The Wheat and the Darnel Weeds

An enemy sows weeds among the wheat at night; the master forbids pulling them now and waits until harvest to separate them.

²⁴He set another parable before them, saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field,²⁵but while people slept, his enemy came and sowed darnel weeds also amongst the wheat, and went away.²⁶But when the blade sprang up and produced grain, then the darnel weeds appeared also.²⁷The servants of the householder came and said to him, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where did these darnel weeds come from?’²⁸He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and gather them up?’²⁹But he said, ‘No, lest perhaps while you gather up the darnel weeds, you root up the wheat with them.³⁰Let both grow together until the harvest, and in the harvest time I will tell the reapers, “First, gather up the darnel weeds, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”