4:6a

But: There is some contrast between the seeds sprouting quickly (4:5b) and the plants being scorched (4:6a). So the Berean Standard Bible uses the conjunction But here. However, it may be more natural in your language to use a different conjunction here. Here are some examples:

and (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
Then (Good News Bible)

In other languages, no conjunction is necessary here. For example, the God’s Word says:

When the sun came up

the sun rose: The Greek clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the sun rose here refers to the hottest part of the day. Here this clause does not refer to soon after sunrise, but to later in the day, perhaps midday. It may be necessary to make this explicit. For example:

the sun rose high in the sky
-or-
the sun became hot

the seedlings were scorched: This is a passive clause. If it is more natural in your language to use an active verb here, you can say:

the plants burned/dried up in the heat
-or-
the sun scorched the plants

scorched: The word scorched indicates that the heat from the sun caused the plants to become dry and brown. Your language may use a different verb than scorched in this context. Here are some examples:

the plants withered
-or-
the sun caused the plants to turn brown

4:6b

they withered because they had no root: The conjunction because introduces the reason why the plants withered. They withered because they had no root. In some languages it may be natural to reverse the order of the clauses in this verse part. For example:

because they had no root, they withered
-or-
they had no root and so they withered
-or-
they had no root, that is why they withered

withered: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as withered means “became dry.” When a plant becomes dry, its leaves shrink and turn brown, and the plant dies.

they had no root: The expression had no root is hyperbole. The expression emphasizes the fact that, because the soil was shallow, the plants did not have enough roots to live under the hot sun. The roots could not grow down past the rock to find water.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

because they did not have deep roots (New Century Version)
-or-
since their roots were so little/weak

root: The word root is singular. It may be more natural in your language to use a plural form here.

General Comment on 4:6a–b

In some languages it may be more natural to describe the phrase “were scorched, and they withered” using only one verb. For example:

they soon dried up

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