“Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten bridesmaids^* who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. ²Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. ³The five who were foolish didn’t take enough olive oil for their lamps, ⁴but the other five were wise enough to take along extra oil. ⁵When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

⁶“At midnight they were roused by the shout, ‘Look, the bridegroom is coming! Come out and meet him!’

⁷“All the bridesmaids got up and prepared their lamps. ⁸Then the five foolish ones asked the others, ‘Please give us some of your oil because our lamps are going out.’

⁹“But the others replied, ‘We don’t have enough for all of us. Go to a shop and buy some for yourselves.’

¹⁰“But while they were gone to buy oil, the bridegroom came. Then those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was locked. ¹¹Later, when the other five bridesmaids returned, they stood outside, calling, ‘Lord! Lord! Open the door for us!’

¹²“But he called back, ‘Believe me, I don’t know you!’

¹³“So you, too, must keep watch! For you do not know the day or hour of my return.

Parable of the Three Servants

¹⁴“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone. ¹⁵He gave five bags of silver^* to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last—dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip.

Read in Logos

Footnotes

*25:1 Or virgins; also in 25:7, 11.
*25:15 Greek talents; also throughout the story. A talent is equal to 75 pounds or 34 kilograms.