Mattithyahu (Matthew) 25
25
1“Then the reign of the heavens shall be compared to ten maidens who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.
2“And five of them were wise, and five foolish.
3Those who were foolish, having taken their lamps, took no oil with them,”
4but the wise took oil in their containers with their lamps.
5“Now while the bridegroom took time, they all slumbered and slept.
6And at midnight a cry was heard, ‘See, the bridegroom is coming, go out to meet him!’ ”
7“Then all those maidens rose up and trimmed their lamps.
8And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us of your oil, because our lamps are going out.’ ”
9“But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, indeed, there would not be enough for us and you. Instead, go to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’
10“And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast, and the door was shut.
11“And later the other maidens also came, saying, ‘Master, Master, open up for us!’
12But he answering, said, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ ”
13“Watch therefore, because you do not know the day nor the hour in which the Son of Aḏam is coming,
14for it is like a man going from home, who called his own servants and delivered his possessions to them.
15“And to one he gave five talents, and to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability, and went from home.
16“And he who had received the five talents went and worked with them, and made another five talents.
17“In the same way, he with the two also, he gained two more.
18“But he who had received the one went away and dug in the ground, and hid the silver of his master.
19“And after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them.
20“And he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents. See, I have gained five more talents besides them.’
21And his master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy servant. You were trustworthy over a little, I shall set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ ”
22“Then he who had received two talents came and said, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents. See, I have gained two more talents besides them.’
23His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy servant. You were trustworthy over a little, I shall set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ ”
24“And the one who had received the one talent also came and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed,
25and being afraid, I went and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’
26“And his master answering, said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed.
27Then you should have put my silver with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest.
28Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to him who possesses ten talents.
29‘For to everyone who possesses, more shall be given, and he shall have overflowingly; but from him who does not possess, even what he possesses shall be taken away.#See Luke 8:18
30And throw the worthless servant out into the outer darkness – there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
31“And when the Son of Aḏam comes in His esteem, and all the set-apart messengers with Him, then He shall sit on the throne of His esteem.
32“And all the nations shall be gathered before Him, and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates his sheep from the goats.
33“And He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.
34Then the Sovereign shall say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the reign prepared for you from the foundation of the world - ”
35for I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was thirsty and you gave Me drink, I was a stranger and you took Me in,
36was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you visited Me, I was in prison and you came to Me.’
37Then the righteous shall answer Him, saying, ‘Master, when did we see You hungry and we fed You, or thirsty and gave You to drink?
38And when did we see You a stranger and took You in, or naked and clothed You?
39And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and we came to You?’
40“And the Sovereign shall answer and say to them, ‘Truly, I say to you, in so far as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers, you did it to Me.’
41He shall then also say to those on the left hand, ‘Go away from Me, accursed ones, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his messengers - ”
42for I was hungry and you gave Me no food, I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink,
43I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, was naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’
44“Then they also shall answer Him, saying, ‘Master, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not serve You?’
45Then He shall answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, in so far as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ ”
46And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into everlasting life.
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Mattithyahu (Matthew) 25: TS2009
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Copyright© 1993 – 2015 by the Institute for Scripture Research (ISR). All rights reserved.
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.