Matius 24:42--25:13

24:42 “Therefore stay alert, because you do not know on what day ¹  your Lord will come. 24:43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief ²  was coming, he would have been alert and would not have let his house be broken into. 24:44 Therefore you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. ³ 

The Faithful and Wise Slave

24:45 “Who then is the faithful and wise slave, ⁴  whom the master has put in charge of his household, to give the other slaves ⁵  their food at the proper time? 24:46 Blessed is that slave whom the master finds at work ⁶  when he comes. 24:47 I tell you the truth, ⁷  the master ⁸  will put him in charge of all his possessions. 24:48 But if ⁹  that evil slave should say to himself, ¹⁰  ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ 24:49 and he begins to beat his fellow slaves and to eat and drink with drunkards, 24:50 then the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not foresee, 24:51 and will cut him in two, ¹¹  and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The Parable of the Ten Virgins

25:1 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 25:2 Five ¹²  of the virgins ¹³  were foolish, and five were wise. 25:3 When ¹⁴  the foolish ones took their lamps, they did not take extra ¹⁵  olive oil ¹⁶  with them. 25:4 But the wise ones took flasks of olive oil with their lamps. 25:5 When ¹⁷  the bridegroom was delayed a long time, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. 25:6 But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look, the bridegroom is here! Come out to meet him.’ ¹⁸  25:7 Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 25:8 The ¹⁹  foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.’ 25:9 ‘No,’ they replied. ²⁰  ‘There won’t be enough for you and for us. Go instead to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’ 25:10 But while they had gone to buy it, the bridegroom arrived, and those who were ready went inside with him to the wedding banquet. Then ²¹  the door was shut. 25:11 Later, ²²  the other virgins came too, saying, ‘Lord, lord! Let us in!’ ²³  25:12 But he replied, ²⁴  ‘I tell you the truth, ²⁵  I do not know you!’ 25:13 Therefore stay alert, because you do not know the day or the hour. ²⁶ 

[24:42]  ¹ tc Most later mss (L 0281 Ï lat) have here ὥρᾳ ({wra, “hour”) instead of ἡμέρα (Jemera, “day”). Although the merits of this reading could be argued either way, in light of the overwhelming and diverse early support for ἡμέρᾳ ({א B C D W Δ Θ Ë¹³ 33 892 1424, as well as several versions and fathers}), the more general term is surely correct.

[24:43]  ² sn On Jesus pictured as a returning thief, see 1 Thess 5:2, 4; 2 Pet 3:10; Rev 3:3; 16:15.

[24:44]  ³ sn Jesus made clear that his coming could not be timed, and suggested it would take some time – so long, in fact, that some will not be looking for him any longer (at an hour when you do not expect him).

[24:45]  ⁴ tn See the note on the word “slave” in 8:9.

[24:45]  ⁵ tn Grk “give them.”

[24:46]  ⁶ tn That is, doing his job, doing what he is supposed to be doing.

[24:47]  ⁷ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[24:47]  ⁸ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the master) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[24:48]  ⁹ tn In the Greek text this is a third class condition that for all practical purposes is a hypothetical condition (note the translation of the following verb “should say”).

[24:48]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “should say in his heart.”

[24:51]  ¹¹ tn The verb διχοτομέω (dicotomew) means to cut an object into two parts (L&N 19.19). This is an extremely severe punishment compared to the other two later punishments. To translate it simply as “punish” is too mild. If taken literally this servant is dismembered, although it is possible to view the stated punishment as hyperbole (L&N 38.12).

[25:2]  ¹² tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[25:2]  ¹³ tn Grk “Five of them.”

[25:3]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “For when.” Here γάρ (gar) has not been translated.

[25:3]  ¹⁵ tn The word “extra” is not in the Greek text but is implied. The point is that the five foolish virgins had only the oil in their lamps, but took along no extra supply from which to replenish them. This is clear from v. 8, where the lamps of the foolish virgins are going out because they are running out of oil.

[25:3]  ¹⁶ tn On the use of olive oil in lamps, see L&N 6.202.

[25:5]  ¹⁷ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[25:6]  ¹⁸ tc ‡ Most witnesses have αὐτοῦ (autou, “[with] him”) after ἀπάντησιν (apanthsin, “meeting”), a reading which makes explicit what is already implied in the shorter text (as found in א B 700). The translation likewise adds “him” for clarity’s sake even though the word is not considered part of the original text. NA²⁷ has αὐτοῦ in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

[25:8]  ¹⁹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[25:9]  ²⁰ tn Grk “The wise answered, saying, ‘No.’”

[25:10]  ²¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[25:11]  ²² tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[25:11]  ²³ tn Grk “Open to us.”

[25:12]  ²⁴ tn Grk “But answering, he said.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation.

[25:12]  ²⁵ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[25:13]  ²⁶ tc Most later mss (C³ ˹³ 1424^c Ï) also read here “in which the Son of Man is coming” (ἐν ᾗ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἔρχεται, en |h Jo Juio" tou anqrwpou ercetai), reproducing almost verbatim the last line of Matt 24:44. The longer reading thus appears to be an explanatory expansion and should not be considered authentic. The earlier and better witnesses ({̳⁵ א A B C* D L W Δ Θ Ë¹ 33 565 892 1424* lat co}) lack this phrase.