Matthew 13:25-35

25 "But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among * the wheat, and went away.

26 "But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also.

27 "The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?'

28 "And he said to them, 'An enemy * has done this!' The slaves said to him, 'Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?'

29 "But he said, 'No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them.

30 'Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but ¹gather the wheat into my barn."' "

The Mustard Seed

31 He presented another parable to them, saying, "²The kingdom of heaven is like ³a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field;

32 and this is smaller than all other seeds, but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that ⁴THE BIRDS OF THE AIR come and NEST IN ITS BRANCHES."

The Leaven

33 He spoke another parable to them, "⁵The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in ⁶three pecks of flour until it was all leavened."

34 All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables, and He did not speak to them ⁷without a parable.

35 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: "⁸I WILL OPEN MY MOUTH IN PARABLES; I WILL UTTER THINGS HIDDEN SINCE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD."

Cross References

• 1. Matthew 3:12
• 2. Matthew 13:31, 32: {Mark 4:30-32; Luke 13:18, 19;} Matthew 13:24
• 3. Matthew 17:20; Luke 17:6
• 4. Ezekiel 17:23; Psalms 104:12; Ezekiel 31:6; Daniel 4:12
• 5. Matthew 13:33: {Luke 13:21;} Matthew 13:24
• 6. Genesis 18:6; Judges 6:19; 1 Samuel 1:24
• 7. Mark 4:34; John 10:6; John 16:25
• 8. Psalms 78:2

Footnotes

• [a] Or "darnel", a weed resembling wheat
• [b] Lit "grass"
• [c] Lit "From where"
• [d] Lit "enemy man"
• [e] Or "sky"
• [f] Gr "sata"