A Story About Wheat and Weeds

²⁴ Then Jesus told them another story. He said, “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who planted good seed in his field. ²⁵ That night, when everyone was asleep, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat. Then the enemy went away. ²⁶ Later, the wheat grew and heads of grain grew on the wheat plants. But at the same time the weeds also grew. ²⁷ Then the man’s servants came to him and said, ‘You planted good seed in your field. Where did the weeds come from?’ ²⁸ The man answered, ‘An enemy planted weeds.’ The servants asked, ‘Do you want us to pull up the weeds?’ ²⁹ The man answered, ‘No, because when you pull up the weeds, you might also pull up the wheat. ³⁰ Let the weeds and the wheat grow together until the harvest time. At harvest time I will tell the workers this: First gather the weeds and tie them together to be burned. Then gather the wheat and bring it to my barn.’”

Jesus Explains About the Wheat and Weeds

³⁶ Then Jesus left the crowd and went into the house. His followers came to him and said, “Explain to us the meaning of the story about the weeds in the field.”

³⁷ Jesus answered, “The man who planted the good seed in the field is the Son of Man. ³⁸ The field is the world. And the good seed are all of God’s children in the kingdom. The weeds are those people who belong to the Evil One. ³⁹ And the enemy who planted the bad seed is the devil. The harvest time is the end of the age. And the workers who gather are God’s angels.

⁴⁰ “The weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire. It will be this way at the end of the age. ⁴¹ The Son of Man will send out his angels. They will gather out of his kingdom all who cause sin and all who do evil. ⁴² The angels will throw them into the blazing furnace. There the people will cry and grind their teeth with pain. ⁴³ Then the good people will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let those with ears use them and listen!