Mark 4:31
It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth:
Mark 4:31 in other translations
| BSB | It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds sown upon the earth. |
|---|---|
| WEB | It’s like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, though it is less than all the seeds that are on the earth, |
| ASV | It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown upon the earth, though it be less than all the seeds that are upon the earth, |
| YLT | As a grain of mustard, which, whenever it may be sown on the earth, is less than any of the seeds that are on the earth; |
| DARBY | As to a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown upon the earth, is less than all seeds which are upon the earth, |
| BBE | It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is put in the earth, is smaller than all the seeds on the earth, |
| Webster | It is like a grain of mustard-seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that are in the earth. |
What does Mark 4:31 mean?
Barnes' Notes
Adam Clarke's Commentary
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Mark 4:21-34
These declarations were intended to call the attention of the disciples to the word of Christ. By his thus instructing them, they were made able to instruct others; as candles are lighted, not to be covered, but to be placed on a candlestick, that they may give light to a room. This parable of the good seed, shows the manner in which the kingdom of God makes progress in the world. Let but the word of Christ have the…
Mark 4:31 in the original Greek
Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.
Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).
Cross references for Mark 4:31
- Acts 19:20
So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.
- Genesis 22:17-18
That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
- Luke 13:18-19
Then said he, Unto what is the kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I resemble it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into his garden; and it grew, and waxed a great tree; and the fowls of the air lodged in the branches of it.
- Daniel 2:44-45
And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.
- Malachi 1:11
For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the Lord of hosts.
- Isaiah 53:2
For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
- Psalms 72:16-19
There shall be an handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon: and they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth. His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed. Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things. And blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen.
- Acts 4:4
Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand.
- Isaiah 2:2-3
And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
- Isaiah 49:6-7
And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth. Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the Lord that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee.
- Acts 5:14
And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.)
- Ezekiel 17:22-24
Thus saith the Lord God; I will also take of the highest branch of the high cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the top of his young twigs a tender one, and will plant it upon an high mountain and eminent: In the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it: and it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a goodly cedar: and under it shall dwell all fowl of every wing; in the shadow of the branches thereof shall they dwell. And all the trees of the field shall know that I the Lord have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish: I the Lord have spoken and have done it.
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Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Mt 13:31-33; Lu 13:18,19
mustard seed.Mustard, [sinapi ,] is a well-known plant of the tetradynamia siliquosa class, distinguished by its yellow cruciform flowers, with expanding calyx, and its pods smooth, square, and close to the stem. Its seed was probably the smallest known to the Jews; and though its ordinary height does not exceed four feet, yet a species grows to the height of from three to five cubits, with a tapering, ligneous stalk, and spreading branches.
is less than.
Ge 22:17,18; Ps 72:16-19; Isa 2:2,3; 9:7; 49:6,7; 53:2,12; 54:1-3
Isa 60:22; Eze 17:22-24; Da 2:34,35,44,45; Am 9:11-15; Mic 4:1,2
Zec 2:11; 8:20-23; 12:8; 14:6-9; Mal 1:11; Ac 2:41; 4:4; 5:14; 19:20
Ac 21:20; Re 11:15; 20:1-6
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain
Context
- Mark 4:30
And he said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it?
- Mark 4:31
It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth:
- Mark 4:32
But when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it.
Mark 4:31 in other languages
| Spanish Reina-Valera 1909 | Es como el grano de mostaza, que, cuando se siembra en tierra, es la más pequeña de todas las simientes que hay en la tierra; |
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| French Bible J.N. Darby 1885 | Il est semblable à un grain de moutarde, qui, lorsqu’il est semé sur la terre, est la plus petite de toutes les semences qui sont sur la terre; |
| German Elberfelder 1871 | Gleichwie ein Senfkorn, welches, wenn es auf die Erde gesät wird, kleiner ist als alle Samen, die auf der Erde sind; |
| Latin Clementine Vulgate | Sicut granum sinapis, quod cum seminatum fuerit in terra, minus est omnibus seminibus, quæ sunt in terra: |