Luke 19:11–27

Parable of the Ten Minas

¹¹Now while they were listening to these things, Jesus went on to tell a parable, because ^aHe was near Jerusalem, and they thought that ^bthe kingdom of God was going to appear immediately.

¹²So He said, “^aA nobleman went to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself, and then return.

¹³“And he called ten of his slaves, and gave them ten ¹minas and said to them, ‘Engage in business ²until I come back.’

¹⁴“But his citizens hated him and sent ¹a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’

¹⁵“And it happened that when he returned, after receiving the kingdom, he ordered that these slaves, to whom he had given the money, be called to him so that he might know how much they had made in business.

¹⁶“So the first appeared, saying, ‘¹Master, your ²mina has made ten minas more.’

¹⁷“And he said to him, ‘Well done, good slave, because you have been ^afaithful in a very little thing, you are to be in authority over ten cities.’

¹⁸“Then the second came, saying, ‘Your ¹mina, ²master, has made five minas.’

¹⁹“And he said to him also, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’

²⁰“Then another came, saying, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I kept put away in a cloth;

²¹for I was afraid of you, because you are a strict man; you take up what you did not lay down and reap what you did not sow.’

²²“He ^*said to him, ‘From your own mouth I will judge you, you worthless slave. Did you know that I am a strict man, taking up what I did not lay down and reaping what I did not sow?

²³‘Then why did you not put my money in the bank, and having come, I would have collected it with interest?’

²⁴“Then he said to the bystanders, ‘Take the mina away from him and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’

²⁵“And they said to him, ‘Master, he has ten minas already.’

²⁶‘^aI tell you that to everyone who has, more shall be given, but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away.

²⁷‘But ^athese enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and ^bslay them in my presence.’”