Matthew 13:27

Greek (Tischendorf 8th ed.)

English Translation

The servants of the householder came and said to him, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where did this darnel come from?'

World English Bible · Public Domain

Highlights

1 first appearance in the Greek New Testament

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ζιζάνια

zizánion

G2215

“darnel”

Noun, Accusative, Plural, Neuter

Appears 8× in the Greek New Testament
First appears at Matthew 13:25

Full Thayer's Definition

Origin: of uncertain origin

TDNT: None

1. a kind of darnel, resembling wheat except the grains are black

About this verse

These counts appear in no published source. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged text and Lemma’s own curated glosses. What Lemma adds →

21: words
19: distinct lemmas
Gospels: section

Notable vocabulary

The rarest word here is ζιζάνια darnel G2215 — appearing just 8 times in the whole Greek New Testament.

First appearance in Scripture

This word makes its first canonical appearance in the Greek New Testament here:

πόθεν from where G4159

Shared distinctive vocabulary

ζιζάνια darnel G2215 occurs in 8 verses of the Greek New Testament. Also found in:

Repetition

A word recurs within this verse:

οἱ the G3588 ×3

Cross-references

Topical passages linked to Matthew 13:27 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — connected by theme and wording, ordered by reader-vote popularity; previews shown in the World English Bible.

Romans 16:17 Now I beg you, brothers, look out for those who are causing the divisions and occasions of stumbling, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and turn away from them.
2 Corinthians 6:1 Working together, we entreat also that you not receive the grace of God in vain,
2 Corinthians 5:18–20 But all things are of God, who reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ, and gave to us the ministry of reconciliation;
1 Corinthians 12:28–29 God has set some in the assembly: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracle workers, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, and various kinds of languages.
1 Corinthians 16:10 Now if Timothy comes, see that he is with you without fear, for he does the work of the Lord, as I also do.
2 Corinthians 6:4 but in everything commending ourselves, as servants of God, in great endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in distresses,
1 Corinthians 1:11–13 For it has been reported to me concerning you, my brothers, by those who are from Chloe's household, that there are contentions among you.
1 Corinthians 15:12–34 Now if Christ is preached, that he has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

Galatians 3:1–3 Foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you not to obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was openly set forth among you as crucified?
Ephesians 4:11–12 He gave some to be apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, shepherds and teachers;
James 3:15–16 This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, sensual, and demonic.
James 4:4 You adulterers and adulteresses, don't you know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
1 Corinthians 3:5–9 Who then is Apollos, and who is Paul, but servants through whom you believed; and each as the Lord gave to him?

Cross-references courtesy of OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).

Commentary

Notes on Matthew 13:27 from classic Christian and Jewish commentators (each source and its license shown beneath its notes). The classic Christian expositions comment on the surrounding passage and are grouped to its opening verse, so a note may address several verses; the Jewish commentaries on the Tanakh (Rashi and others) are per-verse, so they appear only where the commentator wrote on this verse.

Lemma curates 59 commentaries, every one of them public domain or Creative Commons licensed, each selected and text-cleaned for this edition rather than reprinted as found. About our sources →

Bengel's Gnomon

Johann Albrecht Bengel

Mat 13:27. Κύριε, Lord) The name of the Son of Man; see Mat 13:37.—πόθεν, κ.τ.λ., whence? etc.) The servants did not know who had done it, or when.—ζιζάνια, zizans) Zizans have a greater resemblance to wheat than thistles and thorns have; the toleration therefore of the former, does not involve as a consequence that of the latter. They often not only pass themselves off for wheat, but also attempt to root out the wheat as if it were zizans.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Expositor's Greek Testament

ed. W. Robertson Nicoll

Mat 13:27 . οὐχὶ κ . σ . ἔσπειρας , etc.: the surprise of the work-people arises from the extent of the wild growth, which could not be explained by bad seed (with so careful a master) or natural growth out of an unclean soil. The tares were all over the field.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown

So the servants of the householder came--that is, Christ's ministers.

and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?--This well expresses the surprise, disappointment, and anxiety of Christ's faithful servants and people at the discovery of "false brethren" among the members of the Church.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 27. So the servants - said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow] A faithful and vigilant minister of Christ fails not to discover the evil, to lament it, and to address himself to God by prayer, in order to find out the cause of it, and to receive from him proper information how to behave on the occasion.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

John Gill's Exposition

But he said, nay,.... The answer is in the negative; and which, if spoken to angels, is to be understood, that they should not inflict punishments, or pour out, their vials, as yet, on formal professors, lest the righteous should share in them; and if to magistrates, the sense of it is, that they should not persecute with the sword, or put men to death for heretical opinions; but if to ministers of the word, which sense I choose, the meaning is, that not everyone suspected to be a tare, or a nominal professor, is to be removed from the communion of the church, because there is often danger in so doing:

lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them: not that men of openly scandalous lives are to be tolerated in churches; they are to be withdrawn from, and put away; nor men of known, avowed, heretical principles; such, after the first and second admonition, are to be rejected: yet there may be such in churches, not altogether agreeable in principle and practice, whose character and situation may be such, that there is no removing them without offending some truly gracious, useful persons, in whose affections they stand, who may be tempted, by such a step, to leave their communion; and so cannot be done without a considerable prejudice to the church. The scope of the parable, and the design of our Lord in it, are chiefly to be attended to; which are to show, that a pure and perfect church cannot be expected in the present state of things; and that saints should not be immoderately uneasy, but patiently bear such exercises, until Christ's time is come to relieve them, when the tares and chaff shall be separated from the wheat; when sinners shall not stand in the congregation of the righteous, and there shall be no more a pricking briar, nor a grieving thorn in the house of Israel.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Trapp's Complete Commentary

John Trapp

27 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?

Ver. 27. So the servants of the householder, &c.] Godly ministers are much vexed at hypocrites and fruitless hearers. So was our Saviour at the Pharisees, Mar 3:5; he looked on them with anger, being grieved at the hardness of their hearts. So was Paul at Elymas the sorcerer; he set his eyes upon him, as if he would have looked through him; after which lightning followeth that terrible thunder clap, "O full of all subtilty," &c. So was Peter at Simon Magus, Act 13:9-10; and St John at Diotrephes. "I would they were even cut off that trouble you," Gal 5:12. Mihi certe Auxentius nunquam aliud quam diabolus erit, quia Arianus, saith Hilarius, who also called Constantius Antichrist.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary

Then the servants. St. John Chrysostom observes, there are many circumstances in the parables that have no connexion with the instruction designed to be conveyed in the parables, and which are merely added to connect the different parts together.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Whedon's Commentary on the Bible

Daniel D. Whedon

27. Servants of the householder — Some understand by the servants here the ministers and guardians of the Church. But the field is not the Church, but the world, or the divine government or kingdom. These servants do not stand for any class of persons. But the false notion that the wicked should be destroyed from the earth is introduced by simply putting it dramatically into the mouths of the servants of the householder. That the servants do not represent any particular class of persons is shown by the fact that they are unmentioned in our Lord’s explanation of the parable which follows.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The Pulpit Commentary

So; and (Revised Version, de). The servants of the householder came. The explanation (ver. 38) does not say who are represented by these; they must be really identical with some of the wheat, yet since they are spoken of as though they are also the agents of the Sower, they must represent the more active, and especially the ministerial, members of the kingdom. Is it a mere coincidence that historically the clergy have shown themselves always the most eager advocates of the policy of rooting up the tares? And said unto him: Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? Thy. For the knowledge that the world belongs to God, and is under his governance and care, makes the question so much the more serious to the servants.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

John Wesley's Explanatory Notes

Didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? Whence then hath it darnel? - Not from the parent of good. Even the heathen could say, "No evil can from thee proceed: 'Tis only suffer'd, not decreed: As darkness is not from the sun, Nor mount the shades, till he is gone."

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

unfoldingWord translationNotes

Door43 World Missions Community

Connecting Statement:

Jesus continues to tell a parable about a field with both wheat and weeds growing in it.

the landowner

This is the same person who sowed good seed in his field.

did you not sow good seed in your field?

The servants used a question to emphasize their surprise. AT: "you sowed good seed in your field!" (See: Rhetorical Question)

did you not sow

The landowner probably had his servants plant the seeds. AT: "did we not sow" (See: Metonymy)

He said to them

"The landowner said to the servants"

So do you want us

The word "us" refers to the servants.

translationWords

servant

lord

seed

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

International Critical Commentary

(L) 27. And the servants of the householder came, and said to him, Lord, didst thou not sow good seed in thy field? Whence, therefore, hath it tares?]

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Lesson kit

Teaching starters — assembled from the data on this page, not authored interpretation. Every prompt links to the verse data it draws on. Edit before teaching.

Matthew, in the Gospels, opens this verse with 21 words (19 distinct Greek lemmas). Its most distinctive word is zizánion (“darnel”). A historical commentator’s framing appears above. Read the whole chapter for the surrounding context.

Discussion questions

The word zizánion carries the sense “darnel.” How does it shape the verse?
This is the first place “from where” appears in Scripture (first appears here). What does its debut here establish?
How does Matthew 13:25, which shares the word «darnel», read alongside this verse?
What does the repetition of “the” (3× in this one verse) do in this verse?
These translations render this verse differently; the difference is in the English rendering, not the original. What questions does that raise?
Compare how Bengel's Gnomon and Expositor's Greek Testament read this verse. Where do they agree or differ?

Things to notice

1 word makes its first canonical appearance in Scripture here.
These translations choose different wording for 19 words in this verse.
“the” occurs 3× in this single verse.
19 distinct Greek lemmas span 21 words in this verse.