# Matthew 13.38-39

<!-- type: passage | created: 2026-06-01 | updated: 2026-06-01 -->

**Book:** [Matthew](/codex/matthew-the-apostle/) · NASB95

## Immediate context (±2 verses)

**ASV** ([ASV](/codex/asv/))
> 36. <span class="rl-speech">Then he left the multitudes, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Explain unto us the parable of the tares of the field.</span> 37. And he answered and said, <span class="rl-speech">He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;</span>
>
> **38. <span class="rl-speech">and the field is the world; and the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one;</span> 39. <span class="rl-speech">and the enemy that sowed them is the devil: and the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are angels.</span>**
>
> 40. <span class="rl-speech">As therefore the tares are gathered up and burned with fire; so shall it be in the end of the world.</span> 41. <span class="rl-speech">The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that cause stumbling, and them that do iniquity,</span> (Matthew 13:36-41, ASV)

**WEB** ([WEB](/codex/web/))
> 36. <span class="rl-speech">Then Jesus sent the multitudes away, and went into the house. His disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the darnel weeds of the field.”</span> 37. He answered them, <span class="rl-speech">“He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man,</span>
>
> **38. <span class="rl-speech">the field is the world; and the good seed, these are the children of the Kingdom; and the darnel weeds are the children of the evil one.</span> 39. <span class="rl-speech">The enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.</span>**
>
> 40. <span class="rl-speech">As therefore the darnel weeds are gathered up and burned with fire; so will it be at the end of this age.</span> 41. <span class="rl-speech">The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather out of his Kingdom all things that cause stumbling, and those who do iniquity,</span> (Matthew 13:36-41, WEB)

**KJV** ([KJV](/codex/kjv/))
> 36. <span class="rl-speech">Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.</span> 37. He answered and said unto them, <span class="rl-speech">He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;</span>
>
> **38. <span class="rl-speech">The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;</span> 39. <span class="rl-speech">The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.</span>**
>
> 40. <span class="rl-speech">As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.</span> 41. <span class="rl-speech">The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; <sup>things: or, scandals</sup></span> (Matthew 13:36-41, KJV)

**YLT** ([YLT](/codex/ylt/))
> 36. <span class="rl-speech">Then having let away the multitudes, Jesus came to the house, and his disciples came near to him, saying, 'Explain to us the simile of the darnel of the field.'</span> 37. And he answering said to them, <span class="rl-speech">'He who is sowing the good seed is the Son of Man,</span>
>
> **38. <span class="rl-speech">and the field is the world, and the good seed, these are the sons of the reign, and the darnel are the sons of the evil one,</span> 39. <span class="rl-speech">and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is a full end of the age, and the reapers are messengers.</span>**
>
> 40. <span class="rl-speech">'As, then, the darnel is gathered up, and is burned with fire, so shall it be in the full end of this age,</span> 41. <span class="rl-speech">the Son of Man shall send forth his messengers, and they shall gather up out of his kingdom all the stumbling-blocks, and those doing the unlawlessness,</span> (Matthew 13:36-41, YLT)

## Setting

- **Speaker:** _TBD_
- **Audience:** _TBD_
- **Location:** _TBD_
- **Time period:** _TBD_

## Theological reading

_Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added._

## Key words

_Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap._

- _TBD_
- _TBD_
- _TBD_
- _TBD_

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## Quoted in

**Concepts:**

- [Jesus Said](/codex/jesus-said/), via [Matthew 13](/codex/matthew-13/)
- [The Devil](/codex/the-devil/)

**Lexicon:**

- [G0165 - aion](/codex/g0165-aion/), via [Matthew 13.39](/codex/matthew-13-39/)
- [G1228 - diabolos](/codex/g1228-diabolos/), via [Matthew 13.39](/codex/matthew-13-39/)
- [G4567 - satanas](/codex/g4567-satanas/)
- [G932 - basileia](/codex/g932-basileia/), via [Matthew 13.38](/codex/matthew-13-38/)

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_Scripture quotations taken from the **New American Standard Bible®** (NASB), Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by **The Lockman Foundation**. Used by permission. All rights reserved. [www.lockman.org](https://www.lockman.org)_

## Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the **most literal English translations available** (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the **public domain in the United States**, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

- **[ASV](/codex/asv/)** (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
- **[WEB](/codex/web/)** (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
- **[KJV](/codex/kjv/)** (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
- **[YLT](/codex/ylt/)** (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See [Bibles](/codex/bibles/) for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.