Matthew 13:19–30

¹⁹When anyone hears the word ^cabout the kingdom and doesn’t understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the one sown along the path. ^d20And the one sown on rocky ground—this is one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. ^e21Yet he has no root in himself, but is short-lived. When pressure or persecution ^fcomes because of the word, immediately he stumbles. ²²Now the one sown among the thorns—this is one who hears the word, but the worries of this age ^gand the seduction ^hof wealth ⁱchoke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. ²³But the one sown on the good ground—this is one who hears and understands the word, who does bear fruit and yields: some 100, some 60, some 30 times what was sown.”

The Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds

²⁴He presented another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. ^j25But while people were sleeping, his enemy came, sowed weeds ^kamong the wheat, and left. ²⁶When the plants sprouted and produced grain, then the weeds also appeared. ²⁷The landowner’s ^•slaves ^lcame to him and said, ‘Master, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Then where did the weeds come from?’

²⁸“ ‘An enemy did this!’ he told them.

“ ‘So, do you want us to go and gather them up?’ the slaves asked him.

²⁹“ ‘No,’ he said. ‘When you gather up the weeds, you might also uproot the wheat with them. ³⁰Let both grow together until the harvest. At harvest time I’ll tell the reapers: Gather the weeds first and tie them in bundles to burn them, but store the wheat in my barn.’ ”