Matthew 13:42
in Matthew 13And they will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.
KJV
And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
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This verse in Matthew 13
Commentary
12 notes on this verseThe parable of the wheat and tares, which occupies the chief part of these verses, is one of peculiar importance in the present day. It is eminently calculated to correct the extravagant expectations in which many Christians indulge as to the effect of missions abroad, and of preaching the Gospel at home. May we give it the attention which it deserves! In the first place, this parable teaches us that good and evil will always be found together in the professing church, until the end of the world.
This site's exposition
gathered and burned in the fire
on Matthew 13:40-42
As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire so shall it be in the end of this world states the pattern once, then applies it, the Son of man shall send forth his angels to gather out all things that offend and them which do iniquity. A furnace of fire and wailing and gnashing of teeth is the second sounding of the refrain first heard at 8:12, always on Jesus' own lips and always describing the same final exclusion rather than a threat softened for a parable's sake.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
In these words is shown the reality of the resurrection of the body; and further, the twofold pains of hell, extreme heat, and extreme cold.
Or we may understand it of the kingdom of the heavenly Church; and then there will be held out here a two-fold punishment; first that they fall from glory as that is said, And they shall gather out of his kingdom all offences, to the end, that no offences should be seen in His kingdom; and then that they are burned. And they shall cast them into a furnace of fire. Behold the unspeakable love of God towards men! He is ready to show mercy, slow to punish; when He sows, He sows Himself; when He punishes, He punishes by others, sending His Angels to that. It follows, There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
A commentator
John ChrysostomHomily on the Gospel of Matthew 47 · Written in the 5th century.
proposed
"And He answered," so it is said, "and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world, the good seed, these are the children of the kingdom, but the tares are the children of the wicked one; the enemy that soweth them is the devil; and the harvest is the end of the world, and the reapers are angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of Man shall send His angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; and shall cast them into the furnace of fire, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father." For whereas He Himself is the sower, and that of His own field, and out of His own kingdom He gathers, it is quite clear that the present world also is His. But mark His unspeakable love to man, and His leaning to bounty, and His disinclination to punishment; in that, when He sows, He sows in His own person, but when He punishes, it is by others, that is, by the angels.
He affirms, lastly, that "the very hairs of our head are all numbered," and in the affirmation He of course includes the promise of their safety; for if they were to be lost, where would be the use of having taken such a numerical care of them? Surely the only use lies (in this truth): "That of all which the Father hath given to me, I should lose none," -not even a hair, as also not an eye nor a tooth.
(Verse 37 onwards) And he answered, saying: The one who sows good seed is the Son of Man. But the field is the world. And the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom. But the weeds are the sons of the evil one. And the enemy who sowed them is the devil. And the harvest is the end of the age. And the reapers are angels. Therefore, just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so it will be at the end of the age.
5 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church2 voices
and shall cast them into the furnace of fire. The punishment of loss is the deprivation of the divine vision. But the punishment of sense is touched upon when it says and shall cast them into the furnace of fire; Apoc 21:27: there shall not …
What needed to be said has been said above. We said that He is speaking here of the heresies which are permitted to exist until the end of the world. For if we were to slay the heretics and cut them down, there would be …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And shall cast them into a furnace of fire,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Da 12:2): "the furnace of fire" denoting the fierceness of the torment: the "wailing" signifying the anguish this causes; while the "gnashing of teeth" is a graphic way of expressing the despair in which its remedilessness issues (see Mt 8:12)!
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The parable of the wheat and tares, which occupies the chief part of these verses, is one of peculiar importance in the present day. It is eminently calculated to correct the extravagant expectations in which many Christians indulge as to the effect of missions abroad, and of preaching the Gospel at home. May we give it the attention which it deserves! In the first place, this parable teaches us that good and evil will always be found together in the professing church, until the end of the world. The visible church is set before us as a mixed body: it is a vast “field” in which “wheat” and “tares” grow side by side. We must expect to find believers and unbelievers, converted and unconverted, “the children of the kingdom” and “the children of the wicked one”all mingled together in every congregation of baptized people. The purest preaching of the Gospel will not prevent this. In every age of the church the same state of things has existed: it was the experience of the early Fathers; it was the experience of the Reformers; it is the experience of the best ministers at the present hour. There has never been a visible church or a religious assembly of which the members have all been “wheat.” The devil, that great enemy of souls, has always taken care to sow “tares.” The most strict and prudent discipline will not prevent this: Episcopalians, Presbyterians and Independents all alike find it to be so. Do what we will to purify a church, we shall never succeed in obtaining a perfectly pure communion: tares will be found among the wheat; hypocrites and deceivers will creep in; and worst of all, if we are extreme in our efforts to obtain purity we do more harm than good: we run the risk of encouraging many a Judas Iscariot, and breaking many a bruised reed. In our zeal to gather up the tares, we are in danger of rooting up the wheat with them.
The words behind it
17 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| βαλοῦσιν | balousin | they will cast | G906 → | 121 times |
| αὐτοὺς | autous | them | G846 → | 5565 times |
| εἰς | eis | into | G1519 → | 1755 times |
| τὴν | ten | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| κάμινον | kaminon | furnace | G2575 → | |
| τοῦ | tou | of the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| πυρός· | puros | fire; | G4442 → | 70 times |
| ἐκεῖ | ekei | there | G1563 → | 105 times |
| ἔσται | estai | will be | G1510 → | 2333 times |
| ὁ | ho | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| κλαυθμὸς | klauthmos | weeping | G2805 → | 9 times |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| ὁ | ho | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| βρυγμὸς | brugmos | gnashing | G1030 → | 7 times |
| τῶν | ton | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ὀδόντων. | odonton | of teeth. | G3599 → | 12 times |
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
βαλοῦσινthey will cast
balousinG906 →121 times
αὐτοὺςthem
autousG846 →5565 times
εἰςinto
eisG1519 →1755 times
τὴνthe
tenG3588 →19766 times
κάμινονfurnace
kaminonG2575 →
τοῦof the
touG3588 →19766 times
πυρός·fire;
purosG4442 →70 times
ἐκεῖthere
ekeiG1563 →105 times
ἔσταιwill be
estaiG1510 →2333 times
ὁthe
hoG3588 →19766 times
κλαυθμὸςweeping
klauthmosG2805 →9 times
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
ὁthe
hoG3588 →19766 times
βρυγμὸςgnashing
brugmosG1030 →7 times
τῶν<the>
tonG3588 →19766 times
ὀδόντων.of teeth.
odontonG3599 →12 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Matthew 8:12But the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
it leads to
- Matthew 25:30
And throw that worthless servant into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
- Luke 13:28
There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves are thrown out.
- Matthew 21:43
Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.
- Matthew 24:51
Then he will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
- Matthew 13:50
and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
- Matthew 25:30
Through
Revelation 20:10And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, into which the beast and the false prophet had already been thrown. There they will be tormented day…
it leads to
- Matthew 25:41
Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
- Revelation 19:20
But the beast was captured along with the false prophet, who on its behalf had performed signs deceiving those who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. Both the beast and…
- Matthew 25:46
And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
- Matthew 25:41
Where this verse is studied
About Matthew
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Matthew; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Matthew; John Chrysostom, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; John Chrysostom, Homily on the Gospel of Matthew 47; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Remigius of Rheims, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Tertullian, On the Resurrection of the Flesh; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Matthew and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Matthew.