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Contemporary English Version

Matthew 25:4

The ones who were wise took along extra oil for their lamps.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Bridegroom;   Fool;   Jesus, the Christ;   Jesus Continued;   Judgment;   Kingdom of Heaven;   Marriage;   Opportunity;   Procrastination;   Resurrection;   Symbols and Similitudes;   Unfaithfulness;   Virgin;   Wisdom;   Women;   Scofield Reference Index - Parables;   Thompson Chain Reference - Bible Stories for Children;   Children;   Home;   Pleasant Sunday Afternoons;   Religion;   Stories for Children;   The Topic Concordance - Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ;   Kingdom of God;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Emblems of the Holy Spirit, the;   Fools;   Lamps;   Marriage;   Parables;   Woman;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Lamp;   Marriage;   Parable;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Lamp;   Marriage;   Oil;   Sleep;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Fool, Foolishness, Folly;   Watchfulness;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Annihilation;   Holiness of God;   Joy;   Judgment, Last;   Meditation;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Bride;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Marriage;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Flask;   Kingdom of God;   Second Coming, the;   Torch;   Vessels and Utensils;   Woman;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Messiah;   Olives, Mount of;   Sin;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Candle;   Claims (of Christ);   Doctrines;   Eternal Punishment;   Foolishness;   Imagination;   Lamp;   Lazarus;   Matthew, Gospel According to;   Oil ;   Olive ;   Paradox;   Parousia (2);   Selfishness;   Sleep;   Spiritualizing of the Parables;   Unity (2);   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Bridegroom;   Lamp;   Matthew, Gospel by;   Oil;   29 Light Lamp Candle;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Chief parables and miracles in the bible;   Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types - Oil;   Vessel;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Jesus of Nazareth;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Oil;   Vessel;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Folly and Fool;   ḥuppah;   Marriage;   New Testament;   Parable;  

Devotionals:

- Chip Shots from the Ruff of Life - Devotion for October 16;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
but the wise ones took oil in their flasks with their lamps.
King James Version (1611)
But the wise tooke oyle in their vessels with their lampes.
King James Version
But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
English Standard Version
but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps.
New American Standard Bible
but the prudent ones took oil in flasks with their lamps.
New Century Version
The wise bridesmaids took their lamps and more oil in jars.
Amplified Bible
but the wise took flasks of oil along with their lamps.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps.
Legacy Standard Bible
but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps.
Berean Standard Bible
But the wise ones took oil in flasks along with their lamps.
Complete Jewish Bible
whereas the others took flasks of oil with their lamps.
Darby Translation
but the prudent took oil in their vessels with their torches.
Easy-to-Read Version
The wise girls took their lamps and more oil in jars.
Geneva Bible (1587)
But the wise tooke oyle in their vessels with their lampes.
George Lamsa Translation
But the wise ones took oil in the vessels with their lamps.
Good News Translation
while the wise ones took containers full of oil for their lamps.
Lexham English Bible
But the wise ones took olive oil in flasks with their lamps.
Literal Translation
But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
American Standard Version
but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
Bible in Basic English
But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lights.
Hebrew Names Version
but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
International Standard Version
But the wise ones took flasks of oil with their lamps.
Etheridge Translation
but those were wise who took oil in vessels with their lamps.
Murdock Translation
But the wise took oil in vessels, with their lamps.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
But the wise, toke oyle in their vessels, with their lampes also.
English Revised Version
but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
World English Bible
but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
Wesley's New Testament (1755)
But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
Weymouth's New Testament
but the wise, besides their torches, took oil in their flasks.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
but the prudent token oile in her vessels with the laumpis.
Update Bible Version
but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
Webster's Bible Translation
But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
New English Translation
But the wise ones took flasks of olive oil with their lamps.
New King James Version
but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
New Living Translation
but the other five were wise enough to take along extra oil.
New Life Bible
The wise women took oil in a jar with their lamps.
New Revised Standard
but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
But, the prudent, took oil in their vessels, with their torches.
Douay-Rheims Bible
But the wise took oil in their vessels with the lamps.
Revised Standard Version
but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps.
Tyndale New Testament (1525)
But ye wyse tooke oyle wt the in their vesselles wt their lampes also.
Young's Literal Translation
and the prudent took oil in their vessels, with their lamps.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
But the wyse toke oyle in their vessels with their lampes.
Mace New Testament (1729)
but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
Simplified Cowboy Version
The smart ones were prepared for the whole night.

Contextual Overview

1 The kingdom of heaven is like what happened one night when ten girls took their oil lamps and went to a wedding to meet the groom. 2 Five of the girls were foolish and five were wise. 3 The foolish ones took their lamps, but no extra oil. 4 The ones who were wise took along extra oil for their lamps. 5 The groom was late arriving, and the girls became drowsy and fell asleep. 6 Then in the middle of the night someone shouted, "Here's the groom! Come to meet him!" 7 When the girls got up and started getting their lamps ready, 8 the foolish ones said to the others, "Let us have some of your oil! Our lamps are going out." 9 The girls who were wise answered, "There's not enough oil for all of us! Go and buy some for yourselves." 10 While the foolish girls were on their way to get some oil, the groom arrived. The girls who were ready went into the wedding, and the doors were closed.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

oil: Psalms 45:7, Zechariah 4:2, Zechariah 4:3, John 1:15, John 1:16, John 3:34, Romans 8:9, 2 Corinthians 1:22, Galatians 5:22, Galatians 5:23, 1 John 2:20, 1 John 2:27, Jude 1:19

Reciprocal: Proverbs 21:20 - oil Song of Solomon 5:2 - sleep Luke 12:35 - your lights

Cross-References

Isaiah 60:6
Your country will be covered with caravans of young camels from Midian and Ephah. The people of Sheba will bring gold and spices in praise of me, the Lord .

Gill's Notes on the Bible

But the wise took oil,.... They were concerned for the true grace of God, being enlightened by the Spirit of God; they saw their need of the grace of God, and being directed by him where it was to be had, went to Christ for it; and having received it from him, through the power of the Holy Ghost, exercised it on him; and herein lay their wisdom: for a stock of this in the heart, daily renewed by Christ, will supply the lamp of a profession well. This they had

in their vessels, their oil vessels; by which are meant their hearts; so called in allusion either to the vessels in which the oil was put, when pressed out of the olives, Jeremiah 40:10 or to the oil vessels of the candlestick, Numbers 4:9. These are vessels of God's making, though through sin are become impure, and empty of all spiritual good: they are indeed large and capacious; here's room for Father, Son, and Spirit, and for abundance of grace; they are capable of comprehending much of the love of God, and besides natural, a great deal of spiritual knowledge: here, in these vessels, sanctified by the Spirit of God, the wise virgins had the oil of grace, which is an internal thing: it is nothing in the head, in the tongue, or in the hand, but something in the heart: it does not lie in notion, in talking, nor in doing; a man may know much, say a great deal, and do many external works, and yet be destitute of the grace of God; nothing external is that: it is not a mere outward reformation of life, an external humiliation for sin, an abstinence from the grosser sins of life, or a conformity to the ordinances of the Gospel, or a profession of religion: it is a principle of light, life, love, and holiness wrought in a man's heart; it has its seat in the mind, understanding, and judgment, in the will, conscience, and the affections. This oil of grace was not naturally in them; nor was it obtained by the power of their freewill; but was freely given unto them, and powerfully wrought in them: the case is this; all grace was put into Christ's hands for them; the Spirit of God was sent down to apply it to them, and work it in them; Which is generally done by means, which they made use of by his direction and assistance, and so may be said to take it:

with their lamps, of an external profession; they did not take up a profession before they had grace, or without it; but when they received the one, they took up the other; and which was acting the wise part.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And five of them were wise - . The words “wise and foolish,” here, refer only to their conduct; in regard to the oil. The one part was “wise” in taking oil, the other “foolish” in neglecting it. The conduct of those who were “wise” refers to those who are “prepared” for the coming of Christ - prepared by possessing real piety, and not being merely his professed followers. The conduct of those “without” oil expresses the conduct of those who profess to love him, but are destitute of true grace, and are therefore unprepared to meet him. Nothing can be argued from the number here in regard to the proportion of sincere Christians among professors. circumstances in parables are not to be pressed literally. They are necessary to keep up the story, and we must look chiefly or entirely to the scope or design of the parable to understand its meaning. In this parable the scope is to teach us to “watch” or be ready, Matthew 25:13. It is not to teach us the relative “number” of those who shall be saved and who shall not. In teaching us to “watch and to be ready,” our Lord gives great additional interest by the circumstances of this narrative; but there is no authority for saying that he meant to teach that just half of professing Christians would be deceived. The moral certainty is that “nothing like” that number will be found to have been hypocrites.

Oil in their vessels - The five foolish virgins probably expected that the bridegroom would come immediately; they therefore made no provision for any delay. The wise virgins knew that the time of his coming was uncertain, and they therefore furnished themselves with oil. This was carried in “vessels,” so that it could be poured on the torches when it was necessary.

Vessels - Cups, cans, or anything to hold oil.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Matthew 25:4. Took oil in their vessels — They not only had a sufficiency of oil in their lamps, but they carried a vessel with oil to recruit their lamps, when it should be found expedient. This the foolish or improvident neglected to do: hence, when the oil that was in their lamps burned out, they had none to pour into the lamp to maintain the flame.


 
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