Mark 4:30
New International Version
Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it?

New Living Translation
Jesus said, “How can I describe the Kingdom of God? What story should I use to illustrate it?

English Standard Version
And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it?

Berean Standard Bible
Then He asked, “To what can we compare the kingdom of God? With what parable shall we present it?

Berean Literal Bible
And He was saying, "To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what parable shall we present it?

King James Bible
And he said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it?

New King James Version
Then He said, “To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what parable shall we picture it?

New American Standard Bible
And He was saying, “How shall we picture the kingdom of God, or by what parable shall we present it?

NASB 1995
And He said, “How shall we picture the kingdom of God, or by what parable shall we present it?

NASB 1977
And He said, “How shall we picture the kingdom of God, or by what parable shall we present it?

Legacy Standard Bible
And He was saying, “How shall we compare the kingdom of God, or by what parable shall we present it?

Amplified Bible
And He said, “How shall we picture the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use to illustrate and explain it?

Christian Standard Bible
And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable can we use to describe it?

Holman Christian Standard Bible
And He said: “How can we illustrate the kingdom of God, or what parable can we use to describe it?

American Standard Version
And he said, How shall we liken the kingdom of God? or in what parable shall we set it forth?

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And he said, “to what shall we compare the Kingdom of God and with what parable shall we illustrate it?”

Contemporary English Version
Finally, Jesus said: What is God's kingdom like? What story can I use to explain it?

Douay-Rheims Bible
And he said: To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? or to what parable shall we compare it?

English Revised Version
And he said, How shall we liken the kingdom of God? or in what parable shall we set it forth?

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Jesus asked, "How can we show what the kingdom of God is like? To what can we compare it?

Good News Translation
"What shall we say the Kingdom of God is like?" asked Jesus. "What parable shall we use to explain it?

International Standard Version
He was also saying, "How can we show what the kingdom of God is like, or what parable can we use to describe it?

Literal Standard Version
And He said, “To what may we liken the Kingdom of God, or in what allegory may we compare it?

Majority Standard Bible
Then He asked, “To what can we compare the kingdom of God? With what parable shall we present it?

New American Bible
He said, “To what shall we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable can we use for it?

NET Bible
He also asked, "To what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable can we use to present it?

New Revised Standard Version
He also said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it?

New Heart English Bible
And he said, "To what will we liken the Kingdom of God? Or with what parable will we use for it?

Webster's Bible Translation
And he said, To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it?

Weymouth New Testament
Another saying of His was this: "How are we to picture the Kingdom of God? or by what figure of speech shall we represent it?

World English Bible
He said, “How will we liken God’s Kingdom? Or with what parable will we illustrate it?

Young's Literal Translation
And he said, 'To what may we liken the reign of God, or in what simile may we compare it?

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
29And as soon as the grain is ripe, he swings the sickle, because the harvest has come.” 30Then He asked, “To what can we compare the kingdom of God? With what parable shall we present it? 31It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds sown upon the earth.…

Cross References
Matthew 13:24
Jesus put before them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.

Matthew 13:31
He put before them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man planted in his field.

Matthew 13:32
Although it is the smallest of all seeds, yet it grows into the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches."

Mark 4:31
It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds sown upon the earth.

Luke 13:18
Then Jesus asked, "What is the kingdom of God like? To what can I compare it?

Luke 13:19
It is like a mustard seed that a man tossed into his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches."


Treasury of Scripture

And he said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it?

Lamentations 2:13
What thing shall I take to witness for thee? what thing shall I liken to thee, O daughter of Jerusalem? what shall I equal to thee, that I may comfort thee, O virgin daughter of Zion? for thy breach is great like the sea: who can heal thee?

Matthew 11:16
But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows,

Luke 13:18,20,21
Then said he, Unto what is the kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I resemble it? …

Jump to Previous
Clear Compare Comparison Describe Figure Forth Kingdom Liken Parable Picture Present Reign Represent Simile Speech Story Use Whereunto
Jump to Next
Clear Compare Comparison Describe Figure Forth Kingdom Liken Parable Picture Present Reign Represent Simile Speech Story Use Whereunto
Mark 4
1. The parable of the sower,
14. and the meaning thereof.
21. We must communicate the light of our knowledge to others.
26. The parable of the seed growing secretly;
30. and of the mustard seed.
35. Jesus stills the storm on the sea.














(30) With what comparison shall we compare it?--Literally, By what parable shall we set it forth? The question which introduces the parable is in St. Mark and St. Luke, but not in St. Matthew. It gives us the impression of a question asked, in order to put the minds of the hearers on the stretch, so that they might welcome the answer.

Verses 30-32. - Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it! In the first clause of this verse the best authorities give πῶς for τίνι, How shall we liken the kingdom of God? and in the second clause, instead of the Greek of which the Authorized Version is the rendering, the best-approved reading is (τίνι αὐτὴν παραβολῇ θῶμεν), in what parable shall we set it forth? Our Lord thus stimulates the intellect of his hearers, by making them his associates, as it were, in the search for appropriate similitudes (see Dr. Morison, in loc.). The kingdom of God, that is, his Church on earth, is like a grain of mustard seed. By this image our Lord shows the great power, fertility, and extension of the Church; inasmuch as it started from a very small and apparently insignificant beginning, and spread itself over the whole world. It is not literally and absolutely true that the grain of mustard seed is less than all seeds. There are other seeds which are less than it. But the expression may readily be allowed when we compare the smallness of the seed with the greatness of the results produced by it. It is one of the least of all seeds. And so the preaching of the Gospel and the establishment of the Church was one of the smallest of beginnings. Perhaps the well-known pungency of the seed of the mustard plant may suggest the quickening, stimulating power of the Gospel when it takes root in the heart. The mustard plant shoots out large branches, which are used as fuel in some countries, quite large enough for shadow for the birds. A traveler in South America says that it grows to so large a tree upon the slopes of the mountains of Chili that he could ride under its branches.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
Then
Καὶ (Kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

He asked,
ἔλεγεν (elegen)
Verb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 2036: Answer, bid, bring word, command. A primary verb; to speak or say.

“To what
Πῶς (Pōs)
Adverb
Strong's 4459: Adverb from the base of pou; an interrogative particle of manner; in what way?; also as exclamation, how much!

can we compare
ὁμοιώσωμεν (homoiōsōmen)
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 1st Person Plural
Strong's 3666: To make like, liken; I compare. From homoios; to assimilate, i.e. Compare; passively, to become similar.

the
τὴν (tēn)
Article - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

kingdom
βασιλείαν (basileian)
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 932: From basileus; properly, royalty, i.e. rule, or a realm.

of God?
Θεοῦ (Theou)
Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 2316: A deity, especially the supreme Divinity; figuratively, a magistrate; by Hebraism, very.

With
ἐν (en)
Preposition
Strong's 1722: In, on, among. A primary preposition denoting position, and instrumentality, i.e. A relation of rest; 'in, ' at, on, by, etc.

what
τίνι (tini)
Interrogative / Indefinite Pronoun - Dative Feminine Singular
Strong's 5101: Who, which, what, why. Probably emphatic of tis; an interrogative pronoun, who, which or what.

parable
παραβολῇ (parabolē)
Noun - Dative Feminine Singular
Strong's 3850: From paraballo; a similitude, i.e. fictitious narrative, apothegm or adage.

shall we present
θῶμεν (thōmen)
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 1st Person Plural
Strong's 5087: To put, place, lay, set, fix, establish. A prolonged form of a primary theo to place.

it?
αὐτὴν (autēn)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Accusative Feminine 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 846: He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.


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NT Gospels: Mark 4:30 He said How will we liken (Mar Mk Mr)
Mark 4:29
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