Matius 13:24-27

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?’

Matius 13:37-38

13:37 He ⁵  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 ⁶  of the kingdom. The weeds are the people ⁷  of the evil one,

[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.

[13:37]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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.