Matthew 13:36–53

The Parable of Tares Explained

³⁶Then He left the crowds and went into ^athe house. And His disciples came to Him and said, “^bExplain to us the parable of the ¹tares of the field.”

³⁷And He answered and said, “The one who sows the good seed is ^athe Son of Man,

³⁸and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are ^athe sons of the kingdom; and the tares are ^bthe sons of ^cthe evil one;

³⁹and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is ^athe ¹end of the age; and the reapers are angels.

⁴⁰“So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at ^athe ¹end of the age.

⁴¹“^aThe Son of Man ^bwill send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom ¹all ^cstumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness,

⁴²and ^awill throw them into the fiery furnace; in that place ^bthere will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

⁴³“^aThen the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. ^bHe who has ears, ¹let him hear.

A Hidden Treasure

⁴⁴“^aThe kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and ^bsells all that he has and buys that field.

A Costly Pearl

⁴⁵“Again, ^athe kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls,

⁴⁶and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

A Dragnet

⁴⁷“Again, ^athe kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind;

⁴⁸and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away.

⁴⁹“So it will be at ^athe ¹end of the age; the angels will come forth and ²take out the wicked from among the righteous,

⁵⁰and ^awill throw them into the fiery furnace; in that place ^bthere will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

⁵¹“Have you understood all these things?” They ^*said to Him, “Yes.”

⁵²And He said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

^531aNow it happened that when Jesus had finished these parables, He departed from there.