Chapter 25

Parable of Ten Virgins

1 “Then athe kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their blamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.

2 “Five of them were foolish, and five were aprudent.

3 “For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them,

4 but the aprudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps.

5 “Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep.

6 “But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’

7 “Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps.

8 “The foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’

9 “But the aprudent answered, ‘No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’

10 “And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were aready went in with him to bthe wedding feast; and cthe door was shut.

11 “Later the other virgins also came, saying, ‘aLord, lord, open up for us.’

12 “But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’

13 “aBe on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.

Parable of the Talents

14 “aFor it is just like a man babout to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them.

15 “To one he gave five 1atalents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he bwent on his journey.

16 “Immediately the one who had received the five atalents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents.

17 “In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more.

18 “But he who received the one talent went away, and dug a hole in the ground and hid his 1master’s money.

19 “Now after a long time the master of those slaves * came and * asettled accounts with them.

20 “The one who had received the five atalents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.’

21 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and afaithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will bput you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your 1master.’

22 “Also the one who had received the two atalents came up and said, ‘Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more talents.’

23 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and afaithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’

24 “And the one also who had received the one atalent came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed.

25 ‘And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’

26 “But his master answered and said to him, ‘You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed.

27 ‘Then you ought to have put my money 1in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest.

28 ‘Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’

29 “aFor to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away.

30 “Throw out the worthless slave into athe outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The Judgment

31 “But when athe Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then bHe will sit on His glorious throne.

32 “All the nations will be agathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, bas the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats;

33 and He will put the sheep aon His right, and the goats bon the left.

34 “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, ainherit the kingdom prepared for you bfrom the foundation of the world.

35 ‘For aI was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; bI was a stranger, and you invited Me in;

36 anaked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you bvisited Me; cI was in prison, and you came to Me.’

37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink?

38 ‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You?

39 ‘When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’

40 “aThe King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, bto the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’

41 “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘aDepart from Me, accursed ones, into the beternal fire which has been prepared for cthe 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 did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’

44 “Then they themselves 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 1take care of You?’

45 “Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’

46 “These will go away into aeternal punishment, but the righteous into beternal life.”

Chapter 26

The Plot to Kill Jesus

1 aWhen Jesus had finished all these words, He said to His disciples,

2 “aYou know that after two days bthe Passover is coming, and the Son of Man is to be chanded over for crucifixion.”

3 aThen the chief priests and the elders of the people were gathered together in bthe court of the high priest, named cCaiaphas;

4 and they aplotted together to seize Jesus by stealth and kill Him.

5 But they were saying, “Not during the festival, aotherwise a riot might occur among the people.”

The Precious Ointment

6 aNow when Jesus was in bBethany, at the home of Simon the leper,

7 aa woman came to Him with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume, and she poured it on His head as He reclined at the table.

8 But the disciples were indignant when they saw this, and said, “Why this waste?

9 “For this perfume might have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor.”

10 But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you bother the woman? For she has done a good deed to Me.

11 “For you always have athe poor with you; but you do not always have Me.

12 “For when she poured this perfume on My body, she did it ato prepare Me for burial.

13 “Truly I say to you, awherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her.”

Judas’s Bargain

14 aThen one of the twelve, named bJudas Iscariot, went to the chief priests

15 and said, “What are you willing to give me 1to 2abetray Him to you?” And bthey weighed out thirty 3pieces of silver to him.

16 From then on he began looking for a good opportunity to 1betray 2Jesus.

17 aNow on the first day of bUnleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?”

18 And He said, “Go into the city to aa certain man, and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, “bMy time is near; I am to keep the Passover at your house with My disciples.” ’ ”

19 The disciples did as Jesus had directed them; and they prepared the Passover.

The Last Passover

20 aNow when evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the twelve disciples.

21 As they were eating, He said, “aTruly I say to you that one of you will betray Me.”

22 Being deeply grieved, they 1each one began to say to Him, “Surely not I, Lord?”

23 And He answered, “aHe who dipped his hand with Me in the bowl is the one who will betray Me.

24 “The Son of Man is to go, ajust as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! bIt would have been good 1for that man if he had not been born.”

25 And aJudas, who was betraying Him, said, “Surely it is not I, bRabbi?” Jesus * said to him, “cYou have said it yourself.”

The Lord’s Supper Instituted

26 aWhile they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and 1bafter a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”

27 And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you;

28 for athis is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for bmany for forgiveness of sins.

29 “But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”

30 aAfter singing a hymn, they went out to bthe Mount of Olives.

31 Then Jesus * said to them, “You will all 1afall away because of Me this night, for it is written, ‘bI will strike down the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be cscattered.’

32 “But after I have been raised, aI will go ahead of you to Galilee.”

33 But Peter said to Him, “Even though all may 1fall away because of You, I will never fall away.”

34 Jesus said to him, “aTruly I say to you that bthis very night, before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.”

35 Peter * said to Him, “aEven if I have to die with You, I will not deny You.” All the disciples said the same thing too.

The Garden of Gethsemane

36 aThen Jesus * came with them to a place called bGethsemane, and * said to His disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”

37 And He took with Him aPeter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and distressed.

38 Then He * said to them, “aMy soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and bkeep watch with Me.”

39 And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let athis cup pass from Me; byet not as I will, but as You will.”

40 And He * came to the disciples and * found them sleeping, and * said to Peter, “So, you men could not akeep watch with Me for one hour?

41 “aKeep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; bthe spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

42 He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this acannot pass away unless I drink it, bYour will be done.”

43 Again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy.

44 And He left them again, and went away and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more.

45 Then He * came to the disciples and * said to them, “1Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, athe hour is at hand and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.

46 “Get up, let us be going; behold, the one who betrays Me is at hand!”

Jesus’ Betrayal and Arrest

47 aWhile He was still speaking, behold, bJudas, one of the twelve, came up 1accompanied by a large crowd with swords and clubs, who came from the chief priests and elders of the people.

48 Now he who was betraying Him gave them a sign, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the one; seize Him.”

49 Immediately Judas went to Jesus and said, “Hail, aRabbi!” and kissed Him.

50 And Jesus said to him, “aFriend, do what you have come for.” Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and seized Him.

51 And behold, aone of those who were with Jesus 1reached and drew out his bsword, and struck the aslave of the high priest and 2cut off his ear.

52 Then Jesus * said to him, “Put your sword back into its place; for aall those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword.

53 “Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve 1alegions of bangels?

54 “How then will athe Scriptures be fulfilled, which say that it must happen this way?”

55 At that time Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me as you would against a robber? aEvery day I used to sit in the temple teaching and you did not seize Me.

56 “But all this has taken place to fulfill athe Scriptures of the prophets.” Then all the disciples left Him and fled.

Jesus before Caiaphas

57 aThose who had seized Jesus led Him away to bCaiaphas, the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were gathered together.

58 But aPeter was following Him at a distance as far as the bcourtyard of the high priest, and entered in, and sat down with the 1cofficers to see the outcome.

59 Now the chief priests and the whole 1aCouncil kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus, so that they might put Him to death.

60 They did not find any, even though many false witnesses came forward. But later on atwo came forward,

61 and said, “This man stated, ‘aI am able to destroy the 1temple of God and to rebuild it 2in three days.’ ”

62 The high priest stood up and said to Him, “Do You not answer? What is it that these men are testifying against You?”

63 But aJesus kept silent. bAnd the high priest said to Him, “I 1cadjure You by dthe living God, that You tell us whether You are 2the Christ, ethe Son of God.”

64 Jesus * said to him, “aYou have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, 1hereafter you will see bthe Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and ccoming on the clouds of heaven.”

65 Then the high priest atore his 1robes and said, “He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? Behold, you have now heard the blasphemy;

66 what do you think?” They answered, “aHe deserves death!”

67 aThen they bspat in His face and beat Him with their fists; and others 1slapped Him,

68 and said, “aProphesy to us, You 1Christ; who is the one who hit You?”

Peter’s Denials

69 aNow Peter was sitting outside in the bcourtyard, and a servant-girl came to him and said, “You too were with Jesus the Galilean.”

70 But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you are talking about.”

71 When he had gone out to the gateway, another servant-girl saw him and * said to those who were there, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.”

72 And again he denied it with an oath, “I do not know the man.”

73 A little later the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Surely you too are one of them; afor even the way you talk 1gives you away.”

74 Then he began to curse and swear, “I do not know the man!” And immediately a rooster crowed.

75 And Peter remembered the word which Jesus had said, “aBefore a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.

Chapter 27

Judas’s Remorse

1 aNow when morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people conferred together against Jesus to put Him to death;

2 and they bound Him, and led Him away and adelivered Him to bPilate the governor.

3 Then when aJudas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned bthe thirty 1pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,

4 saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” But they said, “What is that to us? aSee to that yourself!”

5 And he threw the pieces of silver into athe temple sanctuary and departed; and bhe went away and hanged himself.

6 The chief priests took the pieces of silver and said, “It is not lawful to put them into the temple treasury, since it is the price of blood.”

7 And they conferred together and 1with the money bought the Potter’s Field as a burial place for strangers.

8 aFor this reason that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day.

9 Then that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: “aAnd 1they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of the one whose price had been set by the sons of Israel;

10 aand 1they gave them for the Potter’s Field, as the Lord directed me.”

Jesus before Pilate

11 aNow Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor questioned Him, saying, “Are You the bKing of the Jews?” And Jesus said to him, “cIt is as you say.”

12 And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, aHe did not answer.

13 Then Pilate * said to Him, “Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?”

14 And aHe did not answer him with regard to even a single 1charge, so the governor was quite amazed.

15 aNow at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the 1people any one prisoner whom they wanted.

16 At that time they were holding a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas.

17 So when the people gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you? Barabbas, or Jesus awho is called Christ?”

18 For he knew that because of envy they had handed Him over.

19 aWhile he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him a message, saying, “Have nothing to do with that brighteous Man; for 1last night I suffered greatly cin a dream because of Him.”

20 But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to aask for Barabbas and to put Jesus to death.

21 But the governor 1said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.”

22 Pilate * said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus awho is called Christ?” They all * said, “1Crucify Him!”

23 And he said, “Why, what evil has He done?” But they kept shouting all the more, saying, “1Crucify Him!”

24 When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but rather that aa riot was starting, he took water and bwashed his hands in front of the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of cthis Man’s blood; dsee to that yourselves.”

25 And all the people said, “aHis blood shall be on us and on our children!”

26 Then he released Barabbas 1for them; but after having Jesus ascourged, he handed Him over to be crucified.

Jesus Is Mocked

27 aThen the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into bthe 1Praetorium and gathered the whole Roman 2ccohort around Him.

28 They stripped Him and aput a scarlet robe on Him.

29 aAnd after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a 1reed in His right hand; and they knelt down before Him and mocked Him, saying, “bHail, King of the Jews!”

30 aThey spat on Him, and took the reed and began to beat Him on the head.

31 aAfter they had mocked Him, they took the scarlet robe off Him and put His own garments back on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him.

32 aAs they were coming out, they found a man of bCyrene named Simon, 1whom they pressed into service to bear His cross.

The Crucifixion

33 aAnd when they came to a place called bGolgotha, which means Place of a Skull,

34 athey gave Him bwine to drink mixed with gall; and after tasting it, He was unwilling to drink.

35 And when they had crucified Him, athey divided up His garments among themselves by casting 1lots.

36 And sitting down, they began to akeep watch over Him there.

37 And above His head they put up the charge against Him 1which read, “aTHIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

38 At that time two robbers * were crucified with Him, one on the right and one on the left.

39 And those passing by were 1hurling abuse at Him, awagging their heads

40 and saying, “aYou who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! bIf You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.”

41 In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking Him and saying,

42 “aHe saved others; 1He cannot save Himself. bHe is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him.

43 “aHe trusts in God; let God rescue Him now, if He 1delights in Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ”

44 aThe robbers who had been crucified with Him were also insulting Him with the same words.

45 aNow from the 1sixth hour darkness 2fell upon all the land until the 3ninth hour.

46 About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “aEli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

47 And some of those who were standing there, when they heard it, began saying, “This man is calling for Elijah.”

48 aImmediately one of them ran, and taking a sponge, he filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink.

49 But the rest of them said, “1Let us see whether Elijah will come to save Him2.”

50 And Jesus acried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.

51 aAnd behold, bthe 1veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and cthe earth shook and the rocks were split.

52 The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the 1saints who had afallen asleep were raised;

53 and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered athe holy city and appeared to many.

54 aNow the centurion, and those who were with him bkeeping guard over Jesus, when they saw cthe earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, “Truly this was 1dthe Son of God!”

55 aMany women were there looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee while 1bministering to Him.

56 Among them was aMary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and bthe mother of the sons of Zebedee.

Jesus Is Buried

57 aWhen it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus.

58 This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him.

59 And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,

60 and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock; and he rolled aa large stone against the entrance of the tomb and went away.

61 And aMary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the grave.

62 Now on the next day, 1the day after athe preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered together with Pilate,

63 and said, “Sir, we remember that when He was still alive that deceiver said, ‘aAfter three days I am to rise again.’

64 “Therefore, give orders for the grave to be made secure until the third day, otherwise His disciples may come and steal Him away and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.”

65 Pilate said to them, “You have a aguard; go, make it as secure as you know how.”

66 And they went and made the grave secure, and along with athe guard they set a bseal on cthe stone.