Polyglot Concordance / Mk · Parables of the Kingdom
New Testament · Parables of the Kingdom · Mark

Mark 4 : 26

EN He said, “God’s Kingdom is as if a man should cast seed on the earth,

ES Decía más: Así es el reino de Dios, como si un hombre echa simiente en la tierra;

ZH-HANS 又说：「 神的国如同人把种撒在地上。

ZH-HANT 又說：「上帝的國如同人把種撒在地上。

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Critical apparatus

7 variants · 3 witnesses
𝔊 grk ℙ syr 𝔙 vul
grammar All three attest
Greek NT ἔλεγεν·
Peshitta ܘܐܡܪ ܗܘܐ
Vulgate dicebat

The Peshitta employs a periphrastic construction ܘܐܡܪ ܗܘܐ (wa-'amar hwa, 'and he was saying') using the auxiliary verb ܗܘܐ to render the Greek imperfect ἔλεγεν, while the Vulgate uses the simple imperfect dicebat. All three convey iterative or durative past action, but Syriac requires the periphrastic form where Greek and Latin use synthetic morphology.

𝔊 grk ℙ syr 𝔙 vul
punctuation Vulgate only
Vulgate Sic

The Vulgate inserts a colon after dicebat to mark the transition to direct discourse, a punctuation convention absent in the Greek and Peshitta manuscript traditions. This reflects Latin scribal practice rather than a textual variant.

𝔊 grk ℙ syr 𝔙 vul
grammar All three attest
Greek NT ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ
Peshitta ܡܠܟܘܬܐ ܕܐܠܗܐ
Vulgate Dei quemadmodum

Greek employs the definite article ἡ before βασιλεία (ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ), a standard Greek construction for definite noun phrases. Neither Syriac nor Latin possesses a definite article; Syriac uses the emphatic state ܡܠܟܘܬܐ ܕܐܠܗܐ and Latin the bare noun regnum Dei, both semantically equivalent to the Greek articulated phrase.

𝔊 grk ℙ syr 𝔙 vul
construction All three attest
Greek NT ὡς ἐὰν
Peshitta ܐܝܟ
Vulgate si homo

Greek uses the compound comparative particle ὡς ἐάν ('as if') to introduce the simile with conditional nuance. Syriac employs the simple comparative ܐܝܟ ('like, as'), omitting the conditional element. Latin expands with quemadmodum si ('just as if'), making the conditional explicit. All three convey similitude, but with differing degrees of modal qualification.

𝔊 grk ℙ syr 𝔙 vul
construction All three attest
Greek NT βάλῃ
Peshitta ܕܢܪܡܐ
Vulgate sementem

Greek uses the aorist subjunctive βάλῃ in a conditional protasis (ἐὰν... βάλῃ). Syriac employs the d- prefix with imperfect ܕܢܪܡܐ (d-nermē), a standard Syriac construction for purpose or result clauses that here functions as the conditional. Latin uses the present subjunctive jaciat, standard in conditional clauses. All three express the same hypothetical action, but through language-specific modal constructions.

𝔊 grk ℙ syr 𝔙 vul
grammar All three attest
Greek NT τὸν σπόρον
Peshitta ܙܪܥܐ
Vulgate in

Greek uses the definite article τὸν with σπόρον ('the seed'), marking it as definite or generic. Syriac ܙܪܥܐ (zar'ā) and Latin sementem lack articles but convey the same semantic force through context. The Vulgate's choice of sementem (accusative of semens, 'sowing, seed-sowing') rather than semen emphasizes the act of sowing, though both are semantically acceptable renderings of σπόρος.

𝔊 grk ℙ syr 𝔙 vul
construction All three attest
Greek NT ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς
Peshitta ܒܐܪܥܐ
Vulgate terram

Greek uses the preposition ἐπί with genitive τῆς γῆς ('upon the earth'), emphasizing surface contact. Syriac uses the preposition ܒ (b-) with ܐܪܥܐ ('in/on the earth'), a common Semitic idiom where ܒ covers both 'in' and 'on'. Latin uses in with accusative terram, which can mean 'into' or 'onto'. All three convey the location of the sowing action, but with slight prepositional nuances reflecting each language's spatial semantics.