Matthew 25

¹“At that time, the kingdom of the heavens will be like ten young bridesmaids who took their torches and went out to meet the bridegroom. ²Five of them were foolish, and five were sensible. ³For the foolish ones, when they took their torches, did not take extra oil with them; ⁴but the sensible ones took flasks of oil along with their torches. ⁵When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

⁶But in the middle of the night, a shout rang out: ‘Look! The bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ ⁷Then all those bridesmaids woke up and trimmed their torches. ⁸The foolish ones said to the sensible ones, ‘Give us some of your oil, because our torches are going out.’ ⁹But the sensible ones answered, ‘No, there will certainly not be enough for both us and you; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’

¹⁰While they were going away to buy it, the bridegroom arrived, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding festivities, and the door was shut. ¹¹Later, the rest of the bridesmaids arrived and said, ‘Lord, lord, open the door for us!’ ¹²But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not recognize you.’ ¹³Stay alert, therefore, because you do not know the day or the hour.

¹⁴For it is just like a man going abroad, who called his own slaves and handed over his possessions to them. ¹⁵To one he gave five talents of silver, to another two, and to another one—to each according to his own specific ability. Then he left on his journey. ¹⁶Immediately, the one who had received the five talents went and put them to work and gained five more. ¹⁷In the same way, the one with the two gained two more. ¹⁸But the one who received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master’s money.

¹⁹After a long time, the master of those slaves returned and settled accounts with them. ²⁰The one who had received the five talents came forward and brought five more, saying, ‘Master, you handed over five talents to me; look, I have gained five more talents.’ ²¹His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master.’

²²The one with the two talents also came forward and said, ‘Master, you handed over two talents to me; look, I have gained two more talents.’ ²³His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master.’

²⁴Then the one who had received the one talent came forward and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you did not winnow. ²⁵Because I was afraid, I went off and hid your talent in the ground. Look, you have what is yours.’ ²⁶But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and hesitant slave! You knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I did not winnow? ²⁷Then you should have invested my money with the bankers, and when I arrived, I would have received my own back with interest. ²⁸Therefore, take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. ²⁹For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. ³⁰And throw the useless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

³¹But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. ³²All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them from one another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the young goats. ³³He will put the sheep on his right and the young goats on his left.

³⁴Then 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. ³⁵For 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, ³⁶naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to me.’

³⁷Then the just will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? ³⁹When did we see you sick or in prison and come to you?’

⁴⁰And the King will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, to the extent that you did it for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it for me.’

⁴¹Then he will also say to those on the left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the slanderer and his messengers. ⁴²For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

⁴⁴Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and did not serve you?’ ⁴⁵Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, to the extent that you did not do it for one of the least of these, you did not do it for me.’ ⁴⁶And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the just into eternal life.”