Matthew 25
25
1Then shall the kingdom of the heavens be made like to ten virgins that having taken their torches, went forth to meet the bridegroom. 2And five of them were prudent and five foolish. 3They that were foolish took their torches and did not take oil with them; 4but the prudent took oil in their vessels with their torches. 5Now the bridegroom tarrying, they all grew heavy and slept. 6But in the middle of the night there was a cry, Behold, the bridegroom; go forth to meet him. 7Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their torches. 8And the foolish said to the prudent, Give us of your oil, for our torches are going out. 9But the prudent answered saying, We cannot, lest it might not suffice for us and for you. Go rather to those that sell, and buy for yourselves. 10But as they went away to buy, the bridegroom came, and the ones that were ready went in with him to the wedding feast, and the door was shut. 11Afterwards come also the rest of the virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us; 12but he answering said, Verily I say unto you, I do not know you. 13Watch therefore, for ye know not the day nor the hour.
14For it is as if a man going away out of a country called his own bondmen and delivered to them his substance. 15And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to each according to his particular ability, and immediately went away out of the country. 16And he that had received the five talents went and trafficked with them, and made five other talents. 17In like manner also he that had received the two, he also gained two others. 18But he that had received the one went and dug in the earth, and hid the money of his lord. 19And after a long time the lord of those bondmen comes and reckons with them. 20And he that had received the five talents came to him and brought five other talents, saying, My lord, thou deliveredst me five talents; behold, I have gained five other talents besides them. 21His lord said to him, Well, good and faithful bondman, thou wast faithful over a few things, I will set thee over many things: enter into the joy of thy lord. 22And he also that had received the two talents came to him and said, My lord, thou deliveredst me two talents; behold, I have gained two other talents besides them. 23His lord said to him, Well, good and faithful bondman, thou wast faithful over a few things, I will set thee over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. 24And he also that had received the one talent coming to him said, My lord, I knew thee that thou art a hard man, reaping where thou hadst not sowed, and gathering from where thou hadst not scattered, 25and being afraid I went away and hid thy talent in the earth; behold, thou hast that which is thine. 26And his lord answering said to him, Wicked and slothful bondman, thou knewest that I reap where I had not sowed, and gather from where I had not scattered; 27thou oughtest then to have put my money to the money-changers, and when I came I should have got what is mine with interest. 28Take therefore the talent from him, and give it to him that has the ten talents: 29for to every one that has shall be given, and he shall be in abundance; but from him that has not, that even which he has shall be taken from him. 30And cast out the useless bondman into the outer darkness; there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.
31But when the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then shall he sit down upon his throne of glory, 32and all the nations shall be gathered before him; and he shall separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; 33and he will set the sheep on his right hand, and the goats on his left. 34Then shall the King say to those on his right hand, Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the world's foundation: 35for I hungered, and ye gave me to eat; I thirsted, and ye gave me to drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; 36naked, and ye clothed me; I was ill, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came to me. 37Then shall the righteous answer him saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungering, and nourished thee; or thirsting, and gave thee to drink? 38and when saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in; or naked, and clothed thee? 39and when saw we thee ill, or in prison, and came to thee? 40And the King answering shall say to them, Verily, I say to you, Inasmuch as ye have done it to one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it to me. 41Then shall he say also to those on the left, Go from me, cursed, into eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42for I hungered, and ye gave me not to eat; I thirsted, and ye gave me not to drink; 43I was a stranger, and ye took me not in; naked, and ye did not clothe me; ill, and in prison, and ye did not visit me. 44Then shall they also answer saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungering, or thirsting, or a stranger, or naked, or ill, or in prison, and have not ministered to thee? 45Then shall he answer them saying, Verily I say to you, Inasmuch as ye have not done it to one of these least, neither have ye done it to me. 46And these shall go away into eternal punishment, and the righteous into life eternal.
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Matthew 25: DARBY
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First published in 1890. This edition is maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
Matthew 25
25
A Story About Ten Bridesmaids
1“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went to wait for the bridegroom. 2Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3The five foolish bridesmaids took their lamps, but they did not take more oil for the lamps to burn. 4The wise bridesmaids took their lamps and more oil in jars. 5Because the bridegroom was late, they became sleepy and went to sleep.
6“At midnight someone cried out, ‘The bridegroom is coming! Come and meet him!’ 7Then all the bridesmaids woke up and got their lamps ready. 8But the foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.’ 9The wise bridesmaids answered, ‘No, the oil we have might not be enough for all of us. Go to the people who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’
10“So while the five foolish bridesmaids went to buy oil, the bridegroom came. The bridesmaids who were ready went in with the bridegroom to the wedding feast. Then the door was closed and locked.
11“Later the others came back and said, ‘Sir, sir, open the door to let us in.’ 12But the bridegroom answered, ‘I tell you the truth, I don’t want to know you.’
13“So always be ready, because you don’t know the day or the hour the Son of Man will come.
A Story About Three Servants
14“The kingdom of heaven is like a man who was going to another place for a visit. Before he left, he called for his servants and told them to take care of his things while he was gone. 15He gave one servant five bags of gold, another servant two bags of gold, and a third servant one bag of gold, to each one as much as he could handle. Then he left. 16The servant who got five bags went quickly to invest the money and earned five more bags. 17In the same way, the servant who had two bags invested them and earned two more. 18But the servant who got one bag went out and dug a hole in the ground and hid the master’s money.
19“After a long time the master came home and asked the servants what they did with his money. 20The servant who was given five bags of gold brought five more bags to the master and said, ‘Master, you trusted me to care for five bags of gold, so I used your five bags to earn five more.’ 21The master answered, ‘You did well. You are a good and loyal servant. Because you were loyal with small things, I will let you care for much greater things. Come and share my joy with me.’
22“Then the servant who had been given two bags of gold came to the master and said, ‘Master, you gave me two bags of gold to care for, so I used your two bags to earn two more.’ 23The master answered, ‘You did well. You are a good and loyal servant. Because you were loyal with small things, I will let you care for much greater things. Come and share my joy with me.’
24“Then the servant who had been given one bag of gold came to the master and said, ‘Master, I knew that you were a hard man. You harvest things you did not plant. You gather crops where you did not sow any seed. 25So I was afraid and went and hid your money in the ground. Here is your bag of gold.’ 26The master answered, ‘You are a wicked and lazy servant! You say you knew that I harvest things I did not plant and that I gather crops where I did not sow any seed. 27So you should have put my gold in the bank. Then, when I came home, I would have received my gold back with interest.’
28“So the master told his other servants, ‘Take the bag of gold from that servant and give it to the servant who has ten bags of gold. 29Those who have much will get more, and they will have much more than they need. But those who do not have much 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 King Will Judge All People
31“The Son of Man will come again in his great glory, with all his angels. He will be King and sit on his great throne. 32All the nations of the world will be gathered before him, and he will separate them into two groups as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33The Son of Man will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34“Then the King will say to the people on his right, ‘Come, my Father has given you his blessing. Receive the kingdom God has prepared for you since the world was made. 35I was hungry, and you gave me food. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink. I was alone and away from home, and you invited me into your house. 36I was without clothes, and you gave me something to wear. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’
37“Then the good people will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and give you food, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you alone and away from home and invite you into our house? 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, ‘I tell you the truth, anything you did for even the least of my people here, you also did for me.’
41“Then the King will say to those on his left, ‘Go away from me. You will be punished. Go into the fire that burns forever that was prepared for the devil and his angels. 42I was hungry, and you gave me nothing to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me nothing to drink. 43I was alone and away from home, and you did not invite me into your house. I was without clothes, and you gave me nothing to wear. I was sick and in prison, and you did not care for me.’
44“Then those people will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or alone and away from home or without clothes or sick or in prison? When did we see these things and not help you?’
45“Then the King will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, anything you refused to do for even the least of my people here, you refused to do for me.’
46“These people will go off to be punished forever, but the good people will go to live forever.”
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.