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Matthew 25

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Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.

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And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.

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They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:

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But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.

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While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.

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And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.

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Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.

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And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.

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But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.

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And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.

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Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.

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But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.

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Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

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For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.

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And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.

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Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents.

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And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two.

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But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord’s money.

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After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them.

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And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.

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His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

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He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them.

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His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

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Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:

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And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.

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His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:

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Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.

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Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.

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For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.

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And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

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When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:

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And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:

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And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

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Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

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For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

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Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

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Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

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When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

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Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

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And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

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Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

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For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:

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I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.

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Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?

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Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

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And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

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Matthew 25

The three parables of chapter 25 develop the Olivet Discourse's watch-and-be-ready theme. The ten virgins — five wise who brought extra oil, five foolish who brought none — make the point that readiness for the delayed bridegroom cannot be borrowed at the last moment; the door was shut. The talents parable distributes five, two, and one talent to three servants: the five- and two-talent servants double their master's investment and receive equal praise (well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things); the one-talent servant buries his talent from fear and loses even what he had. The sheep and goats judgment — the only extended description of the final judgment in the synoptic Gospels — divides the nations on the basis of care for the hungry, thirsty, stranger, naked, sick, and imprisoned: whatever you did (or did not do) to the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did (or did not do) to me. The chapter ends with eternal punishment for the goats and eternal life for the sheep, making chapter 25 the Gospel's most sustained treatment of final accountability.

Matthew 25:46

And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. The two destinies: eternal punishment for the goats, eternal life for the sheep. The eternal that modifies both destinies communicates the permanence and irreversibility of the judgment. The righteous who inherit eternal life are those who showed mercy to the least; those who showed indifference go away into the eternal punishment prepared for the devil and his angels.

Matthew 25:28

So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. The judgment on the fearful servant: the talent is taken from him and given to the one who has ten. The redistribution — from the one who buried to the one who gained — is the application of Matthew 13:12's principle: the one who has will receive more; the one who does not have will lose even what he has.

Matthew 25:29

For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. The principle stated explicitly: the abundance that results from faithful stewardship; the taking-away that results from unfaithful preservation. The same principle governs both the parable of the talents and the sower's good-soil harvest versus the closed-heart's total loss.

Matthew 25:30

And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. The worthless servant's destination is the outer darkness with weeping and gnashing of teeth — the same destination as the unforgiving servant (Matthew 18:34), the man without a wedding garment (Matthew 22:13), and the wicked servant of Matthew 24:51. The outer darkness communicates exclusion from the wedding feast's light and joy.

Matthew 25:31

When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats — the third and climactic eschatological parable — is introduced as the Son of Man's coming in glory with all the angels, sitting on the glorious throne. The scene is the final judgment that the entire Olivet Discourse has been anticipating.

Matthew 25:32

Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. The universal gathering of all nations before the throne is the cosmic scope of the judgment: every nation, not just Israel or the church, stands before the Son of Man. The shepherd-and-separation image draws on Ezekiel 34:17 (God judging between the sheep and the rams and the goats).

Matthew 25:33

And he will place the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. The right-and-left separation: right hand is the place of honor and blessing (the Son himself sits at the Father's right hand, Psalm 110:1); left is the place of judgment. The sheep on the right are the blessed; the goats on the left are the cursed.

Matthew 25:34

Then the King will say to those on his right: come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. The invitation to the sheep: come, inherit the kingdom prepared from the foundation of the world. The from the foundation of the world communicates the eternal preparation of the inheritance — the destiny of the sheep was determined before the creation. The blessed by my Father is the divine sanction of the inheritance.

Matthew 25:35

For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me. The basis of the blessing: concrete acts of mercy — food for the hungry, drink for the thirsty, welcome for the stranger. The I was hungry and you gave me communicates the identification of the King with those who received the mercy. The sheep who are receiving the inheritance did not know they were serving the King.

Matthew 25:36

I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me. The continuing catalog of merciful acts: clothing the naked, visiting the sick, coming to the imprisoned. The visiting of the sick and the imprisoned communicates the acts of presence and accompaniment that require the greatest personal cost — not merely the donation of resources but the gift of one's time and presence.

Matthew 25:37

Then the righteous will answer him, saying: Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? The righteous who did not see: the sheep's response to the King's declaration is genuine surprise — they did not recognize the King in those they served. The when did we see you communicates the unselfconscious character of the mercy they showed: they were not performing acts of mercy in the hope of accumulating merit; they were simply responding to need.

Matthew 25:38

And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? The continuing question of the surprised sheep communicates the structural feature of the judgment: the mercy shown to those in need was genuine mercy, not calculated religion. The unselfconsciousness of the mercy is itself evidence of its genuineness.

Matthew 25:39

And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you? The final items in the sheep's questioning catalog: the sick and the imprisoned who were visited. The surprise at being credited for visiting the King communicates the depth of the identification: the King in prison is the most startling image of the passage.

Matthew 25:40

And the King will answer them: truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me. The identification of the King with the least of these my brothers: the mercy shown to the hungry, thirsty, stranger, naked, sick, and imprisoned was mercy shown to the Son of Man himself. The least of these my brothers are the most vulnerable members of the community — and through them, the King himself was served.

Matthew 25:41

Then he will say to those on his left: depart from you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. The judgment on the goats: depart, cursed, into the eternal fire. The eternal fire was prepared for the devil and his angels — not for human beings — communicating that the destination of the cursed is one they have chosen by aligning themselves with the devil's priorities rather than the King's.

Matthew 25:42

For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink. The basis of the curse: the failure to give food to the hungry and drink to the thirsty. The identical structure to the sheep's blessing — the same catalog of needs — with the negative: you gave me no. The failure is not commission but omission: the goats did not actively harm the King; they simply did not help.

Matthew 25:43

I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me. The continuing catalog of failures: the unwelcomed stranger, the unclothed naked, the unvisited sick and imprisoned. The goats' condemnation is for what they did not do — the omission of mercy is the judgment's basis, not the commission of violence.

Matthew 25:44

Then they 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 minister to you? The goats' response mirrors the sheep's response: genuine surprise. They also did not see the King in the needy. But their surprise serves the opposite purpose: the sheep's surprise revealed unselfconscious mercy; the goats' surprise reveals unselfconscious indifference.

Matthew 25:45

Then he will answer them, saying: truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me. The identification applied negatively: the failure to serve the least of these is the failure to serve the King. The indifference to human need is indifference to the Son of Man who identified himself with those in need. The as you did not do it to one of the least of these mirrors the as you did it in verse 40: both the mercy and the indifference are received by the King himself.

Matthew 25:19

Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. The long time of the master's absence — the delay that both the sleeping virgins and the calculating wicked servant imagined might be indefinite — is confirmed: it was a long time. But the master came, and settled accounts. The accounting is the judgment that the Olivet Discourse has been anticipating.

Matthew 25:20

And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying: master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more. The five-talent servant's report to the master: transparent accounting and the presentation of the gain. The here I have made five talents more communicates the servant's pride in faithful stewardship — not self-congratulation but the satisfaction of the one who has fully used what was entrusted.

Matthew 25:21

His master said to him: well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master. The commendation: well done, good and faithful servant. The good-and-faithful is the summary description of the servant who traded immediately and gained the return. The faithful over a little, set over much is the kingdom's eschatological logic: stewardship in the present age determines responsibility in the age to come. The enter into the joy is the wedding feast's joy — the same joy as the wedding banquet parable.

Matthew 25:22

And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying: master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more. The two-talent servant's identical structure of report: transparent accounting and presentation of the proportionally equal gain. The identical report structure anticipates the identical commendation.

Matthew 25:23

His master said to him: well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master. The identical commendation for the two-talent servant communicates the truth that the commendation is based on proportional faithfulness, not absolute return. The servant with five talents is not more commended than the servant with two. The word-for-word identical response is the parable's most important structural element.

Matthew 25:24

He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying: master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed. The one-talent servant's self-justifying report: I knew you to be a hard man. The accusation against the master is the servant's explanation for his behavior — he was afraid of the master's severity and therefore buried the talent rather than risk losing it in a failed investment.

Matthew 25:25

So I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours. The fear that produced the hiding: the servant returns the exact talent that was given, claiming that he has preserved what was entrusted. The here you have what is yours communicates the servant's satisfaction with his conservation strategy — he has lost nothing.

Matthew 25:26

But his master answered him: you wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? The master's response accepts the servant's description of himself — if you knew I was that kind of master — and turns it against the servant. The wicked and slothful is the master's characterization: the same category as the wicked servant of Matthew 24:48.

Matthew 25:27

Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. The minimum expectation: if the servant was too afraid to trade directly, he should have deposited the talent with bankers to earn interest. The interest would have been modest but would have demonstrated at least the minimal engagement with the entrusted resource.

Matthew 25:1

Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. The Parable of the Ten Virgins is the first of three parables in the eschatological conclusion of the Olivet Discourse, all addressed to the watch-readiness command of Matthew 24:42–44. The ten virgins who take their lamps to meet the bridegroom are the eschatological community waiting for the Son of Man's return.

Matthew 25:2

Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. The division of the ten into two groups of five — foolish and wise — is established immediately, before any action. The foolish and wise recall the two builders of Matthew 7:24–27 (the wise builder and the foolish builder). The wisdom and foolishness are present from the beginning; they are not acquired during the waiting.

Matthew 25:3

For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them. The foolish virgins' failure: they took their lamps but not extra oil. The lamps without oil communicates the inadequacy of the equipment for a potentially long wait: the lamp that works for a brief wait may not survive an extended one.

Matthew 25:4

But the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. The wise virgins' provision: extra oil in flasks alongside their lamps. The additional oil communicates the preparation for the unexpected delay — the wise have anticipated the possibility that the bridegroom might be later than expected.

Matthew 25:5

As the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. The bridegroom's delay — the master who seemed delayed in Matthew 24:48 — produces the sleep of all ten virgins. The sleep of both the foolish and the wise communicates that the difference between them is not the sleep but the oil: the wise sleep but have oil; the foolish sleep and have no oil.

Matthew 25:6

But at midnight there was a cry: here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him. The midnight cry — the unexpected hour of the bridegroom's arrival — is the moment of crisis that separates the prepared from the unprepared. The cry at midnight is the Son of Man's coming at an hour you do not expect (Matthew 24:44).

Matthew 25:7

Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. The response of all ten to the midnight cry: they all rose and trimmed their lamps. The trimming reveals the difference: the wise trim and their lamps burn; the foolish trim and find their lamps going out.

Matthew 25:8

And the foolish said to the wise: give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out. The foolish virgins' request — give us some of your oil — is the recognition of their inadequacy at precisely the moment when remediation is most difficult. The our lamps are going out communicates the imminent failure of the resource they should have prepared.

Matthew 25:9

But the wise answered, saying: since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves. The wise virgins' refusal is not selfishness but the honest assessment that the oil cannot be divided without extinguishing both sets of lamps. The go buy for yourselves is not a genuine option — the dealers are closed at midnight — but communicates that the oil is not transferable: the preparation for the end cannot be borrowed from someone else's account.

Matthew 25:10

And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. The bridegroom's arrival during the foolish virgins' purchase-attempt: those who were ready went in; the door was shut. The door being shut is the finality of the end: the window of preparation has closed. The those who were ready is the parable's key phrase — readiness, not mere association with the prepared, is the criterion for entry.

Matthew 25:11

Afterward the other virgins came also, saying: Lord, lord, open to us. The too-late arrival of the foolish virgins — Lord, Lord, open to us — echoes the Lord, Lord of Matthew 7:21–22 (those who say Lord, Lord but do not do the will of the Father). The Lord, Lord communicates the genuine external identification with the bridegroom, which is not sufficient without the oil of genuine readiness.

Matthew 25:12

But he answered: truly, I say to you, I do not know you. The bridegroom's response to the late arrivals: I do not know you. The not knowing parallels the workers of iniquity whom Jesus does not know in Matthew 7:23. The knowing is the intimate relational knowledge of the covenant — the foolish virgins are strangers to the bridegroom despite their external identification.

Matthew 25:13

Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. The watch-therefore conclusion of the ten virgins parable: the unknown day and hour require the ongoing watchfulness that the extra oil represents. The parable's lesson is not to calculate the timing but to maintain the resource that enables sustained readiness.

Matthew 25:14

For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. The Parable of the Talents: the master who entrusts his property to servants before a journey is the second eschatological parable. The entrusting of the property communicates the active responsibility given to the servants during the master's absence — the opposite of the wicked servant's assumption that the absence licenses irresponsibility.

Matthew 25:15

To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. The distribution according to ability: the unequal distribution reflects the master's knowledge of each servant's capacity. The talent (a large unit of monetary value — sixty times a day's wage) communicates the significance of what is entrusted. The then he went away produces the period of absence during which the servants must act.

Matthew 25:16

He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. The immediate and active response of the five-talent servant: went at once and traded. The at once communicates the urgency and initiative that the faithful servant brings to the entrusted resources. The five talents gained is the 100% return that the parable will commend.

Matthew 25:17

So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. The two-talent servant's parallel response: immediate trading, 100% return. The parallelism between the five-talent and two-talent servants communicates that the commendation they receive will also be parallel — the absolute gain (five vs. two) matters less than the proportional faithfulness.

Matthew 25:18

But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. The one-talent servant's response: digging and hiding. The burial of the talent communicates the decision to eliminate all risk — and therefore all return — on the entrusted resource. The hiding is the failure to put the talent to work that the master's expectation assumed.