43 But know this, that ^vif the master of the house had known in what part of the night the ^wthief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into.

34 It is like a man ^kgoing on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants¹ in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. 35 Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows,² or in the morning— 36 lest he come suddenly and find you asleep.

36 But ^fstay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

45 ^x“Who then is the faithful and wise servant,¹ whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? 46 Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 47 Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. 48 But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ 49 and begins to beat his fellow servants² and eats and drinks with drunkards, 50 the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know 51 and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be ^yweeping and gnashing of teeth.

The Parable of the Ten Virgins

1 ^z“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ^aten virgins who took their lamps³ and went to meet the ^bbridegroom.⁴ 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5 As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. 6 But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ 10 And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the ^cmarriage feast, and the door was shut. 11 Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ^d‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ 12 But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, ^eI do not know you.’ 13 ^fWatch therefore, for you know neither the ^gday nor the hour.

The Parable of the Talents

14 ^h“For it will be like a man ⁱgoing on a journey, who called his servants⁵ and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five ^jtalents,⁶ to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and ^ksettled accounts with them. 20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.⁷ You have been ^lfaithful over a little; I will ^mset you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and ⁿslothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. 29 For ^oto everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And ^pcast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

The Final Judgment

31 ^q“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered ^rall the nations, and he will ^sseparate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the ^tsheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, ^uinherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For ^vI was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you ^wgave me drink, I was a ^xstranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the ^yrighteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, ^zas you did it to one of the least of these my brothers,⁸ you did it to me.’

41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ^a‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 ^bAnd these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

37 And every day he was teaching in the temple, but at night he went out and lodged on the mount called Olivet. 38 And early in the morning all the people came to him in the temple to hear him.

The Plot to Kill Jesus

1 ^cWhen Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said to his disciples, 2 “You know that after two days the ^dPassover is coming, and the Son of Man will be ^edelivered up to be crucified.”

3 Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, 4 and plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and ^fkill him. 5 But they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people.”