Weeds among Wheat

²⁴ Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “^(A)The kingdom of heaven ^[a]is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. ²⁵ But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed ^[b]weeds among the wheat, and left. ²⁶ And when the ^[c]wheat sprouted and produced grain, then the weeds also became evident. ²⁷ And the slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? ^[d]How then does it have weeds?’ ²⁸ And he said to them, ‘^[e]An enemy has done this!’ The slaves *said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ ²⁹ But he *said, ‘No; while you are gathering up the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. ³⁰ Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and at the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the weeds and bind them in bundles to burn them; but ^(B)gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

The Mustard Seed

³¹ He presented another parable to them, saying, “^(C)The kingdom of heaven is like ^(D)a mustard seed, which a person took and sowed in his field; ³² and this is smaller than all the other seeds, but when it is fully grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that ^(E)the birds of the sky come and nest in its branches.”

The Leaven

³³ He spoke another parable to them: “^(F)The kingdom of heaven is like ^[f]leaven, which a woman took and hid in ^(G)three ^[g]sata of flour until it was all leavened.”

³⁴ All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables, and He did not speak anything to them ^(H)without a parable. ³⁵ This was so that what was spoken through the prophet would be ^[h]fulfilled:

The Weeds Explained

³⁶ Then He left the crowds and went into ^(J)the house. And His disciples came to Him and said, “^(K)Explain to us the parable of the ^[i]weeds of the field.” ³⁷ And He said, “The one who sows the good seed is ^(L)the Son of Man, ³⁸ and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are ^(M)the sons of the kingdom; and the weeds are ^(N)the sons of ^(O)the evil one; ³⁹ and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is ^(P)the ^[j]end of the age; and the reapers are angels. ⁴⁰ So just as the weeds are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at ^(Q)the ^[k]end of the age. ^41 (R)The Son of Man ^(S)will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom ^[l]all ^(T)stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, ⁴² and they ^(U)will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place ^(V)there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ^43 (W)Then the righteous will shine forth like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. ^(X)The one who has ears, ^[m]let him hear.

Parable of Ten Virgins

25 “Then ^(A)the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their ^(B)lamps and went out to meet the groom. ² Five of them were foolish, and five were ^(C)prudent. ³ For when the foolish took their lamps, they did not take extra oil with them; ⁴ but the ^(D)prudent ones took oil in flasks with their lamps. ⁵ Now while the groom was delaying, they all became drowsy and began to sleep. ⁶ But at midnight ^[a]there finally was a shout: ‘Behold, the groom! Come out to meet him.’ ⁷ Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps. ⁸ But the foolish virgins said to the prudent ones, ‘Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.’ ⁹ However, the ^(E)prudent ones answered, ‘No, there most certainly would not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves.’ ¹⁰ But while they were ^[b]on their way to buy the oil, the groom came, and those who were ^(F)ready went in with him to ^(G)the wedding feast; and ^(H)the door was shut. ¹¹ Yet later, the other virgins also came, saying, ‘^(I)Lord, lord, open up for us.’ ¹² But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’ ^13 (J)Be on the alert then, because you do not know the day nor the hour.

¹⁵ And you, ^(A)Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will be brought down to Hades!

¹⁶ “^(B)The one who listens to you listens to Me, and ^(C)the one who rejects you rejects Me; but the one who rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.”

The Joyful Results

¹⁷ Now the ^[a]seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even ^(D)the demons are subject to us ^[b]in Your name!” ¹⁸ And He said to them, “I watched ^(E)Satan fall from heaven like lightning. ¹⁹ Behold, I have given you authority to ^(F)walk on snakes and scorpions, and authority over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. ²⁰ Nevertheless, do not ^[c]rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that ^(G)your names are recorded in heaven.”

³¹ Do we then nullify ^[a]the Law through faith? ^(A)Far from it! On the contrary, we ^(B)establish the Law.