“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten young women who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.[1] 2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3 The foolish ones took their lamps but brought no extra oil with them. 4 The wise ones, though, took jars of oil along with their lamps. 5 The bridegroom was a long time coming, and they all grew drowsy and fell asleep.
6 “At midnight a shout rang out: ‘Look, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 All the young women got up and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil — our lamps are going out.’
9 “But the wise ones answered, ‘No. There won’t be enough for both us and you. Go to the sellers instead and buy some for yourselves.’
10 “While they were off buying, the bridegroom arrived. The ones who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast, and the door was shut. 11 Later the rest of the young women came and said, ‘Sir, sir, open the door for us.’
12 “But he answered, ‘Amen, I tell you, I don’t know you.’
13 “So stay awake, because you don’t know the day or the hour.
14 “It’s like a man going on a journey. He called his own slaves together and handed his property over to them. 15 To one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one — each according to his own ability. Then he left on his journey.[2] 16 The one who had received the five talents went right to work with them and earned five more. 17 In the same way, the one with two earned two more. 18 But the one who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master’s money.
19 “After a long time the master of those slaves returned and settled accounts with them. 20 The one who had received five talents came forward and brought the other five talents. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you handed me five talents. Look — I’ve earned five more.’
21 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You’ve been faithful with a few things. I’ll put you in charge of many things. Come share your master’s joy.’
22 “The one with two talents also came forward and said, ‘Master, you handed me two talents. Look — I’ve earned two more.’
23 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You’ve been faithful with a few things. I’ll put you in charge of many things. Come share your master’s joy.’
24 “Then the one who had received the one talent came forward and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a hard man — harvesting where you didn’t plant and gathering where you didn’t scatter seed. 25 I was afraid, so I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here — you have what belongs to you.’
26 “His master answered him, ‘You wicked, lazy servant. You knew, did you, that I harvest where I didn’t plant and gather where I didn’t scatter seed? 27 Then you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received what was mine — with interest.[3] 28 Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has, more will be given, and they’ll have more than enough. But from the one who doesn’t have, even what they do have will be taken away. 30 And throw that worthless slave out into the darkness outside, where there will be sobbing and grinding of teeth.’
• • •
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people from one another the way a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.[4] 33 He’ll 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 — inherit the kingdom prepared for you since the world was made. 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 welcomed me in. 36 I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you looked after me. I was in prison and you came to me.’
37 “Then those who did right 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 welcome you in, or naked and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and come to you?’
40 “And the king will answer them, ‘Amen, I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Go away from me, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for 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 didn’t welcome me in — naked and you didn’t clothe me — sick and in prison and you didn’t look after me.’
44 “Then they too will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and didn’t help you?’
45 “Then he will answer them, ‘Amen, I tell you, whatever you didn’t do for one of the least of these, you didn’t do for me.’
46 “And these will go away into eternal punishment, but those who did right into eternal life.”[5]
Notes
Note 1. In a first-century wedding, the celebration centered on a procession that brought the couple to the groom’s house, and it commonly happened after dark — which is why attendants carried lamps to light the way. ↩
Note 2. A talent was originally a unit of weight — roughly 75 pounds of silver — and as money it stood for an enormous sum, by common estimates around twenty years’ wages for a day laborer. ↩
Note 3. Jewish law drew a sharp line on interest: the Torah forbade a Jew to charge interest to a fellow Jew, though lending at interest to outsiders was allowed — so the expectation of a return “with interest” fits a world of money-changers and lenders where such gains were both common and legally fraught. ↩
Note 4. Shepherds in this region often grazed sheep and goats together during the day but divided them at night, since the animals had different needs — goats tended to require shelter and warmth while the hardier sheep could stay in the open. ↩
Note 5. The Greek adjective is aiōnios, built on aiōn, “age” or “era” — so it carries the sense of belonging to the age to come as much as of unending duration. Note that the same single word is applied here to both the punishment and the life: whatever it means in one half of the sentence, it means in the other. ↩