The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares

²⁴ Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; ²⁵ but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. ²⁶ But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. ²⁷ So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ ²⁸ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ ²⁹ But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. ³⁰ Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but ^(A)gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”

The Parable of the Tares Explained

³⁶ Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.”

³⁷ He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. ^38 (A)The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are ^(B)the sons of the wicked one. ³⁹ The enemy who sowed them is the devil, ^(C)the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. ⁴⁰ Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. ⁴¹ The Son of Man will send out His angels, ^(D)and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, ^42 (E)and will cast them into the furnace of fire. ^(F)There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. ^43 (G)Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. ^(H)He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

The Eternal Word^(A)

1 In the beginning ^(B)was the Word, and the ^(C)Word was ^(D)with God, and the Word was ^(E)God. ^2 (F)He was in the beginning with God. ^3 (G)All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. ^4 (H)In Him was life, and ^(I)the life was the light of men. ⁵ And ^(J)the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not ^[a]comprehend it.

John’s Witness: The True Light

⁶ There was a ^(K)man sent from God, whose name was John. ⁷ This man came for a ^(L)witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might ^(M)believe. ⁸ He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that ^(N)Light. ^9 (O)That^[b] was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.

¹⁰ He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and ^(P)the world did not know Him. ^11 (Q)He came to His ^[c]own, and His ^[d]own did not receive Him. ¹² But ^(R)as many as received Him, to them He gave the ^[e]right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: ^13 (S)who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

^44 (A)You are of your father the devil, and the ^(B)desires of your father you want to ^(C)do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and ^(D)does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.

Walk in Love

5 Therefore^(A) be imitators of God as dear ^(B)children. ² And ^(C)walk in love, ^(D)as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God ^(E)for a sweet-smelling aroma.

The Race of Faith

12 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, ^(A)let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and ^(B)let us run ^(C)with endurance the race that is set before us, ² looking unto Jesus, the ^[a]author and ^[b]finisher of our faith, ^(D)who for the joy that was set before Him ^(E)endured the cross, despising the shame, and ^(F)has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

The Discipline of God^(G)

^3 (H)For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, ^(I)lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. ^4 (J)You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. ⁵ And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons:

^7 (M)If^[d] you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what ^(N)son is there whom a father does not chasten? ⁸ But if you are without chastening, ^(O)of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. ⁹ Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to ^(P)the Father of spirits and live? ¹⁰ For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, ^(Q)that we may be partakers of His holiness. ¹¹ Now no ^[e]chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields ^(R)the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Renew Your Spiritual Vitality^(S)

¹² Therefore ^(T)strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, ¹³ and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.

^14 (U)Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, ^(V)without which no one will see the Lord: ¹⁵ looking carefully lest anyone ^(W)fall short of the grace of God; lest any ^(X)root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; ¹⁶ lest there be any ^(Y)fornicator or ^[f]profane person like Esau, ^(Z)who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. ¹⁷ For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was ^(AA)rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.

The Glorious Company

¹⁸ For you have not come ^[g]to ^(AB)the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and ^[h]darkness and tempest, ¹⁹ and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it ^(AC)begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore. ²⁰ (For they could not endure what was commanded: ^(AD)“And if so much as a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned ^[i]or shot with an arrow.” ²¹ And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, ^(AE)“I am exceedingly afraid and trembling.”)

²² But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, ²³ to the ^[j]general assembly and church of ^(AF)the firstborn ^(AG)who are registered in heaven, to God ^(AH)the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men ^(AI)made perfect, ²⁴ to Jesus ^(AJ)the Mediator of the new covenant, and to ^(AK)the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things ^(AL)than that of Abel.

Hear the Heavenly Voice

²⁵ See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For ^(AM)if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, ²⁶ whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, ^(AN)“Yet once more I ^[k]shake not only the earth, but also heaven.” ²⁷ Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the ^(AO)removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.

²⁸ Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we ^[l]may ^(AP)serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. ²⁹ For ^(AQ)our God is a consuming fire.

^44 (A)You are of your father the devil, and the ^(B)desires of your father you want to ^(C)do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and ^(D)does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.

The Race of Faith

12 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, ^(A)let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and ^(B)let us run ^(C)with endurance the race that is set before us, ² looking unto Jesus, the ^[a]author and ^[b]finisher of our faith, ^(D)who for the joy that was set before Him ^(E)endured the cross, despising the shame, and ^(F)has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

The Discipline of God^(G)

^3 (H)For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, ^(I)lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. ^4 (J)You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. ⁵ And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons:

^7 (M)If^[d] you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what ^(N)son is there whom a father does not chasten? ⁸ But if you are without chastening, ^(O)of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. ⁹ Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to ^(P)the Father of spirits and live? ¹⁰ For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, ^(Q)that we may be partakers of His holiness. ¹¹ Now no ^[e]chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields ^(R)the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Renew Your Spiritual Vitality^(S)

¹² Therefore ^(T)strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, ¹³ and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.

^14 (U)Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, ^(V)without which no one will see the Lord: ¹⁵ looking carefully lest anyone ^(W)fall short of the grace of God; lest any ^(X)root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; ¹⁶ lest there be any ^(Y)fornicator or ^[f]profane person like Esau, ^(Z)who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. ¹⁷ For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was ^(AA)rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.

The Glorious Company

¹⁸ For you have not come ^[g]to ^(AB)the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and ^[h]darkness and tempest, ¹⁹ and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it ^(AC)begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore. ²⁰ (For they could not endure what was commanded: ^(AD)“And if so much as a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned ^[i]or shot with an arrow.” ²¹ And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, ^(AE)“I am exceedingly afraid and trembling.”)

²² But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, ²³ to the ^[j]general assembly and church of ^(AF)the firstborn ^(AG)who are registered in heaven, to God ^(AH)the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men ^(AI)made perfect, ²⁴ to Jesus ^(AJ)the Mediator of the new covenant, and to ^(AK)the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things ^(AL)than that of Abel.

Hear the Heavenly Voice

²⁵ See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For ^(AM)if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, ²⁶ whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, ^(AN)“Yet once more I ^[k]shake not only the earth, but also heaven.” ²⁷ Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the ^(AO)removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.

²⁸ Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we ^[l]may ^(AP)serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. ²⁹ For ^(AQ)our God is a consuming fire.