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The ten virgins, the talents delivered to the servants, and of the general judgment.

25 Then the kingdom of heaven will be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. The foolish took their lamps, but took no oil with them. But the wise took oil with them in their vessels, with their lamps also.

While the bridegroom tarried, all slumbered and slept. And right at midnight there was a cry made: Behold, the bridegroom comes! Go out to meet him! Then all those virgins arose and prepared their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so, lest there not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.

10 And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came. And those who were ready went in with him to the wedding, and the gate was shut up. 11 Afterwards came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us! 12 But he answered and said, Truly I say to you, I know you not.

13 Watch, therefore. For you know neither the day nor yet the hour when the Son of man will come.

14 Likewise it will be as a certain man, ready to take his journey to a strange country, called his servants and delivered his goods to them. 15 And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one – to every man according to his ability – and straightaway departed. 16 Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and won another five talents. 17 Likewise, he who received two gained another two. 18 But he who received the one went and dug a hole in the earth, and hid his master’s money.

19 After a long season, the lord of those servants came and reckoned with them. 20 Then came he that had received five talents, and brought another five talents, saying, Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have gained with them five talents more. 21 Then his master said to him, Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in a little; I will appoint you over much. Enter into your master’s joy!

22 Also he who received two talents came and said, Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have won two other talents with them. 23 And his master said to him, Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in a little; I will appoint you over much. Go in, into your master’s joy.

24 Then he who had received the one talent came and said, Master, I considered that you were a hard man, who reaps where you did not sow and gathers where you did not scatter, 25 and was therefore afraid, and went and hid your talent in the earth. Here, have your talent.

26 His master answered and said to him, You evil servant, and slothful: you knew that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? 27 You ought therefore to have put my money with the moneychangers, and then at my coming I would have received what is my own with profit. 28 Take therefore the talent from him, and give it to the one who has ten talents. 29 For every person who has will be given more, and he will have abundance; and from him who has not, shall be taken away even what he has. 30 And cast that unprofitable servant into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

31 When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the seat of his glory. 32 And before him shall be gathered all nations. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will set the sheep on his right hand and the goats on the left. 34 Then shall the king say to those on his right hand, Come ye blessed children of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was homeless and you lodged me. 36 I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to me.

37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, Master, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 When did we see you homeless and lodge you, or naked and clothe you? 39 Or when did we see you sick, or in prison, and come to you? 40 And the king will answer and say to them, Truly I say to you, inasmuch as you did it for one of the least of these my brethren, you did it for me.

41 Then shall the king say to those who will be on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, which is prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food. I was thirsty and you gave me no drink. 43 I was homeless and you did not lodge me. I was naked and you did not clothe me. I was sick, and in prison, and you did not visit me.

44 Then they also will answer him, saying, Master, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or homeless, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister to you? 45 Then shall he answer them and say, Truly I say to you, inasmuch as you did it not for one of the least of these, you did it not for me. 46 And these shall go into everlasting pain, but the righteous into life eternal.

The Parable of the Ten Virgins

25 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like(A) ten virgins who took their lamps(B) and went out to meet the bridegroom.(C) Five of them were foolish and five were wise.(D) The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.(E)

“At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’

“Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’(F)

“‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’

10 “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet.(G) And the door was shut.

11 “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’

12 “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’(H)

13 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.(I)

The Parable of the Bags of Gold(J)

14 “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey,(K) who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. 15 To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag,[a] each according to his ability.(L) Then he went on his journey. 16 The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. 17 So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. 18 But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

19 “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them.(M) 20 The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’

21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.(N) Come and share your master’s happiness!’

22 “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’

23 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.(O) Come and share your master’s happiness!’

24 “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’

26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

28 “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. 29 For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.(P) 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’(Q)

The Sheep and the Goats

31 “When the Son of Man comes(R) in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne.(S) 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate(T) the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.(U) 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom(V) prepared for you since the creation of the world.(W) 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,(X) 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me,(Y) I was sick and you looked after me,(Z) I was in prison and you came to visit me.’(AA)

37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’(AB)

41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me,(AC) you who are cursed, into the eternal fire(AD) prepared for the devil and his angels.(AE) 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’(AF)

46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.(AG)(AH)

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 25:15 Greek five talents … two talents … one talent; also throughout this parable; a talent was worth about 20 years of a day laborer’s wage.