Mark 4:1-9 - Revision of the Textus Receptus

The gospel according to Mark

Chapter 4

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1. και παλιν ηρξατο διδασκειν παρα την θαλασσαν και συνηχθη[1] προς αυτον οχλος πολυς ωστε αυτον εμβαντα εις το[2] πλοιον καθησθαι εν τη θαλασση και πας ο οχλος προς την θαλασσαν επι της γης ην[3] And he began to teach again by the seaside. And a great[4] multitude was gathered to him, so that he got into the boat and sat in it on the sea. And the whole multitude was on the land by the sea.

2. και εδιδασκεν αυτους εν παραβολαις πολλα και ελεγεν αυτοις εν τη διδαχη αυτου And he taught them many things in parables, and said to them in his teaching,

3. ακουετε ιδου εξηλθεν ο σπειρων του[5] σπειραι “Listen! Behold, the sower went out to sow.

4. και εγενετο εν τω σπειρειν ο μεν επεσεν παρα την οδον και ηλθεν τα πετεινα και κατεφαγεν αυτο As he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside, and the birds [6] came and devoured it.

5. και[7] αλλο επεσεν επι το πετρωδες οπου ουκ ειχεν γην πολλην και ευθεως[8] εξανετειλεν δια το μη εχειν βαθος γης And another fell on the rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of soil.

6. και οτε ανετειλεν ο ηλιος[9] εκαυματισθη και δια το μη εχειν ριζαν εξηρανθη And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and because it had no root, it withered away.

7. και αλλο επεσεν εις τας ακανθας και ανεβησαν αι ακανθαι και συνεπνιξαν αυτο και καρπον ουκ εδωκεν And another fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.

8. και αλλο[10] επεσεν εις την γην την καλην και εδιδου καρπον αναβαινοντα και αυξανοντα[11] και εφερεν εν τριακοντα και εν εξηκοντα και εν εκατον And another fell on good ground and yielded fruit, growing up and increasing. And one bore thirty, and one sixty, and one a hundredfold.”

9. και ελεγεν ο εχων[12] ωτα ακουειν ακουετω And he said [13], “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

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[1] NA-Text reads “συναγεται” (present instead of aorist).

[2] NA-Text omits the definite article “το” before “boat”.

[3] NA-Text and P-Text read “ησαν” (plural instead of singular), which is supported by codices א, B, C, L, Δ, 074, minuscules 33, 892 and 1241. The TR is supported by codices A, D, W, Θ, 0133, both families of manuscripts ƒ¹ and ƒ¹³, the Byzantine manuscripts and Theophylact. The support for the singular is better and it makes more sense to go with the singular “the multitude”.

[4] NA-Text reads “very large” (Gr.: “πλειστος”).

[5] NA-Text omits the definite article “του”.

[6] NA-Text, VgSt, WPF³⁵, PT and M-Text omit “of the air”. The omission is supported by codices א, B, Θ, Bede and the majority of the Byzantine manuscripts. The inclusion is supported by Theophylact and codex D. External evidence is on the side of the non-inclusion. The parallel passage in Matthew 13:4 omits it and Luke 8:5 includes it. Further down in verse 32, Mark wrote “birds of the air”. “birds of the air” is a more common expression in the gospels which may have created enough memory in the scribes so as to become more susceptible of natural addition by accident. This tendency to add “of the air” after “birds”, can be seen in some manuscripts in Matt. 13:4 (codices K, Θ and family of manuscripts ƒ¹³) and Luke 12:24 (codex D and papyrus 45). Therefore, it is more prudent to remove “of the air” from the text, following the NA-Text and the M-Text.

[7] NA-Text and P-Text read “και”, placing it before the verb at the beginning of the verse, which is supported by codices א, B, D and Θ. The TR is supported by the Byzantine manuscripts and Theophylact. The meaning is the same, but as the support is better for the Alexandrian arrangement, it has been adopted in the Greek text.

[8] NA-Text reads “ευθυς”. Same adverb, different spelling.

[9] NA-Text and Vg-St read “και οτε ανετειλεν ο ηλιος” (Latin equivalent: “et quando exortus est sol”), which is supported by codices א, B, C, D, L, Δ and Θ and the Coptic versions. The TR is supported by codices A, Π, the Byzantine manuscripts, the Gothic version and Theophylact. Even though this is not a translatable difference, the parallel passage in Matthew 13:6 reads word for word like the Byzantine text, which is a sign of harmonization. The Alexandrian reading has then been adopted in the Greek text.

[10] NA-Text “αλλα” (plural instead of singular).

[11] NA-Text “αυξανομενα”. Same verbal tense spelled differently.

[12] NA-Text reads “ος εχει” (participle instead of indicative). This is not a translatable difference. The parallel passages in Matt. 13:9 and Luke 8:8 read like the Byzantine text, but the external support is not good enough to indicate that there was a local harmonization going on in the Byzantine text for this verse. It is not safe to adopt the Nestle-Aland reading here.

[13] NA-Text and M-Text omit “to them” (Gr.: “αυτοις”). The pronoun is omitted by codices א, B, D, Θ, the majority of the Byzantine manuscripts and Bede. The inclusion is supported by part of the Byzantine manuscripts and Theophylact. The addition likely came into this verse by harmonization with the beginning of verse 11. The pronoun has been omitted from the text following the NA-Text and the M-Text.

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Notes:

1. Text in red letters are places where the original reading in the Textus Receptus has been revised and corrected;

2. The English translation used as a reference is the WEB brought to conformity as literal as possible to the Textus Receptus. The end product though is not the WEB or a revised WEB and it should not be called WEB. The content of this post is freely available to everyone and it is not supposed to be copyrighted;

3. TR: Textus Receptus. This text is not copyrighted;

4. NA-Text: Nestle-Aland text commonly known as critical text;

5. M-Text: Majority Text;

6. VgSt: Vulgate of Stuttgart;  

7. WPF³⁵: Wilbur Pickering-family 35;

8. P-Text: Patriarchal Text, also known as Patriarchal Greek New Testament, published by the ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.

9. The creator of the variant apparatus available in the VarApp kindly gave me permission to freely use the information contained in the material he put together.

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To God all the glory for the preservation of the scriptures! He reigns!