunt verbum, et suscipiunt, et fructificant, unum triginta, unum sexaginta, et unum centum.
And these are they who are sown upon the good ground, who hear the word, and receive it, and yield fruit, the one thirty, another sixty, and another a hundred.
4:21 Et dicebat illis : Numquid venit lucerna ut sub modio ponatur, aut sub lecto ? nonne ut super candelabrum ponatur ?
And he said to them: Doth a candle come in to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? and not to be set on a candlestick?
* Footnote * Matthew 5 : 15 Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but upon a candlestick, that it may shine to all that are in the house.
* Footnote * Luke 8 : 16 Now no man lighting a candle covereth it with a vessel or putteth it under a bed: but setteth it upon a candlestick, that they who come in may see the light.
* Footnote * Luke 11 : 33 No man lighteth a candle and putteth it in a hidden place, nor under a bushel: but upon a candlestick, that they that come in may see the light.
4:22 Non est enim aliquid absconditum, quod non manifestetur : nec factum est occultum, sed ut in palam veniat.
*H For there is nothing hid, which shall not be made manifest: neither was it made secret, but that it may come abroad.


Ver. 22. All my parables, doctrines, and actions, which appear now to you so full of mystery, shall not always be so: in due time they shall all be publicly expounded by you, my apostles, and by your successors. Tirinus.

* Footnote * Matthew 10 : 26 Therefore fear them not. For nothing is covered that shall not be revealed: nor hid, that shall not be known.
* Footnote * Luke 8 : 1 And it came to pass afterwards he travelled through the cities and towns, preaching and evangelizing the kingdom of God: and the twelve with him:
4:23 Si quis habet aures audiendi, audiat.
*H If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.


Ver. 23. And let him learn that he is not to bury in unjust silence the instructions or the examples I give him; but must exercise them for the light and direction of others. V.

4:24 Et dicebat illis : Videte quid audiatis. In qua mensura mensi fueritis, remetietur vobis, et adjicietur vobis.
*H And he said to them: Take heed what you hear. In what measure you shall mete, it shall be measured to you again, and more shall be given to you.


Ver. 24. Pay attention then to what you hear this day, that you may retain it, and communicate it to others, your brethren; for as you measure to others, so shall it be meted unto you; yes, more shall be given to you, who receive the word of God, if you be attentive to preserve it yourselves, and to communicate it to your brethren. V.

* Footnote * Matthew 7 : 2 For with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged: and with what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you again.
* Footnote * Luke 6 : 38 Give: and it shall be given to you: good measure and pressed down and shaken together and running over shall they give into your bosom. For with the same measure that you shall mete withal, it shall be measured to you again.
4:25 Qui enim habet, dabitur illi : et qui non habet, etiam quod habet auferetur ab eo.
*H For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, that also which he hath shall be taken away from him.


Ver. 25. They who do not profit by the knowledge of the word of God, shall in punishment of their neglect, lose the advantage which they may seem to have, since it will turn in the end to their greater condemnation: and moreover, by trusting to their own judgment, they interpret the word in a perverse sense, and thus also lose what they seem to have. Nic. de Lyra. — Let those who talk so much about Scripture, and interpret it according to their own private spirit or fancy, see lest this also attach to them. A.

* Footnote * Matthew 13 : 12 For he that hath, to him shall be given, and he shall abound: but he that hath not, from him shall be taken away that also which he hath.
* Footnote * Matthew 25 : 29 For to every one that hath shall be given, and he shall abound: but from him that hath not, that also which he seemeth to have shall be taken away.
* Footnote * Luke 8 : 18 Take heed therefore how you hear. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given: and whosoever hath not, that also which he thinketh he hath shall be taken away from him.
* Footnote * Luke 19 : 26 But I say to you that to every one that hath shall be given, and he shall abound: and from him that hath not, even that which he hath shall be taken from him.
4:26 Et dicebat : Sic est regnum Dei, quemadmodum si homo jaciat sementem in terram,
*H And he said: So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the earth,


Ver. 26. So it is with him who announces the gospel of the kingdom of God, as with the sower. For whether he sleep or rise, the seed will grow up while he knoweth not; and the well prepared soil will, by the blessing of God, be productive: so the word of God shed abroad in the heart of man, will increase and fructify independently of all the preacher's solicitude, till he who has received it, being arrived at the measure of the age and fulness of Christ, shall be withdrawn by God from this world, and be called to himself. V.

4:27 et dormiat, et exsurgat nocte et die, et semen germinet, et increscat dum nescit ille.
And should sleep, and rise, night and day, and the seed should spring, and grow up whilst he knoweth not.
4:28 Ultro enim terra fructificat, primum herbam, deinde spicam, deinde plenum frumentum in spica.
For the earth of itself bringeth forth fruit, first the blade, then the ear, afterwards the full corn in the ear.
4:29 Et cum produxerit fructus, statim mittit falcem, quoniam adest messis.
*H And when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.


Ver. 29. When the fruit is brought forth: lit. when the fruit [1] hath produced. By the fruit is here meant the seed; i.e. when the seed by degrees hath produced the blade, then the ear, and lastly the corn, which is become ripe. Wi. — This is a secondary sense of the text, when the fruit hath come to maturity, and by no means a forced interpretation.

4:30 Et dicebat : Cui assimilabimus regnum Dei ? aut cui parabolae comparabimus illud ?
And he said: To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? or to what parable shall we compare it?
4:31 Sicut granum sinapis, quod cum seminatum fuerit in terra, minus est omnibus seminibus, quae sunt in terra :
It is as a grain of mustard seed: which when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that are in the earth:
* Footnote * Matthew 13 : 31 Another parable he proposed unto them, saying: The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field.
* Footnote * Luke 13 : 19 It is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and cast into his garden: and it grew and became a great tree, and the birds of the air lodged in the branches thereof.
4:32 et cum seminatum fuerit, ascendit, et fit majus omnibus oleribus, et facit ramos magnos, ita ut possint sub umbra ejus aves caeli habitare.
And when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches, so that the birds of the air may dwell under the shadow thereof.
4:33 Et talibus multis parabolis loquebatur eis verbum, prout poterant audire :
*H And with many such parables, he spoke to them the word, according as they were able to hear.


Ver. 33. This seems to contradict what was said v. 12, that seeing they may not see, &c.; but we must observe, that parables have more explanations than one, some more easy, whilst others are more difficult to be understood. In parables, the multitude understood the more literal interpretation, whilst Christ explains the more abstruse and hidden sense to his apostles. Hence there is no contradiction in these texts. Nic. de Lyra.

4:34 sine parabola autem non loquebatur eis : seorsum autem discipulis suis disserebat omnia.
And without parable he did not speak unto them; but apart, he explained all things to his disciples.
4:35 Et ait illis in illa die, cum sero esset factum : Transeamus contra.
And he saith to them that day, when evening was come: Let us pass over to the other side.
4:36 Et dimittentes turbam, assumunt eum ita ut erat in navi : et aliae naves erant cum illo.
And sending away the multitude, they take him even as he was in the ship: and there were other ships with him.
* Footnote * Matthew 8 : 23 And when he entered into the boat, his disciples followed him:
* Footnote * Luke 8 : 22 And it came to pass on a certain day that he went into a little ship with his disciples. And he said to them: Let us go over to the other side of the lake. And they launched forth.
4:37 Et facta est procella magna venti, et fluctus mittebat in navim, ita ut impleretur navis.
And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that the ship was filled.
4:38 Et erat ipse in puppi super cervical dormiens : et excitant eum, et dicunt illi : Magister, non ad te pertinet, quia perimus ?
And he was in the hinder part of the ship, sleeping upon a pillow; and they awake him, and say to him: Master, doth, it not concern thee that we perish?
4:39 Et exsurgens comminatus est vento, et dixit mari : Tace, obmutesce. Et cessavit ventus : et facta est tranquillitas magna.
And rising up, he rebuked the wind, and said to the sea: Peace, be still. And the wind ceased: and there was made a great calm.
4:40 Et ait illis : Quid timidi estis ? necdum habetis fidem ? et timuerunt timore magno, et dicebant ad alterutrum : Quis, putas, est iste, quia et ventus et mare obediunt ei ?
And he said to them: Why are you fearful? have you not faith yet? And they feared exceedingly: and they said one to another: Who is this (thinkest thou) that both wind and sea obey him?
Prev Next