Matthew 13:24–46

Tares among Wheat

²⁴Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “^aThe kingdom of heaven ¹may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field.

²⁵“But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed ¹tares among the wheat, and went away.

²⁶“But when the ¹wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also.

²⁷“The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? ¹How then does it have tares?’

²⁸“And he said to them, ‘An ¹enemy has done this!’ The slaves ^*said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’

²⁹“But he ^*said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them.

³⁰‘Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but ^agather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”

The Mustard Seed

³¹He presented another parable to them, saying, “^aThe kingdom of heaven is like ^ba mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field;

³²and this is smaller than all other seeds, but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that ^athe birds of the ¹air come and nest in its branches.”

The Leaven

³³He spoke another parable to them, “^aThe kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in ^bthree ¹pecks of flour until it was all leavened.”

³⁴All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables, and He did not speak to them ^awithout a parable.

³⁵This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

“^aI will open My mouth in parables;

I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world.”

The 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 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 furnace of fire; 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.

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.