The Meaning of Matthew 13:27 Explained

Matthew 13:27

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?

YLT: 'And the servants of the householder, having come near, said to him, Sir, good seed didst thou not sow in thy field? whence then hath it the darnel?

Darby: And the bondmen of the householder came up and said to him, Sir, hast thou not sown good seed in thy field? whence then has it darnel?

ASV: And the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst thou not sow good seed in thy field? whence then hath it tares?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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? 

What does Matthew 13:27 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The function of the slaves in the parable is simply to get information from the owner.

Context Summary

Matthew 13:24-33 - Other Parables Of The Kingdom
The tare was a species of rye grass, which in its earlier stages, closely resembled wheat. In this world, and in the Church, professors are closely mingled with possessors. But there come great times of revealing, in the trials and difficulties of life, and in fact Satan and his angels never sleep. Let us beware of them, but be not afraid: Christ is stronger.
The mustard seed and the leaven represent the extensive and intensive, the outward and inward, the objective and subjective, aspects of Christianity. Sometimes when the Church is reaching its branches to the farthest, its heart is being corrupted by the slow spread of evil. See 1 Corinthians 5:7-8. See what stress our Lord lays on unnoticed beginnings! What seed is smaller than the mustard! Yet it may be the gateway through which Nature may pour her inner energies, forcing the rootlet down and the green shoot up. And it requires but a very small amount of leaven to permeate a large quantity of meal. Bigness is not greatness. Watch the first speck of sin; cherish each grain of holy impulse. [source]

Chapter Summary: 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

What do the individual words in Matthew 13:27 mean?

Having come to [him] now the servants the master of the house said to him Sir not good seed did you sow in - your field How then has it the weeds
Προσελθόντες δὲ οἱ δοῦλοι τοῦ οἰκοδεσπότου εἶπον αὐτῷ Κύριε οὐχὶ καλὸν σπέρμα ἔσπειρας ἐν τῷ σῷ ἀγρῷ πόθεν οὖν ἔχει ζιζάνια

Προσελθόντες  Having  come  to  [him] 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root: προσέρχομαι  
Sense: to come to, approach.
δὲ  now 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: δέ  
Sense: but, moreover, and, etc.
δοῦλοι  servants 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root: δοῦλοσ1 
Sense: a slave, bondman, man of servile condition.
οἰκοδεσπότου  master  of  the  house 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: οἰκοδεσπότης  
Sense: master of the house, householder.
εἶπον  said 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Plural
Root: λέγω  
Sense: to speak, say.
αὐτῷ  to  him 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Dative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
Κύριε  Sir 
Parse: Noun, Vocative Masculine Singular
Root: κύριος  
Sense: he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding; master, lord.
καλὸν  good 
Parse: Adjective, Accusative Neuter Singular
Root: καλός  
Sense: beautiful, handsome, excellent, eminent, choice, surpassing, precious, useful, suitable, commendable, admirable.
σπέρμα  seed 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Neuter Singular
Root: σπέρμα  
Sense: from which a plant germinates.
ἔσπειρας  did  you  sow 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 2nd Person Singular
Root: ἐπισπείρω 
Sense: to sow, scatter, seed.
τῷ  - 
Parse: Article, Dative Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
σῷ  your 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Dative Masculine 2nd Person Singular
Root: σός  
Sense: thy, thine.
ἀγρῷ  field 
Parse: Noun, Dative Masculine Singular
Root: ἀγρός  
Sense: land.
πόθεν  How 
Parse: Adverb
Root: πόθεν  
Sense: of place: from where, from what condition.
ἔχει  has  it 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἔχω  
Sense: to have, i.e. to hold.
ζιζάνια  the  weeds 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Neuter Plural
Root: ζιζάνιον  
Sense: a kind of darnel, resembling wheat except the grains are black.