Mark 4 : 26

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.