The 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?’
Parallel translations
- WEB The servants of the householder came and said to him, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where did these darnel weeds come from?’
- KJV So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?
- NKJV So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’
- NASB And the slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’
- NLT “The farmer’s workers went to him and said, ‘Sir, the field where you planted that good seed is full of weeds! Where did they come from?’
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The servants notice weeds growing among the wheat and ask the master how they got there. It raises the question of why evil persists in God's good world.
Overview
In the parable of the wheat and the tares, the servants are surprised to find weeds in a field sown with good seed. Their question reflects an honest perplexity at the presence of evil mixed in among the good. Jesus uses this to teach about the coexistence of true and false within the present age, a tension that will only be resolved at the final harvest.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Rom 16:17Now I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who create divisions and obstacles that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Turn away from them.
- 2 Cor 6:1As God’s fellow workers, then, we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain.
- 2 Cor 5:18–20All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:
- 1 Cor 12:28–29And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, and those with gifts of healing, helping, administration, and various tongues.
- 2 Cor 6:4Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships, and calamities;
- 1 Cor 16:10If Timothy comes, see to it that he has nothing to fear while he is with you, for he is doing the work of the Lord, just as I am.
- 1 Cor 1:11–13My brothers, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you.
- Eph 4:11–12And it was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers,
- Gal 3:1–3O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified.
- Jas 4:4You adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever chooses to be a friend of the world renders himself an enemy of God.
- 1 Cor 15:12–34But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?
- Jas 3:15–16Such wisdom does not come from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.
- 1 Cor 3:5–9What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? They are servants through whom you believed, as the Lord has assigned to each his role.
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Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 13:27 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.