The Parable of the Tares Explained

³⁶ Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.”

³⁷ He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. ^38 (A)The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are ^(B)the sons of the wicked one. ³⁹ The enemy who sowed them is the devil, ^(C)the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. ⁴⁰ Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. ⁴¹ The Son of Man will send out His angels, ^(D)and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, ^42 (E)and will cast them into the furnace of fire. ^(F)There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. ^43 (G)Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. ^(H)He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

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 ^(A)the bridegroom. ^2 (B)Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. ³ Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, ⁴ but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. ⁵ But while the bridegroom was delayed, ^(C)they all slumbered and slept.

⁶ “And at midnight ^(D)a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom ^[a]is coming; go out to meet him!’ ⁷ Then all those virgins arose and ^(E)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, ‘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 ^(F)the door was shut.

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

^13 (I)“Watch therefore, for you ^(J)know neither the day nor the hour ^[b]in which the Son of Man is coming.

The Parable of the Talents^(K)

^14 (L)“For the kingdom of heaven is ^(M)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, ^(N)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 ^(O)faithful over a few things, ^(P)I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into ^(Q)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, ^(R)‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into ^(S)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 ^(T)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 (U)‘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 ^(V)into the outer darkness. ^(W)There will be weeping and ^(X)gnashing of teeth.’

The Son of Man Will Judge the Nations

^31 (Y)“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the ^[c]holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. ^32 (Z)All the nations will be gathered before Him, and ^(AA)He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. ³³ And He will set the ^(AB)sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. ³⁴ Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, ^(AC)inherit the kingdom ^(AD)prepared for you from the foundation of the world: ^35 (AE)for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; ^(AF)I was a stranger and you took Me in; ³⁶ I was ^(AG)naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; ^(AH)I was in prison and you came to Me.’

³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? ³⁸ When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? ³⁹ Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ ⁴⁰ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, ^(AI)inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’

⁴¹ “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ^(AJ)‘Depart from Me, you cursed, ^(AK)into the everlasting fire prepared for ^(AL)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 take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’

⁴⁴ “Then they also will answer ^[d]Him, 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, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, ^(AM)inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ ⁴⁶ And ^(AN)these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

The Great White Throne Judgment

¹¹ Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face ^(A)the earth and the heaven fled away. ^(B)And there was found no place for them. ¹² And I saw the dead, ^(C)small and great, standing before ^[a]God, ^(D)and books were opened. And another ^(E)book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged ^(F)according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. ¹³ The sea gave up the dead who were in it, ^(G)and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. ^(H)And they were judged, each one according to his works. ¹⁴ Then ^(I)Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. ^(J)This is the second ^[b]death. ¹⁵ And anyone not found written in the Book of Life ^(K)was cast into the lake of fire.

All Things Made New

21 Now ^(A)I saw a new heaven and a new earth, ^(B)for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. ² Then I, ^[a]John, saw ^(C)the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared ^(D)as a bride adorned for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, ^(E)the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. ^4 (F)And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; ^(G)there shall be no more death, ^(H)nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

⁵ Then ^(I)He who sat on the throne said, ^(J)“Behold, I make all things new.” And He said ^[b]to me, “Write, for ^(K)these words are true and faithful.”

⁶ And He said to me, ^(L)“It^[c] is done! ^(M)I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. ^(N)I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. ⁷ He who overcomes ^[d]shall inherit all things, and ^(O)I will be his God and he shall be My son. ^8 (P)But the cowardly, ^[e]unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in ^(Q)the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

The New Jerusalem^(R)

⁹ Then one of ^(S)the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came ^[f]to me and talked with me, saying, “Come, I will show you ^(T)the ^[g]bride, the Lamb’s wife.” ¹⁰ And he carried me away ^(U)in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me ^(V)the ^[h]great city, the ^[i]holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, ^11 (W)having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. ¹² Also she had a great and high wall with ^(X)twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: ^13 (Y)three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west.

¹⁴ Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and ^(Z)on them were the ^[j]names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. ¹⁵ And he who talked with me ^(AA)had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. ¹⁶ The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand ^[k]furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal. ¹⁷ Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel. ¹⁸ The construction of its wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. ^19 (AB)The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones: the first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, ²⁰ the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. ²¹ The twelve gates were twelve ^(AC)pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. ^(AD)And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.

The Glory of the New Jerusalem

^22 (AE)But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. ^23 (AF)The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine ^[l]in it, for the ^[m]glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. ^24 (AG)And the nations ^[n]of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor ^[o]into it. ^25 (AH)Its gates shall not be shut at all by day ^(AI)(there shall be no night there). ^26 (AJ)And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into ^[p]it. ²⁷ But ^(AK)there shall by no means enter it anything ^[q]that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s ^(AL)Book of Life.

The River of Life

22 And he showed me ^(AM)a ^[r]pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. ^2 (AN)In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was ^(AO)the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were ^(AP)for the healing of the nations. ³ And ^(AQ)there shall be no more curse, ^(AR)but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His ^(AS)servants shall serve Him. ^4 (AT)They shall see His face, and ^(AU)His name shall be on their foreheads. ^5 (AV)There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor ^(AW)light of the sun, for ^(AX)the Lord God gives them light. ^(AY)And they shall reign forever and ever.

The Time Is Near

⁶ Then he said to me, ^(AZ)“These words are faithful and true.” And the Lord God of the ^[s]holy prophets ^(BA)sent His angel to show His servants the things which must ^(BB)shortly take place.

^7 (BC)“Behold, I am coming quickly! ^(BD)Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”

⁸ Now I, John, ^[t]saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, ^(BE)I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things.

⁹ Then he said to me, ^(BF)“See that you do not do that. ^[u]For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.” ^10 (BG)And he said to me, “Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, ^(BH)for the time is at hand. ¹¹ He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him ^[v]be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.”

Jesus Testifies to the Churches

¹² “And behold, I am coming quickly, and ^(BI)My reward is with Me, ^(BJ)to give to every one according to his work. ^13 (BK)I am the Alpha and the Omega, the ^[w]Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.”

^14 (BL)Blessed are those who ^[x]do His commandments, that they may have the right ^(BM)to the tree of life, ^(BN)and may enter through the gates into the city. ^15 [y]But ^(BO)outside are ^(BP)dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.

^16 (BQ)“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. ^(BR)I am the Root and the Offspring of David, ^(BS)the Bright and Morning Star.”

¹⁷ And the Spirit and ^(BT)the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” ^(BU)And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.

A Warning

^18 [z]For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: ^(BV)If anyone adds to these things, ^[aa]God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; ¹⁹ and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, ^(BW)God^[ab] shall take away his part from the ^[ac]Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

I Am Coming Quickly

²⁰ He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.”

Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

²¹ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be ^[ad]with you all. Amen.