Matthew 25:1-30, Additional Reading Habakkuk 1

Thursday, February 12, 2026
 

Parable of Ten Virgins

25 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were prudent. 3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps. 5 Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep. 6 But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the prudent answered, ‘No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ 10 And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut. 11 Later the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open up for us.’ 12 But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.

Parable of the Talents

14 “For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them. 15 To one he gave five [a]talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey. 16 Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents. 17 In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more. 18 But he who received the one talent went away, and dug a hole in the ground and hid his [b]master’s money.

19 “Now after a long time the master of those slaves *came and *settled accounts with them. 20 The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your [c]master.’

22 “Also the one who had received the two talents came up and said, ‘Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more talents.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’

24 “And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. 25 And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’

26 “But his master answered and said to him, ‘You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed. 27 Then you ought to have put my money [d]in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. 28 Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’

29 “For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. 30 Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 25:15 A talent was worth about fifteen years’ wages of a laborer
  2. Matthew 25:18 Or lord’s
  3. Matthew 25:21 Or lord
  4. Matthew 25:27 Lit to the bankers
 
 

Chaldeans Used to Punish Judah

1 The [a]oracle which Habakkuk the prophet saw.

2 How long, O Lord, will I call for help,
And You will not hear?
I cry out to You, “Violence!”
Yet You do not save.
3 Why do You make me see iniquity,
And cause me to look on wickedness?
Yes, destruction and violence are before me;
Strife exists and contention arises.
4 Therefore the law is [b]ignored
And justice [c]is never upheld.
For the wicked surround the righteous;
Therefore justice comes out perverted.

5 “Look among the nations! Observe!
Be astonished! Wonder!
Because I am doing something in your days—
You would not believe if [d]you were told.
6 “For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans,
That [e]fierce and impetuous people
Who march [f]throughout the earth
To [g]seize dwelling places which are not theirs.
7 “They are dreaded and feared;
Their justice and [h]authority [i]originate with themselves.
8 “Their horses are swifter than leopards
And [j]keener than wolves in the evening.
Their [k]horsemen come galloping,
Their horsemen come from afar;
They fly like an eagle swooping down to devour.
9 “All of them come for violence.
[l]Their horde of faces moves forward.
They collect captives like sand.
10 “They mock at kings
And rulers are a laughing matter to them.
They laugh at every fortress
And heap up rubble to capture it.
11 “Then they will sweep through like the wind and pass on.
But they will be held guilty,
They whose strength is their god.”

12 Are You not from everlasting,
O Lord, my God, my Holy One?
We will not die.
You, O Lord, have appointed them to judge;
And You, O Rock, have established them to correct.
13 Your eyes are too pure to [m]approve evil,
And You can not look on wickedness with favor.
Why do You look with favor
On those who deal treacherously?
Why are You silent when the wicked swallow up
Those more righteous than they?
14 Why have You made men like the fish of the sea,
Like creeping things without a ruler over them?
15 The Chaldeans bring all of them up with a hook,
Drag them away with their net,
And gather them together in their fishing net.
Therefore they rejoice and are glad.
16 Therefore they offer a sacrifice to their net
And [n]burn incense to their fishing net;
Because through these things their [o]catch is [p]large,
And their food is [q]plentiful.
17 Will they therefore empty their net
And continually slay nations without sparing?

Footnotes

  1. Habakkuk 1:1 Or burden
  2. Habakkuk 1:4 Or ineffective; lit numbed
  3. Habakkuk 1:4 Lit never goes forth
  4. Habakkuk 1:5 Lit it
  5. Habakkuk 1:6 Lit bitter
  6. Habakkuk 1:6 Lit the breadth of
  7. Habakkuk 1:6 Lit take possession of
  8. Habakkuk 1:7 Lit eminence
  9. Habakkuk 1:7 Lit proceeds from
  10. Habakkuk 1:8 Or more eager to attack
  11. Habakkuk 1:8 Or steeds paw the ground
  12. Habakkuk 1:9 Or The eagerness of their faces
  13. Habakkuk 1:13 Lit look at
  14. Habakkuk 1:16 Or sacrifice
  15. Habakkuk 1:16 Lit portion
  16. Habakkuk 1:16 Lit fat; or plentiful
  17. Habakkuk 1:16 Lit the fat portion

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