The Parable of the Fig Tree(A)

32 “Now learn (B)this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 So you also, when you see all these things, know (C)that [a]it is near—at the doors! 34 Assuredly, I say to you, (D)this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. 35 (E)Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.

No One Knows the Day or Hour(F)

36 (G)“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of [b]heaven, (H)but My Father only. 37 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38 (I)For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 40 (J)Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. 42 (K)Watch therefore, for you do not know what [c]hour your Lord is coming. 43 (L)But know this, that if the master of the house had known what [d]hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. 44 (M)Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

The Faithful Servant and the Evil Servant(N)

45 (O)“Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food [e]in due season? 46 (P)Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. 47 Assuredly, I say to you that (Q)he will make him ruler over all his goods. 48 But if that evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master (R)is delaying [f]his coming,’ 49 and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, 50 the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is (S)not aware of, 51 and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. (T)There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins

25 “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet (U)the bridegroom. (V)Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, (W)they all slumbered and slept.

“And at midnight (X)a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom [g]is coming; go out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins arose and (Y)trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ 10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and (Z)the door was shut.

11 “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, (AA)‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ 12 But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, (AB)I do not know you.’

13 (AC)“Watch therefore, for you (AD)know neither the day nor the hour [h]in which the Son of Man is coming.

The Parable of the Talents(AE)

14 (AF)“For the kingdom of heaven is (AG)like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. 15 And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, (AH)to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. 16 Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. 17 And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. 18 But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money. 19 After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.

20 “So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ 21 His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were (AI)faithful over a few things, (AJ)I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into (AK)the joy of your lord.’ 22 He also who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.’ 23 His lord said to him, (AL)‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into (AM)the joy of your lord.’

24 “Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’

26 “But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You (AN)wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. 27 So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents.

29 (AO)‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the unprofitable servant (AP)into the outer darkness. (AQ)There will be weeping and (AR)gnashing of teeth.’

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 24:33 Or He
  2. Matthew 24:36 NU adds nor the Son
  3. Matthew 24:42 NU day
  4. Matthew 24:43 Lit. watch of the night
  5. Matthew 24:45 at the right time
  6. Matthew 24:48 NU omits his coming
  7. Matthew 25:6 NU omits is coming
  8. Matthew 25:13 NU omits the rest of v. 13.

32 “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 33 Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it[a] is near, right at the door.(A) 34 Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.(B) 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.(C)

The Day and Hour Unknown(D)(E)

36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,[b] but only the Father.(F) 37 As it was in the days of Noah,(G) so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage,(H) up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.(I) 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left.(J) 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.(K)

42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.(L) 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming,(M) he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready,(N) because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant,(O) whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46 It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns.(P) 47 Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.(Q) 48 But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ 49 and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards.(R) 50 The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. 51 He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.(S)

The Parable of the Ten Virgins

25 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like(T) ten virgins who took their lamps(U) and went out to meet the bridegroom.(V) Five of them were foolish and five were wise.(W) The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.(X)

“At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’

“Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’(Y)

“‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’

10 “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet.(Z) And the door was shut.

11 “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’

12 “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’(AA)

13 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.(AB)

The Parable of the Bags of Gold(AC)

14 “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey,(AD) who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. 15 To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag,[c] each according to his ability.(AE) Then he went on his journey. 16 The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. 17 So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. 18 But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

19 “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them.(AF) 20 The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’

21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.(AG) Come and share your master’s happiness!’

22 “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’

23 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.(AH) Come and share your master’s happiness!’

24 “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’

26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

28 “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. 29 For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.(AI) 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’(AJ)

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 24:33 Or he
  2. Matthew 24:36 Some manuscripts do not have nor the Son.
  3. Matthew 25:15 Greek five talents … two talents … one talent; also throughout this parable; a talent was worth about 20 years of a day laborer’s wage.