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“Then will the kingdom of the heavens be likened to ten virgins, who, having taken their lamps, went forth to meet the bridegroom;
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and five of them were prudent, and five foolish;
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they who were foolish having taken their lamps, did not take with themselves oil;
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and the prudent took oil in their vessels, with their lamps.
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And the bridegroom lingering, they all nodded and were sleeping,
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and in the middle of the night a cry was made, Behold, the bridegroom comes; go forth to meet him!
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Then all those virgins rose, and trimmed their lamps,
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and the foolish said to the prudent, Give us of your oil, because our lamps are going out;
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and the prudent answered, saying, Lest there may not be sufficient for us and you, go rather to those selling, and buy for yourselves.
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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;
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and afterward come also the rest of the virgins, saying, Lord, lord, open to us;
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and he answering said, Truly I say to you, I have not known you.
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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)
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For—as a man going abroad called his own servants, and delivered to them his substance,
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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.
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And he who received the five talents, having gone, worked with them, and made five other talents;
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in like manner also he who [received] the two, he gained, also he, other two;
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and he who received the one, having gone away, dug in the earth, and hid his lord’s money.
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And after a long time comes the lord of those servants, and takes reckoning with them;
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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;
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and having been afraid, having gone away, I hid your talent in the earth; behold, you have your own!
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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!
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It was necessary [for] you then to put my money to the money-lenders, and having come I had received my own with increase.
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Take therefore from him the talent, and give to him having the ten talents,
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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;
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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
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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;
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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,
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and He will set the sheep indeed on His right hand, and the goats on the left.
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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;
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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;
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naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you looked after Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.
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Then will the righteous answer Him, saying, Lord, when did we see You hungering, and we nourished? Or thirsting, and we gave to drink?
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And when did we see You a stranger, and we received? Or naked, and we clothed?
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And when did we see You ailing or in prison, and we came to You?
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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.
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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;
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for I hungered, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I thirsted, and you gave Me nothing to drink;
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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.
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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?
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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.
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And these will go away into continuous punishment, but the righteous into continuous life.”
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