Matthew 13:32-42

32 it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches."
33 He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened."
34 Jesus told the crowds all these things in parables; without a parable he told them nothing.
35 This was to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet: "I will open my mouth to speak in parables; I will proclaim what has been hidden from the foundation of the world."
36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, "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 are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one,
39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.
40 Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age.
41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers,
42 and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Footnotes 3

  • [a]. Gk [hid in]
  • [b]. Other ancient authorities read [the prophet Isaiah]
  • [c]. Other ancient authorities lack [of the world]
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.