Mark Chapter 4 verse 21 Holy Bible
And he said unto them, Is the lamp brought to be put under the bushel, or under the bed, `and' not to be put on the stand?
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And he said to them, When the light comes in, do people put it under a vessel, or under the bed, and not on its table?
read chapter 4 in BBE
And he said to them, Does the lamp come that it should be put under the bushel or under the couch? [Is it] not that it should be set upon the lamp-stand?
read chapter 4 in DARBY
And he said unto them, Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? and not to be set on a candlestick?
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read chapter 4 in WBT
He said to them, "Is the lamp brought to be put under a basket{Literally, a modion, a dry measuring basket containing about a peck (about 9 litres)} or under a bed? Isn't it put on a lampstand?
read chapter 4 in WEB
And he said to them, `Doth the lamp come that under the measure it may be put, or under the couch -- not that it may be put on the lamp-stand?
read chapter 4 in YLT
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 21. - Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, etc.? The Greek is ὁ λύχνος, and is better rendered the lamp. The figure is recorded by St. Matthew (Matthew 5:15) as used by our Lord in his sermon on the mount. It is evident that he repeated his sayings, and used them sometimes in a different connection. The lamp is here the light of Divine truth, shining in the person of Christ. Is the lamp brought to be put under the bushel? It comes to us. The light in our souls is not of our own kindling; it comes to us from God, that we may manifest it for his glory. "The bushel" (μόδιος), from the Latin medias, a measure containing flour, was the flour-bin, a part of the furniture of every house, as was the tall lampstand with its single light. St, Luke (Luke 8:16) calls it "a vessel" (καλύπτει αὐτὸν σκεύει). The light is to be set on "a lamp-stand," and in like manner the light which we have received is to shine before men. As Christians, we are Christ's light-bearers. By this illustration our Lord teaches that he was unwilling that the mysteries of this great parable of the sower and of other parables should be concealed, but that his disciples should unfold these things to others as he had to them, although at present they might not be able to receive them.
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(21) Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel?--See Note on Matthew 5:15. St. Mark, it will be noted, omits all the other parables that follow in St. Matthew, and connects with that of the Sower sayings more or less proverbial, which in St. Matthew appear in a different context. Looking at our Lord's method of teaching by the repetition of proverbs under different aspects and on different occasions, it is not unlikely that this of the "candle" was actually spoken in the connection in which we find it here. Their knowledge of the meaning of the parable was not given them for themselves alone, but was to shine forth to others. We probably owe to the saying so uttered the record of this parable given in three out of the four Gospels.
