Matthew 13:39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

◄ Matthew 13:39 ►

New International Version
and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

New Living Translation
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.

English Standard Version
and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.

Berean Standard Bible
and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

Berean Literal Bible
and the enemy having sown them is the devil; and the harvest is the consummation of the age; and the harvesters are angels.

King James Bible
The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.

New King James Version
The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.

New American Standard Bible
and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels.

NASB 1995
and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels.

NASB 1977
and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels.

Legacy Standard Bible
and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels.

Amplified Bible
and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels.

Christian Standard Bible
and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
and the enemy who sowed them is the Devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

American Standard Version
and the enemy that sowed them is the devil: and the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are angels.

Contemporary English Version
and the one who scattered them is the devil. The harvest is the end of time, and angels are the ones who bring in the harvest.

English Revised Version
and the enemy that sowed them is the devil: and the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are angels.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
The enemy who planted them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the world. The workers are angels.

Good News Translation
and the enemy who sowed the weeds is the Devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvest workers are angels.

International Standard Version
The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.

Majority Standard Bible
and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

NET Bible
and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.

New Heart English Bible
and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.

Webster's Bible Translation
The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.

Weymouth New Testament
The enemy who sows the darnel is *the Devil*; the harvest is the Close of the Age; the reapers are the angels.

World English Bible
The enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.

Literal Translations

Literal Standard Version
and the enemy who sowed them is the Devil, and the harvest is [the] full end of the age, and the reapers are messengers.

Berean Literal Bible
and the enemy having sown them is the devil; and the harvest is the consummation of the age; and the harvesters are angels.

Young's Literal Translation
and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is a full end of the age, and the reapers are messengers.

Smith's Literal Translation
And the enemy having sowed them is the devil; and the harvest is the end of time; and the reapers are the messengers.

Catholic Translations

Douay-Rheims Bible
And the enemy that sowed them, is the devil. But the harvest is the end of the world. And the reapers are the angels.

Catholic Public Domain Version
So the enemy who sowed them is the devil. And truly, the harvest is the consummation of the age; while the reapers are the Angels.

New American Bible
and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

New Revised Standard Version
and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.

Translations from Aramaic

Lamsa Bible
The enemy who sowed them is Satan; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
The enemy who sowed them is Satan, but the harvest is the end of the world and the reapers are the Angels.

NT Translations

Anderson New Testament
the enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels.

Godbey New Testament
and the enemy sowing them is the devil: and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are the angels.

Haweis New Testament
the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.

Mace New Testament
the enemy that sowed them is the devil: the harvest is the conclusion of the age: and the reapers are the angels.

Weymouth New Testament
The enemy who sows the darnel is *the Devil*; the harvest is the Close of the Age; the reapers are the angels.

Worrell New Testament
and the enemy that sowed them is the Devil; and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels.

Worsley New Testament
The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.

Additional Translations ...

Audio Bible

Context

The Parable of the Weeds Explained
…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.…

Berean Standard Bible · Download

Cross References

Revelation 14:15
Then another angel came out of the temple, crying out in a loud voice to the One seated on the cloud, “Swing Your sickle and reap, because the time has come to harvest, for the crop of the earth is ripe.”

Revelation 14:14
And I looked and saw a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was One like the Son of Man, with a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand.

Revelation 14:16
So the One seated on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.

Joel 3:13
Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, trample the grapes, for the winepress is full; the wine vats overflow because their wickedness is great.

Revelation 20:10
And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, into which the beast and the false prophet had already been thrown. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Revelation 20:14-15
Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death—the lake of fire. / And if anyone was found whose name was not written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Daniel 12:1-2
“At that time Michael, the great prince who stands watch over your people, will rise up. There will be a time of distress, the likes of which will not have occurred from the beginning of nations until that time. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered. / And many who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to everlasting life, but others to shame and everlasting contempt.

Revelation 19:20
But the beast was captured along with the false prophet, who on its behalf had performed signs deceiving those who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. Both the beast and the false prophet were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.

Revelation 19:15
And from His mouth proceeds a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and He will rule them with an iron scepter. He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.

Revelation 14:19
So the angel swung his sickle over the earth and gathered the grapes of the earth, and he threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath.

Revelation 14:18
Still another angel, with authority over the fire, came from the altar and called out in a loud voice to the angel with the sharp sickle, “Swing your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the vine of the earth, because its grapes are ripe.”

Revelation 14:17
Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle.

Revelation 20:12
And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne. And books were opened, and one of them was the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their deeds, as recorded in the books.

Revelation 20:11
Then I saw a great white throne and the One seated on it. Earth and heaven fled from His presence, and no place was found for them.

Revelation 20:13
The sea gave up its dead, and Death and Hades gave up their dead, and each one was judged according to his deeds.

Treasury of Scripture

The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.

enemy.

Matthew 13:25,28
But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way…

2 Corinthians 2:17
For 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 Corinthians 11:3,13-15
But 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…

harvest.

Matthew 13:49
So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just,

Matthew 24:3
And 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?

Joel 3:13
Put 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.

reaper.

Matthew 25:31
When 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:

Daniel 7:10
A 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.

2 Thessalonians 1:7-10
And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, …

Jump to Previous

Age Angels Close Completion Darnel Devil Earth End Enemy Full Getting Grain Harvest Harvesters Messengers Reapers Satan Sowed Sows World

Jump to Next

Age Angels Close Completion Darnel Devil Earth End Enemy Full Getting Grain Harvest Harvesters Messengers Reapers Satan Sowed Sows World

Matthew 13

1. The parable of the sower and the seed;
18. the explanation of it.
24. The parable of the weeds;
31. of the mustard seed;
33. of the leaven;
36. explanation of the parable of the weeds.
44. The parable of the hidden treasure;
45. of the pearl;
47. of the drag net cast into the sea.
53. Jesus is a prophet without honor in his own country.

Berean Study Bible

And the enemy who sows them
This phrase identifies the antagonist in the parable of the weeds. The "enemy" is a direct reference to the devil, who is often depicted in Scripture as the adversary of God and His people. The Greek word for "enemy" is "ἐχθρός" (echthros), which implies hostility and opposition. In the context of the parable, the enemy's act of sowing weeds among the wheat symbolizes the devil's efforts to corrupt and undermine the work of God by introducing false teachings and evil influences among believers.

is the devil
The term "devil" comes from the Greek "διάβολος" (diabolos), meaning "slanderer" or "accuser." This name highlights the devil's role in spreading lies and deceit. Throughout the Bible, the devil is portrayed as the ultimate source of evil, working tirelessly to lead people away from God. In this parable, Jesus emphasizes the reality of spiritual warfare and the presence of evil in the world, reminding believers to remain vigilant and discerning.

The harvest
In biblical times, harvest was a significant event, representing both the culmination of a season's work and a time of judgment. The Greek word "θερισμός" (therismos) is used here, indicating a gathering or reaping. In the parable, the harvest symbolizes the final judgment when God will separate the righteous from the wicked. This imagery is consistent with other biblical passages that describe the end times as a harvest, where the faithful are gathered into God's kingdom.

is the end of the age
The phrase "end of the age" refers to the eschatological conclusion of the current world order. The Greek term "συντέλεια" (sunteleia) means "completion" or "consummation." This concept is central to Christian eschatology, which anticipates the return of Christ and the establishment of His eternal kingdom. The "end of the age" signifies a time of fulfillment when God's purposes are fully realized, and His justice is executed.

and the harvesters are angels
Angels, or "ἄγγελοι" (angeloi) in Greek, are depicted as God's messengers and servants throughout Scripture. In this context, they are the agents of divine judgment, tasked with separating the righteous from the wicked at the end of the age. This role underscores the authority and power of God, who commands the heavenly hosts to carry out His will. The involvement of angels in the harvest highlights the supernatural dimension of the final judgment and the assurance that God's justice will be perfectly administered.

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(39) The enemy that sowed them is the devil.--Here, as in the parable of the Sower, there is the most distinct recognition of a personal power of evil, the enemy of God thwarting His work. It will be noticed that our Lord, as if training His disciples gradually in the art of the interpreter, gives rather the heads of an explanation of the parable than one that enters fully into details; and it is therefore open to us, as it was to them, to pause and ask what was taught by that which seems almost the most striking and most important part of the parable. Who were the servants? What was meant by their question, and the answer of the householder? The answers under these heads supply, it will be seen, a solution of many problems in the history and policy of the Church of Christ. (1.) The enemy sowed the tares "while men slept." The time of danger for the Church is one of apparent security. Men cease to watch. Errors grow up and develop into heresies, carelessness passes into license, and offences abound. (2.) The "servants" are obviously distinct from the "reapers." and represent the zealous pastors of the Church. Their first impulse is to clear the kingdom from evil by extirpating the doers of the evil. But the householder in the parable is at once more patient and more discerning than they. To seek for the ideal of a perfect Church in that way may lead to worse evils than those it attempts to remedy. True wisdom is found, for the most part, in what might seem the policy of indifference, "Let both grow together until the harvest." That is the broad, salient lesson of the parable. At first it may seem at variance with what enters into our primary conceptions, alike of ecclesiastical discipline and of the duty of civil rulers. Is it not the work of both to root out the tares, to punish evil-doers? The solution of the difficulty is found, as it were, in reading "between the lines" of the parable. Doubtless, evil is to be checked and punished alike in the Church and in civil society, but it is not the work of the rulers of either to extirpate the doers. Below the surface there lies the latent truth that, by a spiritual transmutation which was not possible in the natural framework of the parable, the tares may become the wheat. There is no absolute line of demarcation separating one from the other till the time of harvest. What the parable condemns, therefore, is the over-hasty endeavour to attain an ideal perfection, the zeal of the founders of religious orders, of Puritanism in its many forms. It would have been well if those who identify the tares with heretics had been more mindful of the lesson which that identification suggests.

The harvest is the end of the world.--Strictly speaking, the end of the age--i.e., of the period that precedes the "coming" of the Son of Man as Judge, which is to usher in the "world," or the "age," to come.

The reapers are the angels.--What will be the actual work of the ministry of angels in the final judgment it is not easy to define, but their presence is implied in all our Lord's greater prophetic utterances about it (Matthew 25:31). That ministry had been brought prominently before men in the apocalyptic visions of the Book of Daniel, in which for the first time the name of the Son of Man is identified with the future Christ (Matthew 7:13), and the Messianic kingdom itself brought into new distinctness in connection with a final judgment. Our Lord's teaching does but expand the hints of the "thousand times ten thousand" that ministered before the Ancient of Days when the books were opened (Daniel 7:9-10), and of Michael the prince as connected with the resurrection of "many that sleep in the dust of the earth" (Daniel 12:1-2).

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 39. - The enemy that sowed them (ὁ σπείρας); contrast ver. 37 (ὁ σπείρων τὸ καλὸν σπέρμα). Ver. 37 states what is ever true; ver. 39 merely refers back to the enemy spoken of in the parable. Is the devil (Matthew 4:1, note). (For the thought of this and the preceding clause, see John 8:44; 1 John 3:8, 10.) The harvest is the end of the world; literally, as the margin of the Revised Version, the consummation of the age (συντέλεια αἰῶνος); when the present age shall have received its completion, and the more glorious one be ushered in (cf. Matthew 12:32, note). And the reapers are the angels; are angels (Revised Version). But it is exactly parallel to the preceding predicate, and if the insertion of our English idiomatic "the" fails to lay the stress which the Greek has on the fact that the reapers are such beings as angels (as contrasted with human workers, Matthew 9:37, 38), its omission adds a thought which the Greek was probably not intended to convey - that the reapers would be only some among the angels.

Parallel Commentaries ...

Greek

and
δὲ (de)
Conjunction
Strong's 1161: A primary particle; but, and, etc.

the
ὁ (ho)
Article - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

enemy
ἐχθρὸς (echthros)
Adjective - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 2190: Hated, hostile; subst: an enemy. From a primary echtho; hateful; usually as a noun, an adversary.

who sows
σπείρας (speiras)
Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 4687: To sow, spread, scatter. Probably strengthened from spao; to scatter, i.e. Sow.

them
αὐτά (auta)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Accusative Neuter 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 846: He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.

is
ἐστιν (estin)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 1510: I am, exist. The first person singular present indicative; a prolonged form of a primary and defective verb; I exist.

the
ὁ (ho)
Article - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

devil.
διάβολος (diabolos)
Adjective - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 1228: From diaballo; a traducer; specially, Satan.

The
ὁ (ho)
Article - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

harvest
θερισμὸς (therismos)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 2326: Reaping, harvest; met: the harvest, crop. From therizo; reaping, i.e. The crop.

is
ἐστιν (estin)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 1510: I am, exist. The first person singular present indicative; a prolonged form of a primary and defective verb; I exist.

[the] end
συντέλεια (synteleia)
Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular
Strong's 4930: A completion, consummation, end. From sunteleo; entire completion, i.e. Consummation.

of the age,
αἰῶνός (aiōnos)
Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 165: From the same as aei; properly, an age; by extension, perpetuity; by implication, the world; specially a Messianic period.

and
δὲ (de)
Conjunction
Strong's 1161: A primary particle; but, and, etc.

[the] harvesters
θερισταὶ (theristai)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Plural
Strong's 2327: A reaper, harvester. From therizo; a harvester.

are
εἰσιν (eisin)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 1510: I am, exist. The first person singular present indicative; a prolonged form of a primary and defective verb; I exist.

angels.
ἄγγελοί (angeloi)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Plural
Strong's 32: From aggello; a messenger; especially an 'angel'; by implication, a pastor.

Links

Matthew 13:39 NIV
Matthew 13:39 NLT
Matthew 13:39 ESV
Matthew 13:39 NASB
Matthew 13:39 KJV

Matthew 13:39 BibleApps.com
Matthew 13:39 Biblia Paralela
Matthew 13:39 Chinese Bible
Matthew 13:39 French Bible
Matthew 13:39 Catholic Bible

NT Gospels: Matthew 13:39 The enemy who sowed them (Matt. Mat Mt)