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Parable of Ten Virgins

¹ "Then ^(C1)the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their ^(C2)lamps and went out to meet the groom.² "Five of them were foolish, and five were ^(C1)prudent.³ "For when the foolish took their lamps, they did not take extra oil with them;⁴ but the ^(C1)prudent ones took oil in flasks with their lamps.⁵ "Now while the groom was delaying, they all became drowsy and began to sleep.⁶ "But at midnight ^(F1)there finally was a shout: 'Behold, the groom! Come out to meet him.'⁷ "Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps.⁸ "But the foolish virgins said to the prudent ones, 'Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.'⁹ "However, the ^(C1)prudent ones answered, 'No, there most certainly would not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves.'¹⁰ "But while they were ^(F1)on their way to buy the oil, the groom came, and those who were ^(C1)ready went in with him to ^(C2)the wedding feast; and ^(C3)the door was shut.¹¹ "Yet later, the other virgins also came, saying, '^(C1)Lord, lord, open up for us.'¹² "But he answered, 'Truly I say to you, I do not know you.'¹³ "^(C1)Be on the alert then, because 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 entrusted his possessions to them.¹⁵ "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 "The one who had received the five ^(C1)talents immediately went and did business with them, and earned five more talents.¹⁷ "In the same way the one who had received the two talents earned 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 "The one who had received the five ^(C1)talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, 'Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have earned 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 the joy of your ^(F1)master.'

²² "Also the one who had received the two ^(C1)talents came up and said, 'Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have earned 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 the joy of your master.'

²⁴ "Now the one who had received the one ^(C1)talent also came up and said, 'Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed.²⁵ 'And I was afraid, so I went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you still have what is yours.'

²⁶ "But his master answered and said to him, 'You ^(F1)worthless, lazy slave! Did you know that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter seed?²⁷ 'Then you ought to have ^(F1)put my money in the bank, and ^(F2)on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest.²⁸ 'Therefore: take the talent away 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 the worthless slave into ^(C1)the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The 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)just as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats;³³ and He will put the sheep ^(C1)on His right, but 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 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, '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 as 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 "And ^(C1)the King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, ^(C2)to the extent that you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of Mine, you did it for Me.'

⁴¹ "Then He will also say to those on His left, '^(C1)Depart from Me, you accursed people, 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, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or as a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not ^(F1)take care of You?'⁴⁵ "Then He will answer them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it for one of the least of these, you did not do it for Me, either.'⁴⁶ "These will go away into ^(C1)eternal punishment, but the righteous into ^(C2)eternal life."