Matthew 25
25
The Parable of the Ten Virgins
1 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five#tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated. of the virgins#tn Grk “Five of them.” were foolish, and five were wise. 3 When#tn Grk “For when.” Here γάρ (gar) has not been translated. the foolish ones took their lamps, they did not take extra#tn The word “extra” is not in the Greek text but is implied. The point is that the five foolish virgins had only the oil in their lamps, but took along no extra supply from which to replenish them. This is clear from v. 8, where the lamps of the foolish virgins are going out because they are running out of oil. olive oil#tn On the use of olive oil in lamps, see L&N 6.202. with them. 4 But the wise ones took flasks of olive oil with their lamps. 5 When#tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated. the bridegroom was delayed a long time, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. 6 But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look, the bridegroom is here! Come out to meet him.’#tc ‡ Most witnesses have αὐτοῦ (autou, “[with] him”) after ἀπάντησιν (apanthsin, “meeting”), a reading which makes explicit what is already implied in the shorter text (as found in א B 700). The translation likewise adds “him” for clarity’s sake even though the word is not considered part of the original text. NA27 has αὐτοῦ in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity. 7 Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8 The#tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated. foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.’ 9 ‘No,’ they replied.#tn Grk “The wise answered, saying, ‘No.’” ‘There won’t be enough for you and for us. Go instead to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’ 10 But while they had gone to buy it, the bridegroom arrived, and those who were ready went inside with him to the wedding banquet. Then#tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative. the door was shut. 11 Later,#tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated. the other virgins came too, saying, ‘Lord, lord! Let us in!’#tn Grk “Open to us.” 12 But he replied,#tn Grk “But answering, he said.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation. ‘I tell you the truth,#tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.” I do not know you!’ 13 Therefore stay alert, because you do not know the day or the hour.#tc Most later mss (C3 Ë13 1424c Ï) also read here “in which the Son of Man is coming” (ἐν ᾗ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἔρχεται, en |h Jo Juio" tou anqrwpou ercetai), reproducing almost verbatim the last line of Matt 24:44. The longer reading thus appears to be an explanatory expansion and should not be considered authentic. The earlier and better witnesses ({Ì35 א A B C* D L W Δ Θ Ë1 33 565 892 1424* lat co}) lack this phrase.
The Parable of the Talents
14 “For it is like a man going on a journey, who summoned his slaves#tn See the note on the word “slave” in 8:9. and entrusted his property to them. 15 To#tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated. one he gave five talents,#sn A talent was equal to 6000 denarii. See the note on this term in 18:24. to another two, and to another one, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The one who had received five talents went off right away and put his money to work#tn Grk “traded with them.” and gained five more. 17 In the same way, the one who had two gained two more. 18 But the one who had received one talent went out and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money in it. 19 After#tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated. a long time, the master of those slaves came and settled his accounts with them. 20 The#tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated. one who had received the five talents came and brought five more, saying, ‘Sir,#tn Grk Or “Lord; or “Master” (and so throughout this paragraph). you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.’ 21 His master answered,#tn Grk “His master said to him.” ‘Well done, good and faithful slave! You have been faithful in a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 The#tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated. one with the two talents also came and said, ‘Sir, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more.’ 23 His master answered, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave! You have been faithful with a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 Then the one who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Sir, I knew that you were a hard man, harvesting where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed, 25 so#tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated. I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master answered,#tn Grk “But answering, his master said to him.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation. ‘Evil and lazy slave! So you knew that I harvest where I didn’t sow and gather where I didn’t scatter? 27 Then you should have deposited my money with the bankers,#tn For the translation “deposited my money with the bankers,” see L&N 57.216. and on my return I would have received my money back with interest!#sn That is, “If you really feared me you should have done a minimum to get what I asked for.” 28 Therefore take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten.#tn Grk “the ten talents.” 29 For the one who has will be given more,#tn Grk “to everyone who has, he will be given more.”sn The one who has will be given more. Faithfulness yields great reward (see Matt 13:12; also Mark 4:25; Luke 8:18, 19:26). and he will have more than enough. But the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.#sn The one who has nothing has even what he seems to have taken from him, ending up with no reward at all (see also Luke 8:18). The exact force of this is left ambiguous, but there is no comfort here for those who are pictured by the third slave as being totally unmoved by the master. Though not an outright enemy, there is no relationship to the master either. 30 And throw that worthless slave into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
The Judgment
31 “When#tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated. the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All#tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated. the nations will be assembled before him, and he will separate people one from another like a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He#tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated. will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34 Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him,#tn Grk “answer him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated. ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When#tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated. did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or naked and clothe you? 39 When#tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated. did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the king will answer them,#tn Grk “answering, the king will say to them.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation. ‘I tell you the truth,#tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.” just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters#tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited). In this context Jesus is ultimately speaking of his “followers” (whether men or women, adults or children), but the familial connotation of “brothers and sisters” is also important to retain here. of mine, you did it for me.’
41 “Then he will say#tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated. to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire that has been prepared for the devil and his angels! 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink. 43 I was a stranger and you did not receive me as a guest, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they too will answer,#tn Grk “Then they will answer, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated. ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not give you whatever you needed?’ 45 Then he will answer them,#tn Grk “answer them, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated. ‘I tell you the truth,#tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.” just as you did not do it for one of the least of these, you did not do it for me.’ 46 And these will depart into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
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Matthew 25: NET
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Matthew 25
25
Jesus told a story about 10 young women at a wedding ceremony
1Jesus said to his followers, “This picture story is about what will happen in God’s family, at the time when I come back from heaven.#Luke 12:35
There were some young women that had a special job at a wedding ceremony. When the man getting married came to the house, they had to meet him, and they had to bring him into the house. Then they were all going to eat a big dinner with that man and his new wife. That wedding was at night time, so the young women had their oil lamps with them. 2-4There were 10 of these young women. And 5 of them used their brains. They took jars of extra oil with them for their lamps. But the other 5 women were stupid. They didn’t take any extra oil with them.
5That man getting married didn’t come for a long time, so all the young women got tired and went to sleep.
6In the middle of the night, somebody shouted, ‘He is coming now. Come out to meet him.’
7The 10 young women woke up. Then they got up quickly, and they tried to make their lamps burn bright. 8The 5 stupid women that didn’t have any extra oil said to the other 5 women, ‘Give us some of your oil. Our lamps are going out.’
9The other women said, ‘Sorry, we can’t do that. There is not enough oil for all of us. You have to go and buy some oil for yourselves.’
10So those 5 stupid women went to buy some oil. While they were away, that man came to the house to get married. The 5 other women were ready, and they went with him into the house, and somebody locked the door. Then they all started to eat the wedding dinner.
11Later, the 5 stupid women came back. They called to that man. They said, ‘Sir, please open the door for us.’
12But he said, ‘Who are you? I don’t know you.’ ”#Luke 13:25
13Then Jesus said, “It will be like that for you too. You don’t know when I will come back. You don’t know the day or the time. So you have to keep on waiting for me properly. You have to be ready for me when I come.”
(We have not yet translated 25:14-30. You can read a story like that story in Luke 19:11-27.)
After Jesus comes back, he will judge everybody
31Jesus said, “I am God’s special man, and one day, I will come back from heaven, and all God’s angel messengers will come with me. At that time, I will be really great and powerful. I will be the biggest boss, and I will sit down on the big boss’s seat.#Matthew 16:27; 19:28 32All the people in the world, from every country, they will all come together in front of me. Then I will split all those people into 2 mobs. 33I will put one mob on one side of me, and the other mob on the other side of me.
34Then I will say to the people on my right-hand side, ‘Come on, you mob. My father is happy with you, so you can be in his family. A long time ago, at the time when he made the world, he made a good place for you. It is ready for you now. 35You see, at one time I was hungry, and you gave me some food to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me some water to drink. I was a stranger with nowhere to live, so you took me into your home. 36In the cold weather time I didn’t have enough clothes to keep me warm, so you gave me some more clothes. I was sick, and you looked after me. I was in prison, and you visited me there.’
37Then these good people will say, ‘Sir, when did we ever see you hungry, and give you food? Or thirsty, and give you water to drink? 38When did we ever see you as a stranger, and take you into our homes? When did we ever see you short of clothes, and give you some more clothes? 39When did we ever see you sick, or in prison, and visit you?’
40I will say to them, ‘Listen. You did all these things to help my followers. They were not important people, but they were mine, so every time you helped them, you helped me at the same time.’
41Then I will turn to the people on my left-hand side, and I will say to them, ‘Get away from me, you mob that God will punish. Go into that big fire that burns for ever. God made that fire for all the bad spirits and for their boss, the devil. And you have to go there too. 42You see, I was hungry, but you didn’t give me anything to eat. I was thirsty, but you didn’t give me a drink. 43I was a stranger with nowhere to live, but you didn’t take me into your home. I didn’t have enough clothes to keep me warm, but you didn’t give me any more clothes. I was sick, and in prison, but you didn’t visit me.’
44Then they will say, ‘But, sir, when did we ever see you with those problems and not help you? We never saw you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or short of clothes, or sick, or in prison.’
45And I will say to them, ‘Listen. You didn’t do anything to help my friends. They were not important people, but they were my people. Every time you said no to helping them, at that same time you were saying no to helping me.’
46Then that bad mob will go to the bad place, and God will punish them for ever. But the good mob will go to live in the good place for ever.”#Daniel 12:2
(We have not yet translated 26:1—27:62a. You can read those stories and messages in Mark chapters 14 and 15, and Luke chapters 22 and 23. They are about the way people killed Jesus, and put his body in a cave, and blocked that cave with a big stone.)
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