Matthew 25
25
Matthew 25
1¶ Then shall the kingdom of the heavens be likened unto ten virgins who, taking their lamps, went forth to meet the bridegroom.
2And five of them were prudent, and five were foolish.
3Those that were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them;
4but the prudent took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
5While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
6And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom comes; go ye out to meet him.
7Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps.
8And the foolish said unto the prudent, Give us of your oil, for our lamps are going out.
9But the prudent answered, saying, Lest there be not enough for us and you, but go ye rather to them that sell and buy for yourselves.
10And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and those that were ready went in with him to the marriage, and the door was shut.
11Afterward the other virgins also came, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
12But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
13Watch, therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man comes.
14¶ For it is like a man travelling into a far country, who called his own slaves and delivered unto them his goods.
15And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each one according to his faculty, and straightway took his journey.
16And after he was gone, he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same and made another five talents.
17And likewise he that had received two, he also gained another two.
18But he that had received one went and dug in the earth and hid his lord’s money.
19And after a long time the lord of those slaves came and reckoned accounts with them.
20And so he that had received five talents came and brought another five talents, saying, Lord, thou didst deliver unto me five talents; behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.
21His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful slave; thou hast been faithful over a few things; I will set thee over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
22He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou didst deliver unto me two talents; behold, I have gained two other talents beside them.
23His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful slave; thou hast been faithful over a few things; I will set thee over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
24Then he who had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art a hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown and gathering where thou hast not scattered;
25therefore, I was afraid and went and hid thy talent in the earth; behold, thou hast what is thine.
26His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful slave, thou knewest that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I have not scattered;
27therefore, it was expedient for thee to have put my money to the bankers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with interest.
28Take, therefore, the talent from him and give it unto him who has ten talents.
29For unto every one that has shall be given, and he shall have abundance, but from him that has not shall be taken away even that which he has.
30And cast ye the unprofitable slave into the outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
31¶ When the Son of man shall come in his glory and all the holy angels with him, then he shall sit upon the throne of his glory,
32and before him shall be gathered all nations; and he shall separate them one from another as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats,
33and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34Then shall the King say unto those on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world;
35for I was hungry, and ye gave me food; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in;
36naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when did we see thee hungry and feed thee? or thirsty and give thee drink?
38When did we see thee a stranger and take thee in? or naked and clothe thee?
39Or when did we see thee sick or in prison and come unto thee?
40And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brothers, ye have done it unto me.
41Then he shall also say unto those who shall be on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angels;
42for I was hungry, and ye gave me no food; I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink;
43I was a stranger, and ye took me not in; naked, and ye clothed me not; sick and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44Then they shall also answer him, saying, Lord, when did we see thee hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and did not minister unto thee?
45Then he shall answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of my brothers, ye did it not to me.
46And they shall go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.
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The Jubilee Bible 2000 (JUB) by Ransom Press International
Matthew 25
25
The Story of the Virgins
1-5“God’s kingdom is like ten young virgins who took oil lamps and went out to greet the bridegroom. Five were silly and five were smart. The silly virgins took lamps, but no extra oil. The smart virgins took jars of oil to feed their lamps. The bridegroom didn’t show up when they expected him, and they all fell asleep.
6“In the middle of the night someone yelled out, ‘He’s here! The bridegroom’s here! Go out and greet him!’
7-8“The ten virgins got up and got their lamps ready. The silly virgins said to the smart ones, ‘Our lamps are going out; lend us some of your oil.’
9“They answered, ‘There might not be enough to go around; go buy your own.’
10“They did, but while they were out buying oil, the bridegroom arrived. When everyone who was there to greet him had gone into the wedding feast, the door was locked.
11“Much later, the other virgins, the silly ones, showed up and knocked on the door, saying, ‘Master, we’re here. Let us in.’
12“He answered, ‘Do I know you? I don’t think I know you.’
13“So stay alert. You have no idea when he might arrive.
The Story About Investment
14-18“It’s also like a man going off on an extended trip. He called his servants together and delegated responsibilities. To one he gave five thousand dollars, to another two thousand, to a third one thousand, depending on their abilities. Then he left. Right off, the first servant went to work and doubled his master’s investment. The second did the same. But the man with the single thousand dug a hole and carefully buried his master’s money.
19-21“After a long absence, the master of those three servants came back and settled up with them. The one given five thousand dollars showed him how he had doubled his investment. His master commended him: ‘Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner.’
22-23“The servant with the two thousand showed how he also had doubled his master’s investment. His master commended him: ‘Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner.’
24-25“The servant given one thousand said, ‘Master, I know you have high standards and hate careless ways, that you demand the best and make no allowances for error. I was afraid I might disappoint you, so I found a good hiding place and secured your money. Here it is, safe and sound down to the last cent.’
26-27“The master was furious. ‘That’s a terrible way to live! It’s criminal to live cautiously like that! If you knew I was after the best, why did you do less than the least? The least you could have done would have been to invest the sum with the bankers, where at least I would have gotten a little interest.
28-30“‘Take the thousand and give it to the one who risked the most. And get rid of this “play-it-safe” who won’t go out on a limb. Throw him out into utter darkness.’
The Sheep and the Goats
31-33“When he finally arrives, blazing in beauty and all his angels with him, the Son of Man will take his place on his glorious throne. Then all the nations will be arranged before him and he will sort the people out, much as a shepherd sorts out sheep and goats, putting sheep to his right and goats to his left.
34-36“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what’s coming to you in this kingdom. It’s been ready for you since the world’s foundation. And here’s why:
I was hungry and you fed me,
I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
I was homeless and you gave me a room,
I was shivering and you gave me clothes,
I was sick and you stopped to visit,
I was in prison and you came to me.’
37-40“Then those ‘sheep’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.’
41-43“Then he will turn to the ‘goats,’ the ones on his left, and say, ‘Get out, worthless goats! You’re good for nothing but the fires of hell. And why? Because—
I was hungry and you gave me no meal,
I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
I was homeless and you gave me no bed,
I was shivering and you gave me no clothes,
Sick and in prison, and you never visited.’
44“Then those ‘goats’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or homeless or shivering or sick or in prison and didn’t help?’
45“He will answer them, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you failed to do one of these things to someone who was being overlooked or ignored, that was me—you failed to do it to me.’
46“Then those ‘goats’ will be herded to their eternal doom, but the ‘sheep’ to their eternal reward.”
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.