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25 Then the kingdom of heavens shall be like to ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went out to meet the husband and the wife[a];

and five of them were fools, and five prudent.

But the five fools took their lamps, and took not oil with them;

but the prudent took oil in their vessels with the lamps.

And whiles the husband [the spouse, or husband,] tarried, all they napped and slept.

But at midnight a cry was made, Lo! the spouse cometh, go ye out to meet with him [go ye out to meet him].

Then all those virgins rose up, and arrayed their lamps [and adorned their lamps].

And the fools said to the wise, Give ye to us of your oil, for our lamps be quenched.

The prudent answered, and said [saying], Lest peradventure it suffice not to us and to you, go ye rather to men that sell, and buy to you.

10 And while they went to buy, the spouse came; and those that were ready, entered [in] with him to the weddings; and the gate was shut.

11 And at the last the other virgins came, and said, Lord, Lord, open to us.[b]

12 And he answered, and said, Truly I say to you, I know you not.

13 Therefore wake ye, for ye know not the day nor the hour.

14 For as a man that goeth in pilgrimage [Soothly as a man going far in pilgrimage], called his servants, and betook to them his goods;

15 and to one he gave five talents, to another twain [and to one he gave five talents, or bezants, forsooth to another two], and to another one, to each after his own virtue; and he went forth at once [and he went forth anon].

16 And he that had five bezants [Forsooth and he that had taken five talents], went forth, and wrought in them, and won other five.

17 Also and he that had taken twain, won other twain. [Also and he that had taken two, won other two.]

18 But he that had taken one, went forth, and delved in the earth, and hid the money of his lord.

19 But after long time, the lord of those servants came, and reckoned with them.

20 And he that had taken five bezants, came, and brought other five, and said, Lord, thou betookest to me five bezants, lo! I have gotten above five others.[c]

21 His lord said to him, Well be thou, good servant and faithful; for on few things thou hast been true[d], I shall ordain thee on many things; enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

22 And he that had taken two talents, came, and said, Lord, thou betookest to me two bezants; lo! I have won over other twain.[e]

23 His lord said to him, Well be thou, good servant and true; for on few things thou hast been true[f], I shall ordain thee on many things; enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

24 But he that had taken one bezant [Forsooth and he that had taken one talent], came, and said, Lord, I know that thou art an hard man; thou reapest where thou hast not sown, and thou gatherest together where thou hast not spreaded abroad;

25 and I dreading went, and hid thy bezant in the earth [and I dreading went, and hid thy talent in the earth]; lo! thou hast that that is thine.

26 His lord answered, and said to him, Evil servant and slow, knewest thou that I reap where I sowed not, and gather together where I spreaded not abroad?

27 Therefore it behooved thee to betake my money to (ex)changers [Therefore it behooved thee to have sent my money to changers], that when I came, I should have received that that is mine with usuries.

28 Therefore take away from him the bezant, and give [ye it] to him that hath ten bezants. [And so take ye away from him the talent, and give ye it to him that hath ten talents.]

29 For to every man that hath me shall give, and he shall increase[g]; but from him that hath not, also that that he seemeth to have, shall be taken away from him.

30 And cast ye out the unprofitable servant into outer-more darknesses; there shall be weeping, and grinding of teeth. [And cast ye out the unprofitable servant into utter-more darknesses; there shall be weeping, and beating together of teeth.]

31 When man's Son shall come in his majesty, and all his angels with him, then he shall sit on the seat of his majesty [then he shall sit on the siege of his majesty];

32 and all folks shall be gathered before him, and he shall separate them atwain, as a shepherd separateth sheep from kids [and he shall part them atwain, as a shepherd parteth sheep from kids];

33 and he shall set the sheep on his right half, and the kids on the left half [and the kids forsooth on his left half].

34 Then the king shall say to them, that shall be on his right half, Come ye, the blessed of my Father, take ye in possession the kingdom made ready to you from the making of the world [Come ye, the blessed of my Father, wield ye, or take ye in possession, the kingdom made ready to you from the beginning, or making, of the world].

35 For I hungered[h], and ye gave me to eat; I thirsted, and ye gave me to drink; I was harbourless, and ye harboured me [I was harbourless, and ye gathered, or harboured, me];

36 naked, and ye covered me; sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came to me.

37 Then just men shall answer to him, and say [saying], Lord, when saw we thee hungry, and we fed thee; thirsty, and we gave to thee drink [thirsty, and we gave thee drink]?

38 and when saw we thee harbourless, and we harboured thee [when forsooth saw we thee harbourless, and we gathered thee to harbour]; or naked, and we covered thee?

39 or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and we came to thee?

40 And the king answering shall say to them, Truly I say to you, as long as ye did to one of these my least brethren, ye did to me.

41 Then the king shall say also to them, that shall be on his left half, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, that is made ready to the devil and his angels [which is made ready to the devil and his angels].

42 For I hungered, and ye gave not me to eat; I thirsted, and ye gave not me to drink; [For I hungered, and ye gave not to me for to eat; I thirsted, and ye gave not to me for to drink;]

43 I was harbourless, and ye harboured not me [I was harbourless, and ye gathered not me to harbour]; naked, and ye covered not me; sick, and in prison, and ye visited not me.

44 Then and they shall answer to him, and shall say[i], Lord, when saw we thee hungering, or thirsting, or harbourless, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and we served not to thee?

45 Then he shall answer to them, and say [saying], Truly I say to you, as long as ye did not to one of these least, neither ye did to me [as long as ye did not to one of these least, ye did not to me].

46 And these shall go into everlasting torment; but the just men shall go into everlasting life.

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 25:1 which taking their lamps, went out meeting the spouse, or husband, and the spousess, or wife
  2. Matthew 25:11 Soothly at the last also the other virgins came, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
  3. Matthew 25:20 And he that had taken five talents, coming to, offered other five, saying, Lord, thou betookest to me five talents, or bezants, lo! I have gotten over other five.
  4. Matthew 25:21 for upon few things thou hast been faithful
  5. Matthew 25:22 Forsooth and he that had taken two talents, came to, and said, Lord, thou betookest to me two talents; lo! I have gotten over other two.
  6. Matthew 25:23 Well be thou, good servant and faithful; for upon few things thou hast been faithful
  7. Matthew 25:29 For to every man having it shall be given, and he shall have plenty, or increase
  8. Matthew 25:35 Forsooth I was hungry/For I was hungered
  9. Matthew 25:44 Then also they shall answer to him, saying

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.