The Meaning of Matthew 13:25 Explained

Matthew 13:25

KJV: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.

YLT: and, while men are sleeping, his enemy came and sowed darnel in the midst of the wheat, and went away,

Darby: but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed darnel amongst the wheat, and went away.

ASV: but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares also among the wheat, and went away.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

But  while  men  slept,  his  enemy  came  and  sowed  tares  among  the wheat,  and  went his way. 

What does Matthew 13:25 Mean?

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

Greek Commentary for Matthew 13:25

While men slept [εν τωι κατευδειν τους αντρωπους]
Same use of the articular present infinitive with εν — en and the accusative as in Matthew 13:4. [source]
Sowed tares also [επεσπειρεν τα ζιζανια]
Literally “sowed upon,” “resowed” (Moffatt). The enemy deliberately sowed “the darnel” (ζιζανια — zizania is not “tares,” but “darnel,” a bastard wheat) over (επι — epi) the wheat, “in the midst of the wheat.” This bearded darnel, lolium temulentum, is common in Palestine and resembles wheat except that the grains are black. In its earlier stages it is indistinguishable from the wheat stalks so that it has to remain till near the harvest. Modern farmers are gaining more skill in weeding it out. [source]
Sowed [ἐπέσπειρεν]
The preposition ἐπί , upon, indicates sowing over what was previously sown. Rev., “sowed also. ” [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Matthew 13:25

Luke 10:19 And over all the power of the enemy [και επι πασαν την δυναμιν του εχτρου]
This is the heart of “the authority” But protection from physical harm is not the main point in this struggle with Satan “the enemy” (Matthew 13:25; Romans 16:20; 1 Peter 5:8). [source]
Revelation 7:17 In the midst [ανα μεσον]
In Revelation 5:6 we have εν μεσωι του τρονου — en mesōi tou thronou as the position of the Lamb, and so that is apparently the sense of ανα μεσον — ana meson here as in Matthew 13:25, though it can mean “between,” as clearly so in 1 Corinthians 6:5. [source]

What do the individual words in Matthew 13:25 mean?

In now the [time] are sleeping the men came his - enemy and sowed weeds in [the] midst of the wheat went away
ἐν δὲ τῷ καθεύδειν τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἦλθεν αὐτοῦ ἐχθρὸς καὶ ἐπέσπειρεν ζιζάνια ἀνὰ μέσον τοῦ σίτου ἀπῆλθεν

δὲ  now 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: δέ  
Sense: but, moreover, and, etc.
τῷ  the  [time] 
Parse: Article, Dative Neuter Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
καθεύδειν  are  sleeping 
Parse: Verb, Present Infinitive Active
Root: καθεύδω  
Sense: to fall asleep, drop off to sleep.
ἀνθρώπους  men 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Plural
Root: ἄνθρωπος  
Sense: a human being, whether male or female.
ἦλθεν  came 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἔρχομαι  
Sense: to come.
αὐτοῦ  his 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
  - 
Parse: Article, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
ἐχθρὸς  enemy 
Parse: Adjective, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: ἐχθρός  
Sense: hated, odious, hateful.
ἐπέσπειρεν  sowed 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἐπισπείρω 
Sense: to sow, scatter, seed.
ζιζάνια  weeds 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Neuter Plural
Root: ζιζάνιον  
Sense: a kind of darnel, resembling wheat except the grains are black.
ἀνὰ  in  [the] 
Parse: Preposition
Root: ἀνά  
Sense: into the midst, in the midst, amidst, among, between.
μέσον  midst 
Parse: Adjective, Accusative Neuter Singular
Root: μέσος  
Sense: middle.
τοῦ  of  the 
Parse: Article, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
σίτου  wheat 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: σιτίον 
Sense: wheat, grain.
ἀπῆλθεν  went  away 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἀπέρχομαι  
Sense: to go away, depart.