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Parable of Ten Virgins

¹ "Then ^(C1)the kingdom of heaven may be compared to ten virgins, who took their ^(C2)lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.² "Now five of them were foolish, and five were ^(C1)prudent.³ "For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them,⁴ but the ^(C1)prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps.⁵ "Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep.⁶ "But at midnight there was a shout, 'Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.'⁷ "Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps.⁸ "And the foolish said to the prudent, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.'⁹ "But the ^(C1)prudent answered, saying, 'No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.'¹⁰ "And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ^(C1)ready went in with him to ^(C2)the wedding feast; and ^(C3)the door was shut.¹¹ "And later the other virgins also ^(*)came, saying, '^(C1)Lord, lord, open up for us.'¹² "But he answered and said, 'Truly I say to you, I do not know you.'¹³ "^(C1)Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know the day nor the hour.

Parable of the Talents

¹⁴ "^(C1)For it is just like a man ^(C2)about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and handed over his possessions to them.¹⁵ "And to one he gave five ^(F1)(C1)talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he ^(C2)went on his journey.¹⁶ "Immediately the one who had received the five ^(C1)talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents.¹⁷ "In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more.¹⁸ "But he who received the one talent went away, and dug a hole in the ground and hid his ^(F1)master's money.

¹⁹ "Now after a long time the master of those slaves ^(*)came and ^(*)(C1)settled accounts with them.²⁰ "And the one who had received the five ^(C1)talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, 'Master, you handed five talents over to me. See, I have gained five more talents.'²¹ "His master said to him, 'Well done, good and ^(C1)faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will ^(C2)put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your ^(F1)master.'

²² "Also the one who had received the two ^(C1)talents came up and said, 'Master, you handed two talents over to me. See, I have gained two more talents.'²³ "His master said to him, 'Well done, good and ^(C1)faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.'

²⁴ "And the one also who had received the one ^(C1)talent came up and said, 'Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed.²⁵ 'And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.'

²⁶ "But his master answered and said to him, 'You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed.²⁷ 'Therefore, you ought to have put my money ^(F1)in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest.²⁸ 'Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.'

²⁹ "^(C1)For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away.³⁰ "And throw out the worthless slave into ^(C1)the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The Final Judgment

³¹ "But when ^(C1)the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then ^(C2)He will sit on His glorious throne.³² "And all the nations will be ^(C1)gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, ^(C2)as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats;³³ and He will put the sheep ^(C1)on His right, and the goats ^(C2)on the left.

³⁴ "Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, ^(C1)inherit the kingdom, which has been prepared for you ^(C2)from the foundation of the world.³⁵ 'For ^(C1)I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; ^(C2)I was a stranger, and you invited Me in;^36 (C1)naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you ^(C2)visited Me; ^(C3)I was in prison, and you came to Me.'³⁷ "Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink?³⁸ 'And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You?³⁹ 'And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?'⁴⁰ "^(C1)And the King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, ^(C2)to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'

⁴¹ "Then He will also say to those on His left, '^(C1)Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the ^(C2)eternal fire which has been prepared for ^(C3)the devil and his angels;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; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.'⁴⁴ "Then they themselves also will answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not ^(F1)take care of You?'⁴⁵ "Then He will answer them, saying, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.'⁴⁶ "And these will go away into ^(C1)eternal punishment, but the righteous into ^(C2)eternal life."