The Gospel According to St. Matthew

⭑ Literal Standard Version :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

- Kapitel 25 -

“Then will the kingdom of the heavens be likened to ten virgins, who, having taken their lamps, went forth to meet the bridegroom;

and five of them were prudent, and five foolish;

they who were foolish having taken their lamps, did not take with themselves oil;

and the prudent took oil in their vessels, with their lamps.

And the bridegroom lingering, they all nodded and were sleeping,

and in the middle of the night a cry was made, Behold, the bridegroom comes; go forth to meet him!

Then all those virgins rose, and trimmed their lamps,

and the foolish said to the prudent, Give us of your oil, because our lamps are going out;

and the prudent answered, saying, Lest there may not be sufficient for us and you, go rather to those selling, and buy for yourselves.

And while they are going away to buy, the bridegroom came, and those ready went in with him to the wedding feasts, and the door was shut;

and afterward come also the rest of the virgins, saying, Lord, lord, open to us;

and he answering said, Truly I say to you, I have not known you.

Watch therefore, for you have not known the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man comes.

The Parable of the Talents

(Luke 19:11–27)

For—as a man going abroad called his own servants, and delivered to them his substance,

and to one he gave five talents, and to another two, and to another one, to each according to his several ability, went abroad immediately.

And he who received the five talents, having gone, worked with them, and made five other talents;

in like manner also he who [received] the two, he gained, also he, other two;

and he who received the one, having gone away, dug in the earth, and hid his lord’s money.

And after a long time comes the lord of those servants, and takes reckoning with them;

and he who received the five talents, having come, brought five other talents, saying, Lord, you delivered five talents to me; behold, I gained five other talents besides them.

And his lord said to him, Well done, good and faithful servant, you were faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things; enter into the joy of your lord.

And he also, who received the two talents, having come, said, Lord, you delivered to me two talents; behold, I gained two other talents besides them.

His lord said to him, Well done, good and faithful servant, you were faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things; enter into the joy of your lord.

And he also who has received the one talent, having come, said, Lord, I knew you, that you are a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering from where you did not scatter;

and having been afraid, having gone away, I hid your talent in the earth; behold, you have your own!

And his lord answering said to him, Evil servant, and slothful, you had known that I reap where I did not sow, and I gather from where I did not scatter!

It was necessary [for] you then to put my money to the money-lenders, and having come I had received my own with increase.

Take therefore from him the talent, and give to him having the ten talents,

for to everyone having will be given, and he will have overabundance, and from him who is not having, even that which he has will be taken from him;

and cast forth the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness; there will be the weeping and the gnashing of the teeth.

The Sheep and the Goats

And whenever the Son of Man may come in His glory, and all the holy messengers with Him, then He will sit on a throne of His glory;

and all the nations will be gathered together before Him, and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats,

and He will set the sheep indeed on His right hand, and the goats on the left.

Then the King will say to those on His right hand, Come, the blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom that has been prepared for you from the foundation of the world;

for I hungered, and you gave Me to eat; I thirsted, and you gave Me to drink; I was a stranger, and you received Me;

naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you looked after Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.

Then will the righteous answer Him, saying, Lord, when did we see You hungering, and we nourished? Or thirsting, and we gave to drink?

And when did we see You a stranger, and we received? Or naked, and we clothed?

And when did we see You ailing or in prison, and we came to You?

And the King answering, will say to them, Truly I say to you, inasmuch as you did [it] to one of these My brothers—the least—you did [it] to Me.

Then will He say also to those on the left hand, Go from Me, the cursed, into the continuous fire that has been prepared for the Devil and his messengers;

for I hungered, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I thirsted, and you gave Me nothing to drink;

I was a stranger, and you did not receive Me; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick and in prison, and you did not look after Me.

Then they will answer, they also, saying, Lord, when did we see You hungering, or thirsting, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and we did not minister to You?

Then will He answer them, saying, Truly I say to you, inasmuch as you did [it] not to one of these, the least, you did [it] not to Me.

And these will go away into continuous punishment, but the righteous into continuous life.”

“Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.

Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.

Those who were foolish, when they took their lamps, took no oil with them,

but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.

Now while the bridegroom delayed, they all slumbered and slept.

But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Behold! The bridegroom is coming! Come out to meet him!’

Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. (a)

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

But the wise answered, saying, ‘What if there isn’t enough for us and you? You go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’

While they went away to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast, and the door was shut.

Afterward the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us.’

But he answered, ‘Most certainly I tell you, I don’t know you.’

Watch therefore, for you don’t know the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.

The Parable of the Talents

(Luke 19:11–27)

“For it is like a man going into another country, who called his own servants and entrusted his goods to them.

To one he gave five talents, (b) to another two, to another one, to each according to his own ability. Then he went on his journey.

Immediately he who received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents.

In the same way, he also who got the two gained another two.

But he who received the one talent went away and dug in the earth and hid his lord’s money.

“Now after a long time the lord of those servants came, and settled accounts with them.

He who received the five talents came and brought another five talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents. Behold, I have gained another five talents in addition to them.’

“His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’

“He also who got the two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents. Behold, I have gained another two talents in addition to them.’

“His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things. I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’

“He also who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you that you are a hard man, reaping where you didn’t sow, and gathering where you didn’t scatter.

I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the earth. Behold, you have what is yours.’

“But his lord answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant. You knew that I reap where I didn’t sow, and gather where I didn’t scatter.

You ought therefore to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received back my own with interest.

Take away therefore the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents.

For to everyone who has will be given, and he will have abundance, but from him who doesn’t have, even that which he has will be taken away.

Throw out the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

The Sheep and the Goats

“But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory.

Before him all the nations will be gathered, and he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.

He will set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

Then the King will tell those on his right hand, ‘Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world;

for I was hungry and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you took me in.

I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink?

When did we see you as a stranger and take you in, or naked and clothe you?

When did we see you sick or in prison and come to you?’

“The King will answer them, ‘Most certainly I tell you, because you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, (c) you did it to me.’

Then he will say also to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels;

for I was hungry, and you didn’t give me food to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me no drink;

I was a stranger, and you didn’t take me in; naked, and you didn’t clothe me; sick, and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’

“Then they will also answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and didn’t help you?’

“Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Most certainly I tell you, because you didn’t do it to one of the least of these, you didn’t do it to me.’

These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Fußnoten

(a)25:7 The end of the wick of an oil lamp needs to be cut off periodically to avoid having it become clogged with carbon deposits. The wick height is also adjusted so that the flame burns evenly and gives good light without producing a lot of smoke.

(b)25:15 A talent is about 30 kilograms or 66 pounds (usually used to weigh silver unless otherwise specified)