1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
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As Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 12:40
1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
The kingdom of heaven is like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. [1]
2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
Five were wise and five were foolish.
3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:
The foolish virgins took lamps with no oil in them.
4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
The wise virgins had oil in their lamps.
5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
The bridegroom was late, so the virgins went to sleep.
6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.
At midnight, someone cried out, saying, "The bridegroom is coming. Go out to meet him."
7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
So the virgins got up and got their lamps ready.
8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.
The foolish virgins said to the wise, "Give us some of your oil, because our lamps have gone out."
9 But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
But the wise virgins said, "No way. There isn't enough for us all. Go buy some for yourselves."
10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
The bridegroom came while the foolish virgins were out buying oil.So the wise virgins had the bridegroom to themselves. And the door was shut.
11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
Later the foolish virgins came and said, "Let us in."
12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
But the bridegroom answered, saying, "I don't know any of you."
13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
So watch out. You don't know when the Son of man will come.
14 For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.
The kingdom of heaven is like a man who entrusted his money to his servants, while he traveled to a far-away country. [2]
15 And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.
He gave five talents to one servant, two to another, and one to a third.
16 Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents.
The servant with five talents invested them and made five more talents.
17 And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two.
The servant with two talents earned two more.
18 But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money.
But the servant with one talent hid it in a hole in the ground.
19 After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them.
When their master returned he asked them about the money he'd given them.
20 And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.
The servant with five talents said, "You gave me five talents; I've earned you five more."
21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
His master said to him, "Well done, good and faithful servant. You've done well with a few things, I'll make you ruler over many things. Enter into my joy."
22 He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them.
The servant with two talents said, "You gave me two talents; I've earned you two more."
23 His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
His master said to him, "Well done, good and faithful servant. You've done well with a few things, I'll make you ruler over many things. Enter into my joy."
24 Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:
25 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.
The servant who received one talent said to his master, "I knew you were a hard man, reaping what you don't sow. So I was afraid and hid your talent in a hole. Here it is."
26 His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:
27 Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.
28 Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.
His master said to him,You wicked and lazy servant. You knew that I reap what I don't sow. So you should have invested my money so I would profit from usury.Take the talent from him, and give it to the servant with ten talents.
29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.
For whoever has something will be given even more, but whoever has nothing will have even that taken away from him.
30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Cast the servant who didn't make me any profit into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
When the Son of man comes in all his glory, with all the holy angels with him, he will sit on his throne of glory.
32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
All the nations will be gathered in front of him, and he'll separate them, as a shepherd separates sheep from goats.
33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
He'll put the sheep on his right hand, and the goats on the left. [3]
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Then the King will say to them on his right hand,Come, you blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you at the beginning of the world.For I was hungry, and you fed me; I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you let me live with you. [4]
I was naked, and you gave me clothes to wear; I was sick and in prison, and you visited me.
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
Then the righteous people [5] will say,Lord, when did we feed you when you were hungry? Or give you water when you were thirsty?When did we see you as a stranger and take you in? Or naked, and give you clothes to wear?
Or visit you when you were sick or in prison?
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
The King will answer them, "Whenever you did it to the least of my brothers, you did it to me." [6]
41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
Then the King will say to them on his left hand,Get away from me, you cursed people! Go into the everlasting fire prepared for the devils and his angels. [7]For I was hungry, and you didn't feed me; I was thirsty, and you didn't give me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you didn't let me live with you.
I was naked, and you didn't give me clothes to wear; I was sick and in prison, and you didn't visit me.
44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
Then the cursed people will say,Lord, when did we not feed you when you were hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison?
45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
The King will answer them, saying, "Whenever you did it to the least of these, you did it to me."
46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
The kingdom of heaven is like ten virgins who went to meet their bridegroom. Five had oil for their lamps and five didn't. When the bridegroom was ready for them, only the five well-oiled virgins got to have sex with him on their wedding night. He shunned the other five, saying "Get lost, ladies. I don't even know you." The moral of the story is this: watch out, you never know when (or with whom) Jesus will come.
The kingdom of heaven is like a rich man who distributed his wealth to his servants while he traveled. He gave five talents (a talent was a unit of money, worth about 20 years of a worker's wages) to one servant, two to another, and one to a third.
When he returned, the servant with five talents had made five more, the servant with two made two more, but the servant with one talent only had the talent his master entrusted to him. The master rewarded the servants that invested his money (without his permission -- what would have happened if the stock market went down during their master's travels?) and took the talent from the single-talent servant and gave it to the one with ten talents. "For unto every one that hath shall be given ... but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath."
Then the cruel and unjust master cast the servant who carefully protected his master's talent into the "outer darkness: [where] there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
Jesus will judge dead people based on how they treated the poor, the sick, prisoners, and strangers while they were alive. Those who treated them well ("the sheep") will go to heaven; those that didn't ("the goats") will go to hell ("everlasting punishment").
Elizabeth Warren quoted this verse, saying it is the heart of her religious belief and was the reason why she got into politics.