Matthew 25
25
1“The kingdom of heaven is like ten girls, who took their lamps with them to go and meet the bridegroom. 2Five were foolish, and five were wise. 3The foolish girls took their lamps but didn't take any oil with them, 4while the wise took jars of oil with them as well as their lamps. 5The bridegroom took a long time and all the girls became drowsy and fell asleep. 6At midnight the shout came, ‘Look, the bridegroom's here! Come out and meet him!’ 7All the girls got up and trimmed the wicks of their lamps. The foolish girls said to the wise ones, 8‘Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.’ But the wise girls replied, 9‘No, because otherwise there won't be enough for both you and for us. Go to the shopkeepers and buy some oil for yourselves.’ 10While they went to buy oil, the bridegroom arrived, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding, and the door was locked shut. 11The other girls came later. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they called, ‘Open the door for us!’ 12But he answered, ‘I tell you the truth: I don't know you.’ 13So stay alert, for you don't know the day, or the hour.
14It's like a man who went away on a trip. He called in his servants and entrusted them with what he owned. 15To one of them he gave five talents,#25:15. Probably referring to talents of silver, a large amount of money. to another he gave two, and to another one, according to their different abilities. Then he left. 16Immediately the one with five talents went and invested them in a business, and made another five talents. 17In the same way the one with two talents made another two. 18But the man who'd received the one talent went off and dug a hole and hid his master's money. 19A long time later the master of those servants returned, and settled accounts with them. 20The one with five talents came and presented the other five talents. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘You gave me five talents. Look, I've made a profit of five talents.’ 21His master said to him, ‘You've done well—you are a good, faithful servant. You have proved yourself trustworthy over small things, so now I'm placing you in charge over many things. Be happy because I'm really pleased with you!’ 22The one with two talents also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘You gave me two talents. Look, I've made a profit of two talents.’ 23His master said to him, ‘You've done well—you are a good, faithful servant. You have proved trustworthy over small things, so now I'm placing you in charge over many things. Be happy because I'm really pleased with you!’
24Then the man with one talent came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I know that you're a hard man. You reap where you didn't sow, and you harvest crops that you didn't plant. 25So since I was afraid of you I went and buried your talent in the ground. Look, you can have back what belongs to you.’ 26But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! If you think I reap where I don't sow, and harvest crops I didn't plant, 27then you should have deposited my silver in the bank so that when I returned I could have had my money with interest. 28Take the talent away from him, and give it to the one with ten talents. 29For everyone who has will be given even more; and everyone who doesn't have anything, even what they have will be taken away from them. 30Now throw this useless servant out into the darkness where there'll be crying and gnashing of teeth.’
31But when the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his majestic throne. 32Everyone will be brought before him. He will separate them from one another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He'll place the sheep on his right hand, and the goats on his left. 34Then the king will say to the ones on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, and inherit the kingdom that's been prepared for you from the beginning of the world. 35For I was hungry, and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me in. 36I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you looked after me. I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37Then those who are right will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and fed you, or thirsty and gave you a drink? 38When did we see you as a stranger and invite you in, or naked and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick, or in prison, and visit you?’ 40The king will tell them, ‘I tell you the truth: whatever you did for one of these least important brothers of mine you did for me.’
41He'll also say to those on his left, ‘Go away from me, you who are doomed, into the eternal#25:41. Eternal in consequence, rather than in duration. fire prepared for the devil and his angels! 42For I was hungry and you didn't give me anything to eat. I was thirsty and you didn't give me a drink. 43I was a stranger and you didn't invite me in. I was naked and you didn't clothe me. I was sick and in prison and you didn't visit me.’ 44Then they will also answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and didn't look after you?’ 45Then he will tell them, ‘I tell you the truth: whatever you didn't do for one of these least important brothers of mine you didn't do for me.’ 46They will go away into eternal condemnation, but those who are good will enter eternal life.”
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com
Matthew 25
25
A story about ten girls
Jesus said:
1The kingdom of heaven is like what happened one night when ten girls took their oil lamps and went to a wedding to meet the groom.#25.1 to meet the groom: Some manuscripts add “and the bride”. It was the custom for the groom to go to the home of the bride's parents to get his bride. Young girls and other guests would then go with them to the home of the groom's parents, where the wedding feast would take place.#Lk 12.35. 2Five of the girls were foolish and five were wise. 3The foolish ones took their lamps, but no extra oil. 4The ones who were wise took along extra oil for their lamps.
5The groom was late arriving, and the girls became drowsy and fell asleep. 6Then in the middle of the night someone shouted, “Here's the groom! Come to meet him!”
7When the girls got up and started getting their lamps ready, 8the foolish ones said to the others, “Let us have some of your oil! Our lamps are going out.”
9The girls who were wise answered, “There's not enough oil for all of us! Go and buy some for yourselves.”
10While the foolish girls were on their way to get some oil, the groom arrived. The girls who were ready went into the wedding, and the doors were closed. 11Later the other girls returned and shouted, “Sir, sir! Open the door for us!”#Lk 13.25.
12But the groom replied, “I don't even know you!”
13So, my disciples, always be ready! You don't know the day or the time when all this will happen.
A story about three servants
(Luke 19.11-27)
Jesus continued:
14The kingdom is also like what happened when a man went away and put his three servants in charge of all he owned.#Lk 19.11-27. 15The man knew what each servant could do. So he handed five thousand coins to the first servant, two thousand to the second, and one thousand to the third. Then he left the country.
16As soon as the man had gone, the servant with the five thousand coins used them to earn five thousand more. 17The servant who had two thousand coins did the same with his money and earned two thousand more. 18But the servant with one thousand coins dug a hole and hid his master's money in the ground.
19Some time later the master of those servants returned. He called them in and asked what they had done with his money. 20The servant who had been given five thousand coins brought them in with the five thousand that he had earned. He said, “Sir, you gave me five thousand coins, and I have earned five thousand more.”
21“Wonderful!” his master replied. “You are a good and faithful servant. I left you in charge of only a little, but now I will put you in charge of much more. Come and share in my happiness!”
22Next, the servant who had been given two thousand coins came in and said, “Sir, you gave me two thousand coins, and I have earned two thousand more.”
23“Wonderful!” his master replied. “You are a good and faithful servant. I left you in charge of only a little, but now I will put you in charge of much more. Come and share in my happiness!”
24The servant who had been given one thousand coins then came in and said, “Sir, I know that you are hard to get along with. You harvest what you don't plant and gather crops where you haven't scattered seed. 25I was frightened and went out and hid your money in the ground. Here is every single coin!”
26The master of the servant told him, “You are lazy and good-for-nothing! You know that I harvest what I don't plant and gather crops where I haven't scattered seed. 27You could have at least put my money in the bank, so that I could have earned interest on it.”
28Then the master said, “Now your money will be taken away and given to the servant with ten thousand coins! 29Everyone who has something will be given more, and they will have more than enough. But everything will be taken from those who don't have anything.#Mt 13.12; Mk 4.25; Lk 8.18. 30You are a worthless servant, and you will be thrown out into the dark where people will cry and grit their teeth in pain.”#Mt 8.12; 22.13; Lk 13.28.
The final judgment
Jesus continued:
31When the Son of Man comes in his glory with all his angels, he will sit on his royal throne.#Mt 16.27; Mt 19.28. 32The people of all nations will be brought before him, and he will separate them, as shepherds separate their sheep from their goats.
33He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34Then the king will say to those on his right, “My father has blessed you! Come and receive the kingdom that was prepared for you before the world was created. 35When I was hungry, you gave me something to eat, and when I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink. When I was a stranger, you welcomed me, 36and when I was naked, you gave me clothes to wear. When I was sick, you took care of me, and when I was in jail, you visited me.”
37Then the ones who pleased the Lord will ask, “When did we give you something to eat or drink? 38When did we welcome you as a stranger or give you clothes to wear 39or visit you while you were sick or in jail?”
40The king will answer, “Whenever you did it for any of my people, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you did it for me.”
41Then the king will say to those on his left, “Get away from me! You are under God's curse. Go into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels! 42I was hungry, but you did not give me anything to eat, and I was thirsty, but you did not give me anything to drink. 43I was a stranger, but you did not welcome me, and I was naked, but you did not give me any clothes to wear. I was sick and in jail, but you did not take care of me.”
44Then the people will ask, “Lord, when did we fail to help you when you were hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in jail?”
45The king will say to them, “Whenever you failed to help any of my people, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you failed to do it for me.”
46Then Jesus said, “Those people will be punished for ever. But the ones who pleased God will have eternal life.”#Dn 12.2.
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© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012