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Parables · 6 of 45

The Lamp on a Stand

In Galilee

Mark 4:21–25

4 accounts of this passage

Mark 4:21–25

21He said to them, "Is a lamp brought to be placed under a basket or under a bed, and not to be set on a stand?" 22Everything that is hidden will eventually be brought into the open, and every secret will come to light. 23“If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” 24He also said to them, "Pay close attention to what you hear. The measure you use will be the measure you receive, and to you who hear, more will be given." 25For whoever has, more will be given to them; and whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken away.

Read Mark 4

About this passage

What the parable says

No one lights a lamp and hides it under a basket or a bed. It is put on a stand so that it gives light. Jesus said that what is hidden will be made known, and he told his hearers to be careful how they listen.

Where this fits

One of 45 passages in Jesus' Parables, in the group “In Galilee.”

Good to know

Jesus uses the same picture in the Sermon on the Mount, and again in Luke 11 on the road to Jerusalem.

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