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The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
Matthew 13:39 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB The enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.
  • BSB and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
  • NKJV The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.
  • NASB and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels.
  • NLT The enemy who planted the weeds among the wheat is the devil. The harvest is the end of the world, and the harvesters are the angels.

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 enemy is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Behind earthly evil stands a real adversary, and behind history a coming judgment.

Overview

Jesus completes the key to the parable: Satan is the enemy sowing evil, the harvest is the consummation of the age, and angels are the reapers. This affirms a personal devil opposing God's work and a definite end to the present order. Believers are reminded that current ambiguity will give way to a decisive, divinely appointed reckoning.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 24

  • Matt 13:49So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just,
  • Rev 14:15–19And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.
  • Matt 25:31When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
  • Joel 3:13Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great.
  • Rev 19:20And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
  • 2 Th 1:7–10And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
  • Rev 13:14And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
  • Rev 12:9And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
  • Matt 13:25But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
  • Matt 24:3And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
  • Eph 6:11–12Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
  • Heb 9:26For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
  • 1 Pet 5:8Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
  • Matt 28:20Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
  • 2 Cor 11:3But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
  • 2 Cor 2:17For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.
  • 2 Cor 11:13–15For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
  • Eph 2:2Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
  • 2 Th 2:8–11And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
  • Matt 13:28He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
  • Dan 7:10A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.
  • Jude 1:14And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,
  • Rev 20:7–10And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
  • Rev 20:2–3And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (10)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Matthew videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Matthew 13:39YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on MatthewMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 13:39 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.