Matthew 13:24-43

The Parable of the Weeds

24 He put another parable before them, saying, ¹"The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field,

25 but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds^[a] among the wheat and went away.

26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also.

27 And the servants^[b] of the master of the house came and said to him, 'Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?'

28 He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' So the servants said to him, 'Then do you want us to go and gather them?'

29 But he said, ²'No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them.

30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, ³Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.'"

The Mustard Seed and the Leaven

31 He put another parable before them, saying, ⁴"The kingdom of heaven is like ⁵a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field.

32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches."

33 He told them another parable. ⁶"The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in ⁷three measures of flour, till it was ⁸all leavened."

Prophecy and Parables

34 ⁹All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable.

35 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet:^[c]10"I will open my mouth in parables; ¹¹I will utter what has been hidden ¹²since the foundation of the world."

The Parable of the Weeds Explained

36 Then he left the crowds and went into ¹³the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, ¹⁴"Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field."

37 He answered, "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.

38 The field is the world, and the good seed is ¹⁵the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are ¹⁶the sons of the evil one,

39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. ¹⁷The harvest is ¹⁸the close of the age, and the reapers are angels.

40 Just as the weeds ¹⁹are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at ²⁰the close of the age.

41 ²¹The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all ²²causes of sin and ²³all law-breakers,

42 ²⁴and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place ²⁵there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

43 Then ²⁶the righteous will shine like the sun ²⁷in the kingdom of their Father. ²⁸He who has ears, let him hear.

Cross References

• 1. ver. 37-42; [Mark 4:26-29]
• 2. [1 Corinthians 4:5]
• 3. Matthew 3:12
• 4. For ver. 31, 32, see Mark 4:30-32; Luke 13:18, 19
• 5. Matthew 17:20; Luke 17:6
• 6. Luke 13:20, 21
• 7. Genesis 18:6
• 8. 1 Corinthians 5:6; Galatians 5:9
• 9. ver. 3; Mark 4:33, 34; [John 16:25, 29]
• 10. Cited from Psalms 78:2
• 11. [ver. 11; Romans 16:25, 26; 1 Corinthians 2:7]
• 12. Matthew 25:34; Luke 11:50; [John 17:24; Ephesians 1:4; 1 Peter 1:20]
• 13. ver. 1
• 14. ver. 24-30; [Matthew 15:15]
• 15. [ver. 43]
• 16. John 8:44; Acts 13:10; 1 John 3:10; [Matthew 23:15]; See ver. 19
• 17. Joel 3:13; Revelation 14:15
• 18. ver. 49; Matthew 24:3; Matthew 28:20; [Daniel 12:13; Hebrews 9:26]
• 19. John 15:6; [Matthew 3:12]
• 20. [See ver. 39 above]
• 21. Matthew 24:31
• 22. Matthew 18:7; [Zephaniah 1:3]
• 23. Matthew 7:23
• 24. ver. 50; Revelation 9:2; [Revelation 19:20; Revelation 20:10]
• 25. See Matthew 8:12
• 26. Proverbs 4:18; Daniel 12:3; [1 Corinthians 15:41, 42]
• 27. [ver. 38; Matthew 25:34; Matthew 26:29; Luke 12:32]
• 28. See Matthew 11:15

Footnotes

• [a]. Probably darnel, a wheat-like weed
• [b]. Greek bondservants; also verse 28
• [c]. Some manuscripts Isaiah the prophet