Mark 4:30-32

Parable of the Mustard Seed

^{Tools
30} And He said, “How shall we ^(a)picture the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use to illustrate and explain it?^(A) ^{Tools
31} It is like a mustard seed, which, when it is sown on the ground, even though it is ^(b)smaller than all the [other] seeds that are [sown] on the soil,

Parable of the Mustard Seed

^{Tools
32} yet when it is sown, it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden herbs; and it puts out large branches, so that the birds of the sky are able to make nests and live under its shade.”^(B)

Footnotes:

a. Mark 4:30: Lit compare.

b. Mark 4:31: In ancient Israel the mustard seed was the smallest known seed, and in rabbinic teaching the mustard seed was used as an example of something very small (in the Talmud).

Cross references:

A. Mark 4:30: Matthew 13:31; Matthew 13:32; Luke 13:18; Luke 13:19

B. Mark 4:32: Psalm 104:12; Ezekiel 17:23; Ezekiel 31:6