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?
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?’
- BSB 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?’
- 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 beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.
- 2 Cor 6:1We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.
- 2 Cor 5:18–20And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
- 1 Cor 12:28–29And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.
- 2 Cor 6:4But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses,
- 1 Cor 16:10Now if Timotheus come, see that he may be with you without fear: for he worketh the work of the Lord, as I also do.
- 1 Cor 1:11–13For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.
- Eph 4:11–12And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
- Gal 3:1–3O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?
- Jas 4:4Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
- 1 Cor 15:12–34Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?
- Jas 3:15–16This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.
- 1 Cor 3:5–9Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?
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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.