Mark 4:2

Modern

And He taught them many things in parables, and in His teaching He said,

Traditional

And he taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine,

Literal

And He was teaching them many things in parables, and He was saying to them in His teaching,

Latin

…et docebat eos in parabolis multa, et dicebat illis in doctrina sua:

Greek

English

And He taught them many things in parables, and in His teaching He said,

Parables are often stories (Luke 15:11–32; 18:1–8) but can also be:

proverbs (short, wise sayings that teach a general truth; Mark 3:24–25; Luke 4:23),
similes and metaphors (Matthew 5:14; 10:16),
riddles (Mark 7:15; 14:58),
comparisons (Matthew 13:33; Luke 15:3–7),
examples (Luke 10:30–35; 12:16–21), or
allegories (metaphors with specific symbols representing each part of the story; Mark 4:3–9; 12:1–12).

In this section, Mark gathers several teaching parables of Jesus. A parable is a short story that teaches a spiritual truth.

Theme notes and profiles

Mark 3:23
So Jesus called them together and began to speak to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan?
Matthew 13:34–35
Jesus spoke all these things to the crowds in parables. He did not tell them anything without using a parable.
Mark 4:11
He replied, “The mystery of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to those on the outside everything is expressed in parables,
Psalm 78:2
I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the beginning,
Matthew 13:10
Then the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Why do You speak to the people in parables?”
Psalm 49:4
I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will express my riddle with the harp:
Matthew 13:3
And He told them many things in parables, saying, “A farmer went out to sow his seed.
Mark 4:33–34
With many such parables Jesus spoke the word to them, to the extent that they could understand.
Matthew 7:28
When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astonished at His teaching,
Mark 12:38
In His teaching Jesus also said, “Watch out for the scribes. They like to walk around in long robes, to receive greetings in the marketplaces,
John 7:16–17
“My teaching is not My own,” Jesus replied. “It comes from Him who sent Me.
John 18:19
Meanwhile, the high priest questioned Jesus about His disciples and His teaching.