The Parable of the Ten Virgins

25 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ^(A)ten virgins who took their lamps^[a] and went to meet ^(B)the bridegroom.^{[b] 2} Five of them were foolish, and five were ^(C)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 ^(D)was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. ⁶ But ^(E)at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ ⁷ Then all those virgins rose and ^(F)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 ^(G)those who were ready went in with him to ^(H)the marriage feast, and ^(I)the door was shut. ¹¹ Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ^(J)‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ ^12 (K)But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, ^(L)I do not know you.’ ^13 (M)Watch therefore, for you ^(N)know neither the day nor the hour.

The Parable of the Talents

^14 (O)“For ^(P)it will be like a man ^(Q)going on a journey, who called his servants^[c] and entrusted to them his property. ¹⁵ To one he gave five ^(R)talents,^[d] to another two, to another one, ^(S)to each according to his ability. Then he ^(T)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 ^(U)dug in the ground and hid his master's money. ¹⁹ Now ^(V)after a long time the master of those servants came and ^(W)settled 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 ^(X)faithful servant.^{[e] (Y)}You have been faithful over a little; ^(Z)I will set you over much. Enter into ^(AA)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 ^(AB)a hard man, reaping ^(AC)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, ^(AD)you have what is yours.’ ²⁶ But his master answered him, ‘You ^(AE)wicked and ^(AF)slothful 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 (AG)For to 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 ^(AH)cast ^(AI)the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place ^(AJ)there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

The Final Judgment

^31 (AK)“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, ^(AL)then he will sit on his glorious throne. ³² Before him ^(AM)will be gathered ^(AN)all the nations, and ^(AO)he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates ^(AP)the sheep from the goats. ³³ And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. ³⁴ Then ^(AQ)the King will say to ^(AR)those on his right, ‘Come, you ^(AS)who are blessed by my Father, ^(AT)inherit ^(AU)the kingdom ^(AV)prepared for you ^(AW)from the foundation of the world. ³⁵ For ^(AX)I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you ^(AY)gave me drink, ^(AZ)I was a stranger and you welcomed me, ^36 (BA)I was naked and you clothed me, ^(BB)I was sick and you ^(BC)visited me, ^(BD)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 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 ^(BE)the King will answer them, ^(BF)‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these ^(BG)my brothers,^[f] you did it to me.’

⁴¹ “Then he will say to those on his left, ^(BH)‘Depart from me, you ^(BI)cursed, into ^(BJ)the eternal fire prepared for ^(BK)the devil and his angels. ⁴² For ^(BL)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, ^(BM)you did not do it to me.’ ⁴⁶ And these will go away ^(BN)into eternal punishment, but the righteous ^(BO)into ^(BP)eternal life.”

Jeremiah Threatened with Death

26 ^(A)In the beginning of the reign of ^(B)Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from the Lord: ² “Thus says the Lord: ^(C)Stand in the court of the Lord's house, and speak to all the cities of Judah that come to worship in the house of the Lord ^(D)all the words that I command you to speak to them; ^(E)do not hold back a word. ^3 (F)It may be they will listen, and every one turn from his evil way, ^(G)that I may relent of the disaster that I intend to do to them ^(H)because of their evil deeds. ⁴ You shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord: ^(I)If you will not listen to me, to walk in my law that I have set before you, ^5 (J)and to listen to the words of my servants the prophets whom I send to you ^(K)urgently, ^(L)though you have not listened, ⁶ then I will make this house ^(M)like Shiloh, and I will make this city ^(N)a curse for all the nations of the earth.’”

^7 (O)The priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord. ⁸ And when Jeremiah had finished speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people, then ^(P)the priests and the prophets and all the people laid hold of him, saying, “You shall die! ⁹ Why have you prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘This house shall be ^(Q)like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate, ^(R)without inhabitant’?” And all the people gathered around Jeremiah in the house of the Lord.

¹⁰ When ^(S)the officials of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king's house to the house of the Lord and took their seat in the ^(T)entry of the New Gate of the house of the Lord. ¹¹ Then ^(U)the priests and the prophets said to the officials and to all the people, ^(V)“This man deserves the sentence of death, because he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your own ears.”

¹² Then Jeremiah spoke to all the officials and all the people, saying, “The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and this city all the words you have heard. ¹³ Now therefore ^(W)mend your ways and your deeds, ^(X)and obey the voice of the Lord your God, ^(Y)and the Lord will relent of the disaster that he has pronounced against you. ^14 (Z)But as for me, behold, I am in your hands. Do with me as seems good and right to you. ¹⁵ Only know for certain that if you put me to death, ^(AA)you will bring innocent blood upon yourselves and upon this city and its inhabitants, for in truth the Lord sent me to you to speak all these words in your ears.”

Jeremiah Spared from Death

^16 (AB)Then the officials and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, ^(AC)“This man does not deserve the sentence of death, for he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.” ^17 (AD)And certain of ^(AE)the elders of the land arose and spoke to all the assembled people, saying, ¹⁸ “Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and said to all the people of Judah: ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts,

¹⁹ Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? ^(AG)Did he not fear the Lord and entreat the favor of the Lord, ^(AH)and did not the Lord relent of the disaster that he had pronounced against them? ^(AI)But we are about to bring great disaster upon ourselves.”

²⁰ There was another man who prophesied in the name of the Lord, Uriah the son of Shemaiah from ^(AJ)Kiriath-jearim. He prophesied against this city and against this land in words like those of Jeremiah. ²¹ And when ^(AK)King Jehoiakim, with all his warriors and all the officials, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death. But when Uriah heard of it, he was afraid and fled and escaped to Egypt. ²² Then ^(AL)King Jehoiakim sent to Egypt certain men, ^(AM)Elnathan the son of ^(AN)Achbor and others with him, ²³ and they took Uriah from Egypt and brought him to King Jehoiakim, ^(AO)who struck him down with the sword and dumped his dead body into the burial place of the common people.

²⁴ But the hand of ^(AP)Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah so that he was not given over to the people to be put to death.

The Yoke of Nebuchadnezzar

27 In the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah^[a] the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord. ² Thus the Lord said to me: ^(AQ)“Make yourself straps and ^(AR)yoke-bars, and put them on your neck. ³ Send word^[b] to the king of ^(AS)Edom, the king of ^(AT)Moab, the king of the sons of ^(AU)Ammon, the king of ^(AV)Tyre, and the king of Sidon by the hand of the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. ⁴ Give them this charge for their masters: ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: This is what you shall say to your masters: ⁵ “It is I who ^(AW)by my great power and my outstretched arm ^(AX)have made the earth, with the men and animals that are on the earth, ^(AY)and I give it to whomever it seems right to me. ^6 (AZ)Now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, ^(BA)my servant, ^(BB)and I have given him also the beasts of the field to serve him. ^7 (BC)All the nations shall serve him and ^(BD)his son and ^(BE)his grandson, ^(BF)until the time of his own land comes. ^(BG)Then many nations and great kings shall make him their slave.

⁸ “‘“But if any nation or kingdom will not serve this Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, ^(BH)and put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will punish that nation ^(BI)with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence, declares the Lord, until I have consumed it by his hand. ⁹ So ^(BJ)do not listen to your ^(BK)prophets, your diviners, your dreamers, your ^(BL)fortune-tellers, or your sorcerers, who are saying to you, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babylon.’ ^10 (BM)For it is a lie that they are prophesying to you, with the result that you will be removed far from your land, and I will drive you out, and you will perish. ^11 (BN)But any nation that will bring its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will leave on its own land, to work it and dwell there, declares the Lord.”’”

¹² To ^(BO)Zedekiah king of Judah I spoke in like manner: ^(BP)“Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and ^(BQ)serve him and his people and live. ^13 (BR)Why will you and your people die ^(BS)by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, ^(BT)as the Lord has spoken concerning any nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? ^14 (BU)Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are saying to you, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babylon,’ ^(BV)for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you. ¹⁵ I have not sent them, declares the Lord, but ^(BW)they are prophesying falsely in my name, with the result that I will drive you out and you will perish, you and the prophets who are prophesying to you.”

¹⁶ Then I spoke to the priests and to all this people, saying, “Thus says the Lord: ^(BX)Do not listen to the words of your prophets who are prophesying to you, saying, ^(BY)‘Behold, the vessels of the Lord's house will now shortly be brought back from Babylon,’ ^(BZ)for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you. ^17 (CA)Do not listen to them; ^(CB)serve the king of Babylon and live. Why should this city ^(CC)become a desolation? ¹⁸ If they are prophets, and if the word of the Lord is with them, then ^(CD)let them intercede with the Lord of hosts, ^(CE)that the vessels that are left in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem may not go to Babylon. ^19 (CF)For thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the pillars, the sea, the stands, and the rest of the vessels that are left in this city, ²⁰ which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take away, ^(CG)when he took into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem— ²¹ thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, ^(CH)concerning the vessels that are left in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem: ^22 (CI)They shall be carried to Babylon ^(CJ)and remain there ^(CK)until the day when I visit them, declares the Lord. ^(CL)Then I will bring them back ^(CM)and restore them to this place.”

Eliphaz Accuses: Job Does Not Fear God

15 Then ^(A)Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said: