Matthew 25
25
A Story About Ten Girls
1“At that time God’s kingdom will be like ten girls who went to wait for the bridegroom. They took their lamps with them. 2Five of the girls were foolish, and five were wise. 3The foolish girls took their lamps with them, but they did not take extra oil for the lamps. 4The wise girls took their lamps and more oil in jars. 5When the bridegroom was very late, the girls could not keep their eyes open, and they all fell asleep.
6“At midnight someone announced, ‘The bridegroom is coming! Come and meet him!’
7“Then all the girls woke up. They made their lamps ready. 8But the foolish girls said to the wise girls, ‘Give us some of your oil. The oil in our lamps is all gone.’
9“The wise girls answered, ‘No! The oil we have might not be enough for all of us. But go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’
10“So the foolish girls went to buy oil. While they were gone, the bridegroom came. The girls who were ready went in with the bridegroom to the wedding feast. Then the door was closed and locked.
11“Later, the other girls came. They said, ‘Sir, sir! Open the door to let us in.’
12“But the bridegroom answered, ‘Certainly not! I don’t even know you.’
13“So always be ready. You don’t know the day or the time when the Son of Man will come.
A Story About Three Servants
(Lk. 19:11–27)
14“At that time God’s kingdom will also be like a man leaving home to travel to another place for a visit. Before he left, he talked with his servants. He told his servants to take care of his things while he was gone. 15He decided how much each servant would be able to care for. The man gave one servant five bags of money.#25:15 bags of money Literally, “talanta” or “talents.” A talent was about 27 to 36 kg (60 to 80 pounds) of gold, silver, or copper coins. Also in verses 20, 22, 24, 28. He gave another servant two bags. And he gave a third servant one bag. Then he left. 16The servant who got five bags went quickly to invest the money. Those five bags of money earned five more. 17It was the same with the servant who had two bags. That servant invested the money and earned two more. 18But the servant who got one bag of money went away and dug a hole in the ground. Then he hid his master’s money in the hole.
19“After a long time the master came home. He asked the servants what they did with his money. 20The servant who got five bags brought that amount and five more bags of money to the master. The servant said, ‘Master, you trusted me to care for five bags of money. So I used them to earn five more.’
21“The master answered, ‘You did right. You are a good servant who can be trusted. You did well with that small amount of money. So I will let you care for much greater things. Come and share my happiness with me.’
22“Then the servant who got two bags of money came to the master. The servant said, ‘Master, you gave me two bags of money to care for. So I used your two bags to earn two more.’
23“The master answered, ‘You did right. You are a good servant who can be trusted. You did well with a small amount of money. So I will let you care for much greater things. Come and share my happiness with me.’
24“Then the servant who got one bag of money came to the master. The servant said, ‘Master, I knew you were a very hard man. You harvest what you did not plant. You gather crops where you did not put any seed. 25So I was afraid. I went and hid your money in the ground. Here is the one bag of money you gave me.’
26“The master answered, ‘You are a bad and lazy servant! You say you knew that I harvest what I did not plant and that I gather crops where I did not put any seed. 27So you should have put my money in the bank. Then, when I came home, I would get my money back. And I would also get the interest that my money earned.’
28“So the master told his other servants, ‘Take the one bag of money from that servant and give it to the servant who has ten bags. 29Everyone who uses what they have will get more. They will have much more than they need. But people who do not use what they have will have everything taken away from them.’ 30Then the master said, ‘Throw that useless servant outside into the darkness, where people will cry and grind their teeth with pain.’
The Son of Man Will Judge All People
31“The Son of Man will come again with divine greatness, and all his angels will come with him. He will sit as king on his great and glorious throne. 32All the people of the world will be gathered before him. Then he will separate everyone into two groups. It will be like a shepherd separating his sheep from his goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34“Then the king will say to the godly people on his right, ‘Come, my Father has great blessings for you. The kingdom he promised is now yours. It has been prepared for you since the world was made. 35It is yours because when I was hungry, you gave me food to eat. When I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink. When I had no place to stay, you welcomed me into your home. 36When I was without clothes, you gave me something to wear. When I was sick, you cared for me. When I was in prison, you came to visit me.’
37“Then the godly people will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and give you food? When did we see you thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you with no place to stay and welcome you into our home? When did we see you without clothes and give you something to wear? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and care for you?’
40“Then the king will answer, ‘The truth is, anything you did for any of my people here,#25:40 any of my people here Literally, “one of the least of these brothers of mine.” Also in verse 45. you also did for me.’
41“Then the king will say to the evil people on his left, ‘Get away from me. God has already decided that you will be punished. Go into the fire that burns forever—the fire that was prepared for the devil and his angels. 42You must go away because when I was hungry, you gave me nothing to eat. When I was thirsty, you gave me nothing to drink. 43When I had no place to stay, you did not welcome me into your home. When I was without clothes, you gave me nothing to wear. When I was sick and in prison, you did not care for me.’
44“Then those people will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty? When did we see you without a place to stay? Or when did we see you without clothes or sick or in prison? When did we see any of this and not help you?’
45“The king will answer, ‘The truth is, anything you refused to do for any of my people here, you refused to do for me.’
46“Then these evil people will go away to be punished forever. But the godly people will go and enjoy eternal life.”
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© 1987, 2004 Bible League International
Matthew 25
25
The Parable of the Ten Young Women
1 #
Lk 12.35
“At that time the Kingdom of heaven will be like this. Once there were ten young women who took their oil lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2Five of them were foolish, and the other five were wise. 3The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any extra oil with them, 4while the wise ones took containers full of oil for their lamps. 5The bridegroom was late in coming, so the women began to nod and fall asleep.
6 “It was already midnight when the cry rang out, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come and meet him!’ 7The ten women woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8Then the foolish ones said to the wise ones, ‘Let us have some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.’ 9‘No, indeed,’ the wise ones answered, ‘there is not enough for you and for us. Go to the shop and buy some for yourselves.’ 10So the foolish women went off to buy some oil; and while they were gone, the bridegroom arrived. The five who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast, and the door was closed.
11 #
Lk 13.25
“Later the other women arrived. ‘Sir, sir! Let us in!’ they cried out. 12‘Certainly not! I don't know you,’ the bridegroom answered.”
13And Jesus concluded, “Be on your guard, then, because you do not know the day or the hour.
The Parable of the Three Servants
(Lk 19.11–27)
14 “At that time the Kingdom of heaven will be like this. Once there was a man who was about to go on a journey; he called his servants and put them in charge of his property. 15He gave to each one according to his ability: to one he gave 5,000 gold coins, to another he gave 2,000, and to another he gave 1,000. Then he left on his journey. 16The servant who had received 5,000 coins went at once and invested his money and earned another 5,000. 17In the same way the servant who had received 2,000 coins earned another 2,000. 18But the servant who had received 1,000 coins went off, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master's money.
19 “After a long time the master of those servants came back and settled accounts with them. 20The servant who had received 5,000 coins came in and handed over the other 5,000. ‘You gave me 5,000 coins, sir,’ he said. ‘Look! Here are another 5,000 that I have earned.’ 21‘Well done, you good and faithful servant!’ said his master. ‘You have been faithful in managing small amounts, so I will put you in charge of large amounts. Come on in and share my happiness!’
22 “Then the servant who had been given 2,000 coins came in and said, ‘You gave me 2,000 coins, sir. Look! Here are another 2,000 that I have earned.’ 23‘Well done, you good and faithful servant!’ said his master. ‘You have been faithful in managing small amounts, so I will put you in charge of large amounts. Come on in and share my happiness!’
24 “Then the servant who had received 1,000 coins came in and said, ‘Sir, I know you are a hard man; you reap harvests where you did not sow, and you gather crops where you did not scatter seed. 25I was afraid, so I went off and hid your money in the ground. Look! Here is what belongs to you.’
26 “ ‘You bad and lazy servant!’ his master said. ‘You knew, did you, that I reap harvests where I did not sow, and gather crops where I did not scatter seed? 27Well, then, you should have deposited my money in the bank, and I would have received it all back with interest when I returned. 28Now, take the money away from him and give it to the one who has 10,000 coins. 29#Mt 13.12; Mk 4.25; Lk 8.18For to every person who has something, even more will be given, and he will have more than enough; but the person who has nothing, even the little that he has will be taken away from him. 30#Mt 8.12; 22.13; Lk 13.28As for this useless servant — throw him outside in the darkness; there he will cry and grind his teeth.’
The Final Judgement
31 #
Mt 16.27; 19.28 “When the Son of Man comes as King and all the angels with him, he will sit on his royal throne, 32and the people of all the nations will be gathered before him. Then he will divide them into two groups, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the righteous people on his right and the others on his left. 34Then the King will say to the people on his right, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father! Come and possess the kingdom which has been prepared for you ever since the creation of the world. 35I was hungry and you fed me, thirsty and you gave me a drink; I was a stranger and you received me in your homes, 36naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you took care of me, in prison and you visited me.’
37 “The righteous will then answer him, ‘When, Lord, did we ever see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink? 38When did we ever see you a stranger and welcome you in our homes, or naked and clothe you? 39When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you?’ 40The King will reply, ‘I tell you, whenever you did this for one of the least important of these members of my family, you did it for me!’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Away from me, you that are under God's curse! Away to the eternal fire which has been prepared for the Devil and his angels! 42I was hungry but you would not feed me, thirsty but you would not give me a drink; 43I was a stranger but you would not welcome me in your homes, naked but you would not clothe me; I was sick and in prison but you would not take care of me.’
44 “Then they will answer him, ‘When, Lord, did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and would not help you?’ 45The King will reply, ‘I tell you, whenever you refused to help one of these least important ones, you refused to help me.’ 46#Dan 12.2These, then, will be sent off to eternal punishment, but the righteous will go to eternal life.”
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.