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PER141
The parable of the weeds and the wheat
The parable of the weeds and the wheat (Matthew 13.24-30), unique to Matthew, teaches that good and evil coexist in the world until the final judgment. In it, Jesus illustrates God's patience in delaying the separation of the righteous and the wicked until the eschatological harvest, entrusted to the angels. This parable forms part of a profound biblical reflection on the apparent prosperity of the wicked, shared by Habakkuk, Asaph, Jeremiah, and Job.
Habakkuk 1.2-13 (King James Version) :O LORD, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save!Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention.Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvellously: for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you.Notebreadth: Heb. breadthsNotetheir judgment…: or, from them shall proceed the judgment of these, and the captivity of theseNotefierce: Heb. sharpNotetheir…: or, the supping up of their faces, etc: or, their faces shall look (Heb. the opposition of their faces) toward the eastFor, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwellingplaces that are not theirs.They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity shall proceed of themselves.Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves: and their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat.They shall come all for violence: their faces shall sup up as the east wind, and they shall gather the captivity as the sand.And they shall scoff at the kings, and the princes shall be a scorn unto them: they shall deride every strong hold; for they shall heap dust, and take it.Then shall his mind change, and he shall pass over, and offend, imputing this his power unto his god.Art thou not from everlasting, O LORD my God, mine Holy One? we shall not die. O LORD, thou hast ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, thou hast established them for correction.Notemighty…: Heb. rockNoteestablished: Heb. foundedNoteiniquity: or, grievanceNotecreeping: or, movingNotedrag: or, flue netNoteplenteous: or, dainty: Heb. fatThou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?King James Version (1769), domaine public — texte : eBible.org