²⁴ Jesus put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. ²⁵But while everyone was asleep, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and slipped away. ²⁶When the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the weeds also appeared. ²⁷The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’ ²⁸‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. So the servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ ²⁹‘No,’ he said, ‘if you pull the weeds now, you might uproot the wheat with them. ³⁰Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat into my barn.’”

³⁶ Then Jesus dismissed the crowds and went into the house. His disciples came to Him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” ³⁷He replied, “The One who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. ³⁸The field is the world, and the good seed represents the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, ³⁹and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. ⁴⁰As the weeds are collected and burned in the fire, so will it be at the end of the age. ⁴¹The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will weed out of His kingdom every cause of sin and all who practice lawlessness. ⁴²And they will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.