It seems the scripture about the wheat and the tares used to read wheat and chaff. However now I am not so sure as the chaff looks like wheat and it is hard to tell the difference, BUT the tares are clearly NOT WHEAT and don’t claim to be. Tares are not complacent gentiles but rather sons of darkness.
“You are of your father the devil”
I have a friend whose last name is Chaff. She used to grumble over the meaning of her name being “worthless grain”. And that even the Holy Bible mentioned her last name by name. She is certain the verse used to say in the KJV Bible “Chaff” in place of “Tares”. “Lion and Lamb” scripture was changed.
King James Bible
Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
Look in your paper Bible to see that “thoroughly” is absolutely misspelled and that God is holding a “fan”. Really? Furthermore all other New Testament instances of the word “chaff” except Mathew 3:12 and Luke 3:17 have disappeared from the sheep/goat scenario and separation of the wheat and the chaff in the KJV Bible. The words “He will separate the wheat from the chaff” as quoted by Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young and commonly known by many is no longer written in that order of wording.
However the Bible does dance around the topic in several Old Testament scriptures.
Isaiah 5:24
“Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.” I say amen because I think this scripture is unchanged (Mandela effect ref.) on the most part. Even though the word “rottenness does sound WRONG to me. Still you get the meaning.
I suppose Crosby Stills Nash and Young heard the verse the same way as they quoted it in this song. Mt. 13:24-30
The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares
24 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. 26 But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. 27 So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”