Matthew 13:30-40

English Standard Version

³⁰ Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, ^(A)“Gather 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, ^(B)“The kingdom of heaven is like ^(C)a 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. ^(D)“The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in ^(E)three measures of flour, till it was ^(F)all leavened.”

Prophecy and Parables

^34 (G)All 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:^[a]

The Parable of the Weeds Explained

³⁶ Then he left the crowds and went into ^(K)the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, ^(L)“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 ^(M)the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are ^(N)the sons of the evil one, ³⁹ and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. ^(O)The harvest is ^(P)the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. ⁴⁰ Just as the weeds ^(Q)are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at ^(R)the end of the age.