Matius 13:24-28

The Parable of the Weeds

13:24 He presented them with another parable: ¹  “The kingdom of heaven is like a person who sowed good seed in his field. 13:25 But while everyone was sleeping, an enemy came and sowed weeds ²  among the wheat and went away. 13:26 When ³  the plants sprouted and bore grain, then the weeds also appeared. 13:27 So the slaves ⁴  of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Then where did the weeds come from?’ 13:28 He said, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So ⁵  the slaves replied, ‘Do you want us to go and gather them?’

Matius 13:36-43

Explanation for the Disciples

13:36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” 13:37 He ⁶  answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. 13:38 The field is the world and the good seed are the people ⁷  of the kingdom. The weeds are the people ⁸  of the evil one, 13:39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 13:40 As ⁹  the weeds are collected and burned with fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 13:41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather from his kingdom everything that causes sin as well as all lawbreakers. ¹⁰  13:42 They will throw them into the fiery furnace, ¹¹  where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 13:43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. ¹²  The one who has ears had better listen! ¹³ 

[13:24]  ¹ tn Grk “He set before them another parable, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant and has not been translated.

[13:25]  ² tn Grk “sowed darnel.” The Greek term ζιζάνιον (zizanion) refers to an especially undesirable weed that looks like wheat but has poisonous seeds (L&N 3.30).

[13:26]  ³ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[13:27]  ⁴ tn See the note on the word “slave” in 8:9.

[13:28]  ⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the owner’s statement.

[13:37]  ⁶ tn Grk “And answering, he said.” This construction is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[13:38]  ⁷ tn Grk “the sons of the kingdom.” This idiom refers to people who should properly be, or were traditionally regarded as, a part of God’s kingdom. L&N 11.13 translates the phrase: “people of God’s kingdom, God’s people.”

[13:38]  ⁸ tn Grk “the sons of the evil one.” See the preceding note on the phrase “people of the kingdom” earlier in this verse, which is the opposite of this phrase. See also L&N 9.4; 11.13; 11.14.

[13:40]  ⁹ tn Grk “Therefore as.” Here οὖν (oun) has not been translated.

[13:41]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “the ones who practice lawlessness.”

[13:42]  ¹¹ sn A quotation from Dan 3:6.

[13:43]  ¹² sn An allusion to Dan 12:3.

[13:43]  ¹³ tn The translation “had better listen!” captures the force of the third person imperative more effectively than the traditional “let him hear,” which sounds more like a permissive than an imperative to the modern English reader. This was Jesus’ common expression to listen and heed carefully (cf. Matt 11:15, 13:9; Mark 4:9, 23; Luke 8:8, 14:35).