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24 Jesus told the people another story. He said, `The kingdom of heaven is like this. A man sowed good seed in his field.

25 While people were sleeping, a bad man came and sowed weeds among the good seed. Then he went away.

26 The good seed grew and the plants gave more seeds. Then the weeds grew too.

27 The servants came and said to the man who owned the field, "Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How did the weeds get here?"

28 `He answered them, "A bad man has done this." They asked him, "Do you want us to go and pull up the weeds?"

29 ` "No," said the man. "If you pull up the weeds, then the good plants will come up with them.

30 Let them both grow together until the harvest time. When it is time to cut it, I will say to the men who cut it, `Cut the weeds first. Tie them in bundles to be burned. Then put the grain into my storehouse.' " '

31 Jesus told the people another story. He said, `The kingdom of heaven is like this. A man took a mustard seed and planted it in his field.

32 A mustard seed is the smallest of all seeds. But the plant that grows from it is bigger than other plants. It is like a tree. It is so big that birds come and live in the branches.'

33 Jesus told them another story. He said, `The kingdom of heaven is like this. A woman took yeast and mixed it with many cups of flour. The yeast went all through the flour.'

34 Jesus told the people all these things in stories. He did not tell them anything without a story.

35 What the prophet of God said long ago, came true. He said, `I will use stories. I will tell things that have been secret since the world was made.'

36 Then Jesus left the people and went into the house. His disciples came to him. They said, `Tell us the meaning of the story about the weeds in the field.'

37 Jesus answered, `The person who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.

38 The field is the world. The good seed means the people who belong to the kingdom. The weeds mean those who belong to the bad one.

39 The bad man who planted the weeds is the devil. The harvest time is the end of this world. The men who cut the harvest are angels.

40 The weeds are gathered and burned in a fire. That is the way it will be at the end of the world.

41 The Son of Man will send his angels. They will gather everything that is bad and the people who do bad things. They will take them out of his kingdom.

42 They will put them into the big fire. There they will cry and make a noise with their teeth.

43 Then the people who are right with God will shine like the sun in their Father's kingdom. Everyone who has ears, listen.'

44 `The kingdom of heaven is like this. Something worth a lot of money is buried in a field. A man found it and covered it again. He was so glad that he went and sold everything he had. Then he bought that field.'

45 `The kingdom of heaven is like this. A trader was looking for fine stones called pearls.

46 He found a pearl that was worth a lot of money. Then he went and sold everything he had and bought it.'

47 `The kingdom of heaven is like this. A fish net was thrown into the sea. It caught all kinds of fish.

48 When it was full, the men pulled it to the land. They sat down and picked out the good fish into baskets. But they threw the bad fish away.

49 That is the way it will be at the end of the world. The angels will come and take the bad people away from the good people.

50 They will put the bad people into the never-ending hell fire. There they will cry and make a noise with their teeth.'

51 Jesus asked, `Have you understood all these stories?' The disciples said, `Yes.'

52 Then Jesus said to them, `So anyone who knows the law and has learned about the kingdom of heaven, is like the headman of a house. He can bring both new things and old things out of what he has stored up.'

53 When Jesus had finished telling these stories, he went away from there.

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