Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, who took their {Or, torches}lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
And five of them were foolish, and five were wise.
For the foolish, when they took their {Or, torches}lamps, took no oil with them:
but the wise took oil in their vessels with their {Or, torches}lamps.
Now while the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
But at midnight there is a cry, Behold, the bridegroom! Come ye forth to meet him.
Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their {Or, torches}lamps.
And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our {Or, torches}lamps are going out.
But the wise answered, saying, Peradventure there will not be enough for us and you: go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
And while they went away to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage feast: and the door was shut.
Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
Watch therefore, for ye know not the day nor the hour.
For it is as when a man, going into another country, called his own {Greek: bondservants.}servants, and delivered unto them his goods.
And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one; to each according to his several ability; and he went on his journey.
Straightway he that received the five talents went and traded with them, and made other five talents.
In like manner he also that received the two gained other two.
But he that received the one went away and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money.
Now after a long time the lord of those {Greek: bondservants.}servants cometh, and maketh a reckoning with them.
And he that received the five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: lo, I have gained other five talents.
His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful {Greek: bondservant.}servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will set thee over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
And he also that received the two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: lo, I have gained other two talents.
His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful {Greek: bondservant.}servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will set thee over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
And he also that had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art a hard man, reaping where thou didst not sow, and gathering where thou didst not scatter;
and I was afraid, and went away and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, thou hast thine own.
But his lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful {Greek: bondservant.}servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I did not scatter;
thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the bankers, and at my coming I should have received back mine own with interest.
Take ye away therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him that hath the ten talents.
For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not, even that which he hath shall be taken away.
And cast ye out the unprofitable {Greek: bondservant.}servant into the outer darkness: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.
But when the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the angels with him, then shall he sit on the throne of his glory:
and before him shall be gathered all the nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as the shepherd separateth the sheep from the goats;
and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
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:
for I was hungry, and ye gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in;
naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, and fed thee? or athirst, and gave thee drink?
And when saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
And when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these my brethren, even these least, ye did it unto me.
Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, {Or, Depart from me under a curse}Depart from me, ye cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels:
for I was hungry, and ye did not give me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink;
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 shall they also answer, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not unto one of these least, ye did it not unto me.
And these shall go away into eternal punishment: but the righteous into eternal life.
Querverweise zu Matthäus 25,5 Mt 25,5
Now after a long time the lord of those {Greek: bondservants.}servants cometh, and maketh a reckoning with them.
And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?
But if that evil {Greek: bondservant.}servant shall say in his heart, My lord tarrieth;
And he came again and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy.
For the vision is yet for the appointed time, and it {Hebrew: panteth.}hasteth toward the end, and shall not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not delay.
By night on my bedI sought him whom my soul loveth:I sought him, but I found him not.
But if that {Greek: bondservant.}servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and the maidservants, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken;
I {Or, sleep, but my heart waketh}was asleep, but my heart waked:It is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, saying,Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my {Hebrew: perfect.}undefiled;For my head is filled with dew,My locks with the drops of the night.
And he began to speak unto the people this parable: A man planted a vineyard, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into another country for a long time.
Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god; and they cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it unto them. But Jonah was gone down into the innermost parts of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep.
For ye have need of {Or, stedfastness}patience, that, having done the will of God, ye may receive the promise.
So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not.
{Habakkuk 2:3 f.}For yet a very little while,He that cometh shall come, and shall not tarry.
And he cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? couldest thou not watch one hour?
and saying, Where is the promise of his {Greek: presence.}coming? for, from the day that the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
For this they wilfully forget, that there were heavens from of old, and an earth compacted out of water and {Or, through}amidst water, by the word of God;
by which means the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
but the heavens that now are, and the earth, by the same word have been {Or, stored with fire}stored up for fire, being reserved against the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
But forget not this one thing, beloved, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some count slackness; but is longsuffering to you-ward, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
{Or, Watch ye, and pray that ye enter not}Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
Nevertheless that which ye have, hold fast till I come.
I say unto you, that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of man cometh, shall he find {Or, the faith}faith on the earth?
And this, knowing the season, that already it is time for you to awake out of sleep: for now is {Or, our salvation nearer than when & c.}salvation nearer to us than when we first believed.
Wherefore he saith, {(?). Compare 1 Timothy 3:16.}Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall shine upon thee.
so then let us not sleep, as do the rest, but let us watch and be sober.
For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that are drunken are drunken in the night.
But let us, since we are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for a helmet, the hope of salvation.
Be sober, be watchful: your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour,