38. The field is the world. The good seed are the people in God’s kingdom. The weeds are the people who belong to the Evil One.
39. And the enemy who planted the bad seed is the devil. The harvest is the end of time. And the workers who gather are God’s angels.
40. “The weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire. It will be the same at the end of time.
41. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will find the people who cause sin and all those who do evil. The angels will take those people out of his kingdom.
42. They will throw them into the place of fire. There the people will be crying and grinding their teeth with pain.
43. Then the godly people will shine like the sun. They will be in the kingdom of their Father. You people who hear me, listen!
44. “God’s kingdom is like a treasure hidden in a field. One day a man found the treasure. He hid it again and was so happy that he went and sold everything he owned and bought the field.
45. “Also, God’s kingdom is like a merchant looking for fine pearls.
46. One day he found a very fine pearl. He went and sold everything he had to buy it.
47. “Also, God’s kingdom is like a net that was put into the lake. The net caught many different kinds of fish.
48. It was full, so the fishermen pulled it to the shore. They sat down and put all the good fish in baskets. Then they threw away the bad fish.
49. It will be the same at the end of time. The angels will come and separate the evil people from the godly people.