grain

The Greek and Hebrew that is translated in English as “grain” (or: “corn”) is translated in Kui as “(unthreshed) rice.” Helen Evans (in The Bible Translator 1954, p. 40ff. ) explains: “Padddy [unthreshed rice] is the main crop of the country and rice the staple diet of the people, besides which [grain] is unknown and there is no word for it, and it seemed to us that paddy and rice in the mind of the Kui people stood for all that corn meant to the Jews.” “Paddy” is also the translation in Pa’o Karen (source: Gordon Luce in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 153f. ).

Other translations include: “wheat” (Teutila Cuicatec), “corn” (Lalana Chinantec), “things to eat” (Morelos Nahuatl), “grass corn” (wheat) (Chichimeca-Jonaz) (source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.), “millet” (Lambya) (source: project-specific notes in Paratext), “food” (Nyamwezi) (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)or ntimumma lujia / “seeds for food” (Lokạạ — “since Lokạạ does not have specific terms for maize and rice that can be described as grains”) (source: J.A. Naudé, C.L. Miller Naudé, J.O. Obono in Acta Theologica 43/2, 2023, p. 129ff. )

complete verse (Matthew 13:25)

Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 13:25:

  • Uma: “One night while the person was asleep, an enemy of that gardener came, he sowed the garden with seeds of grass that is almost like rice in its leafing, and then left.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “One night while all people were asleep, his enemy went there and he scattered seeds of weeds on top of the seeds (lit. following) and then he left.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “One night while he was sleeping, his enemy arrived and scattered in the field the seeds of a bad plant, and he went home.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “One night when they were sleeping, his enemy went to broadcast weed seeds to mix with the rice.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “One night when people were asleep, his opponent came, who scattered-seed of a poisonous weed there in that field which had been planted with wheat.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “But while all the people slept, the enemy of the owner of the field entered the wheat field at night. He planted seeds which appear like wheat. Then he left.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

enemy / foe

The Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, Ge’ez, and Latin that is translated as “enemy” or “foe” in English is translated in the Hausa Common Language Bible as “friends of front,” i.e., the person standing opposite you in a battle. (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)

In North Alaskan Inupiatun it is translated with a term that implies that it’s not just someone who hates you, but one who wants to do you harm (Source: Robert Bascom), in Tarok as ukpa ìkum or “companion in war/fighting,” and in Ikwere as nye irno m or “person who hates me” (source for this and one above: Chuck and Karen Tessaro in this newsletter ).

In Cherokee it is either translated as “the one(s) who reprimand(s) you” or “the one(s) feared.” (Source: Bender / Belt 2025, p. 47)

wheat

Two kinds of wild wheat have grown in the open deciduous oak woodland in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent for several thousand years: Einkorn Wheat Triticum monococcum and Emmer Wheat Triticum dicoccum. Both came into cultivation together with barley. Just before the time of the Romans, the Naked Bread Wheat or Hard Wheat Triticum durum started replacing the hulled varieties. This then became the favorite type of wheat for bread and macaroni. Spelt is a sub-member of the Triticum aestivum species.

In New Revised Standard Version, updated edition and some other versions, the generic Hebrew word bar has been rendered “wheat” in Jeremiah 23:28 et al. This is legitimate, since the grain referred to by bar was probably wheat. However, it might be better to say “grain” in these passages.

The most important early wheat for the Israelites was emmer, probably the only wheat known in Egypt, and referred to in Hebrew as chittah. However, according to Hepper (Baker Encyclopedia of Bible Plants: Flowers and Trees, Fruits and Vegetables, Ecology. Baker Book House, 1992), the seven-headed wheat of the Egyptian king’s dream (Genesis 41:5ff.) suggests that there may also have been Triticum turgidum (rivet wheat) in the emmer group. The Hebrew word kusemeth probably refers to a type of emmer wheat that the Egyptians called swt.

Wheat is a type of grass like rice and barley, growing to around 75 centimeters (2.5 feet) in height and having a head with many small grains in rows.

Bread made from wheat was the staple food for the people of ancient Israel, so God punished them by breaking “the staff of bread” (see, for example, Ezekiel 4:16).

If wheat is unfamiliar, translators can transliterate from a major language in non-rhetorical contexts (for example, English witi, Portuguese trigo, French ble or froment, Swahili ngano, Arabic kama/alkama). The transliteration may add a generic tag such as “grain.” The New Testament passages are mostly rhetorical, opening the possibility for a metaphorical equivalent.

Wheat head, photo by Gloria Suess

Source: Each According to its Kind: Plants and Trees in the Bible (UBS Helps for Translators)

Translation commentary on Matthew 13:25

But while men were sleeping is reproduced in a somewhat natural story-telling style by Good News Translation: “One night, when everyone was asleep.” Men are best interpreted as people in general (Good News Translation, New English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible) rather than as a specific reference to the men who were responsible for the care and cultivation of the field, as with Phillips (“But while his men were asleep”).

His enemy (so also New Jerusalem Bible, New English Bible) is literally “the enemy,” but in such constructions “the” has the force of the possessive his; Good News Translation has “an enemy,” which is also acceptable. One may translate “someone who did not like the man” or “someone who wanted to do harm to the man.” When the parable is allegorized, “the enemy” becomes “the devil” (verse 39).

Came may have to be “went.” Further, some languages will require a destination, as in “went to the fields.”

Weeds is more specifically “darnel” (Barclay, New Jerusalem Bible, New English Bible), a poisonous plant which frequently grows in wheat fields. In the early stages of growth this weed is difficult to distinguish from wheat.

In some languages sowed weeds will have to be “sowed the seeds of weeds” or “sowed the seeds of a poisonous plant.”

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Matthew 13:25

13:25a

But: Something unexpected happens in this verse. An enemy comes and plants weeds in the man’s field. Many English versions are like the Berean Standard Bible and introduce this unexpected event with the conjunction But.

In some languages, no conjunction is necessary here. For example:

One night, when everyone was asleep (Good News Translation)

while everyone was asleep: There are two ways to interpret the Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as everyone:

(1) It refers to people in general. For example:

while everyone was sleeping (New International Version)

(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, Good News Translation, NET Bible, New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, God’s Word, Contemporary English Version, New Living Translation (1996), New Century Version)

(2) It refers specifically to the workers of the man who owned the field. For example:

while his men were sleeping (New American Standard Bible)

(English Standard Version, New American Standard Bible, New Living Translation (2004), Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). This phrase probably includes everyone in the man’s household: the man, his family, and his servants.

13:25b

sowed weeds: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as weeds refers to a specific type of weed. This weed looks very similar to wheat, but the seeds it produces are not edible.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

• Use a generic word for weeds. For example:

sowed weed ⌊seeds⌋
-or-
planted ⌊seeds of⌋ bad plants
-or-
scattered ⌊poisonous⌋ weed ⌊seeds⌋

• Use a word that refers to a specific type of weed in your area. This type of weed should resemble grass or wheat.

wheat: The word wheat refers to a grain plant that is common in that area of Israel. The wheat plant produces grains that are ground into flour to make bread.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

• Use the specific word for wheat.

• Compare this to something that is commonly grown in your area. For example:

something like rice/millet

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