Weeds among the Wheat

²⁴ Jesus then told them this story:

The kingdom of heaven is like what happened when a farmer scattered good seed in a field. ²⁵ But while everyone was sleeping, an enemy came and scattered weed seeds in the field and then left.

²⁶ When the plants came up and began to mature, the farmer's servants could see the weeds. ²⁷ The servants came and asked, “Sir, didn't you scatter good seed in your field? Where did these weeds come from?”

²⁸ “An enemy did this,” he replied.

His servants then asked, “Do you want us to go out and pull up the weeds?”

²⁹ “No!” he answered. “You might also pull up the wheat. ³⁰ Leave the weeds alone until harvest time. Then I'll tell my workers to gather the weeds and tie them up and burn them. But I'll order them to store the wheat in my barn.”

Jesus Explains the Story about the Weeds

³⁶ After Jesus left the crowd and went inside,^[a] his disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the story about the weeds in the wheat field.”

³⁷ Jesus answered:

The one who scattered the good seed is the Son of Man. ³⁸ The field is the world, and the good seeds are the people who belong to the kingdom. The weeds are those who belong to the evil one, ³⁹ and the one who scattered them is the devil. The harvest is the end of time, and angels are the ones who bring in the harvest.

⁴⁰ Weeds are gathered and burned. That's how it will be at the end of time. ⁴¹ The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather from his kingdom everyone who does wrong or causes others to sin. ⁴² Then he will throw them into a flaming furnace, where people will cry and grit their teeth in pain. ^43 (A) But everyone who has done right will shine like the sun in their Father's kingdom. If you have ears, pay attention!