The field is the world may also be changed to a simile (“The field stands for [or, represents] the world”), as may the other figures in the parable. Revised Standard Version in fact does this in one place: the good seed means the sons of the kingdom.
The sons of the kingdom (Good News Translation “the people who belong to the Kingdom”) is also used in 8.12. In the earlier passage it refers to the Jews, who by right should have belonged to God’s Kingdom but had disqualified themselves because of their rejection of Jesus. Here it refers to the people who in truth do belong to God’s Kingdom. The idea of “belonging to the Kingdom” may be difficult and unclear, and so one may translate “the people who have submitted themselves to the rule of God” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). INCL translates “those who have become the people of God.” Another expression is “the people who are under the rule of God.”
The sons of the evil one is translated “the people who belong to the Evil One” by Good News Translation. Here also sons is a Semitic idiom used to describe people who either belong to or are characterized by the “of” phrase that follows it. In other contexts it may be possible to interpret the evil one to mean “evil” in an impersonal sense (see 6.13), but in verse 39 he is explicitly identified as both “the enemy” and “the devil.” Therefore Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch translates the evil one as “the enemy of God” and then in verse 39 says of him “the enemy who planted the weeds is Satan.” In translation it should be made clear that Jesus is referring to the same being, not to three separate beings (“the evil one,” “the enemy,” “the devil”). It may then be helpful to translate “The weeds represent the people who belong to God’s enemy, the devil. He is the evil one who sowed the weeds….” Instead of “belong to,” translators may have “are ruled over by” or “who serve.”
For “the devil,” see comments on 4.1 and verse 39 below.
Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1988. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .