Exegesis:

automatē (only here and in Acts 12.10 in the N.T.) ‘of itself’: of something which happens without visible cause.

karpophorei (cf. 4.20) ‘it bears fruit,’ ‘it produces,’ ‘it yields a crop.’

chorton (6.39) ‘grass,’ ‘hay’: also refers to stalks of grain in their early grass-like stages (cf. Translator’s New Testament “green shoot”).

stachun (cf. 2.23) ‘head’ or ‘ear’ (of grain).

plērēs (8.19) ‘full’: here in the sense of ‘full grown,’ ‘mature,’ ‘ripe.’

sitos (only here in Mark) ‘wheat’ or ‘grain.’

Translation:

In some languages the relationship of the earth to the production of vegetation is quite easily expressed, e.g. ‘the earth is the mother of the seed’ (Tzeltal), but in others one cannot say that the ‘earth’ (which may mean only ‘the dirt’) produces plants of itself. In such instances one can say ‘plants come from the ground’ or ‘plants grow out of the earth’ (Kekchi).

The first three stages of growth are variously described in different languages, e.g. ‘first the leaf, then the seed-container and then the grain’ (Southern Subanen), and ‘first the grass, then the green wheat, and then the ripe wheat’ (Mitla Zapotec).

Ear must be altered in many languages, e.g. ‘eyes of the grain’ (Shilluk), referring to the tender grain in formation, and ‘heads of the grain,’ denoting the ripened grain.

In this context it is not necessary to try to specify the details of the growth of wheat, especially in areas where such plants are not known. One can just as appropriately use Indian corn (Kekchi, Highland Totonac, Copainalá Zoque).

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of Mark. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1961. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .