Mark 4 - Plain English Version(PEV)

Jesus told a story about seeds and ground

1Jesus went down to the lake again, and he started to teach people. A big mob of people went to listen to him, so he got into a boat and sat in it. He was a little bit away from the dry ground. All the people stayed on the dry ground and listened to his words.This is what the story about seeds and ground means

13Jesus kept on talking. He said, “Why can’t you understand this picture story? If you can’t understand this easy story, you will not understand the other stories that I’m going to tell you.

14Listen to me again. In my story, a man threw the seeds into his garden, to grow some food. He is a picture of somebody that tells God’s word to people.

15I said that some seeds fell on the road, and birds ate them up. Those seeds are a picture for God’s word, and the birds are a picture of Satan, the boss over the bad spirits. When some people hear God’s word, Satan makes them forget it, so they take no notice of its message.

16In my story there was ground with too much rock in it. That is a picture of people that listen to God’s word and they are happy about it, and they start to take notice of it.

17But other people see them believing that word, and those other people make trouble for them, so they stop taking notice of God’s word. They soon turn their back and walk away from it.

18In my story the man threw some seeds into rubbish grass, and that grass blocked them, so they couldn’t grow. That is a picture of people that hear God’s word,

19but after that, they let other things stop them, so they don’t live properly for God. They worry too much about the things they want in this life. They start to think too much about money, and they trick themselves. They want a lot of different things all the time, and they worry too much about all those things. They just think about what they want for themselves, and that stops them listening properly to God’s word, so they can’t live properly for God.

20In my story, the seeds that fell on the good ground grew properly, and after those plants grew up big, they made lots of new seeds. That is a picture of people that are ready to listen to God’s word, and do what he says. When they believe God’s word, they grow stronger and stronger for God, and they live God’s way.”

Jesus told a picture story about a light

21Then Jesus said, “When somebody lights a candle, they don’t put it under a bowl. And they don’t put that candle under their bed. No way. People put candles up high, so everyone can see clearly.God’s family grows like plants

26-29Jesus kept on teaching. He said, “I want you to know how God’s family grows. This is another picture story. A man wanted to grow some seed food, so he threw some seeds on the ground in his garden. Then that man walked away and left the seeds there. Those seeds grew all by themselves in that ground, and that man didn’t know what made those seeds grow. He just left them there for a few months, and they grew. At first the long stick part grew, and after that, the head part grew with all the seeds inside it. Then, when the seeds were ready, that man cut those plants down and picked up the seed food. God is boss for everyone, and his family will grow just like the plants in that story.”Jesus talked more about God’s family

30Jesus talked some more. He said, “Do you know what God’s family is like? I will tell you another picture story to help you understand it.

31God’s family is like a little seed, like the seed of the plant we call mustard. Its seeds are very little.

32When somebody puts one of those little seeds into the ground, it grows and grows. Later it gets really big with lots of branches. It gets bigger than all the other plants in a vegetable garden, and birds can sit down in the shade of its branches, and they can make their nests there too. Well, that is a picture of how God’s family will grow.”

33Jesus taught the people this way whenever they were ready to listen.

34Whenever he talked to all the people, he used picture stories. But later, when Jesus was sitting down with only his followers, he told them what those stories really mean.

Jesus told the storm to stop and be quiet

35On that same day, while Jesus was teaching, the sun started to go down. He was still sitting in the boat, so he stopped teaching and told his followers to take him across the lake.

36So they left all the other people behind, and his followers started to take him across the lake in their boat. Some other people got into their boats and followed them.

37A little bit later a really strong storm came. The wind got very strong, and the waves started to fill the boat with water, so it was starting to sink.

38Jesus was asleep in the back of the boat with his head on a pillow. His followers were frightened, so they woke him up, and they shouted at him, “Teacher, we will all drown, and you don’t care. Why don’t you do something?”

39Jesus opened his eyes, then he stood up, and he talked strongly to the wind and the water. He said, “Stop. Be quiet.” Straight away, the wind stopped and the water lay down flat. Everything was quiet and still.

40Then Jesus said to his followers, “Why are you so frightened? You should know by now that you can trust me.”

41They said to each other, “Look. The wind and the water listen to this man, and they do what he says. He is really powerful.” So they were really surprised and frightened.