You Must Be Ready

^35 (A)“Stay dressed for action^[a] and ^(B)keep your lamps burning, ³⁶ and be like men who are ^(C)waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and ^(D)knocks. ^37 (E)Blessed are those servants^[b] whom the master finds ^(F)awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, ^(G)he will dress himself for service and ^(H)have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. ³⁸ If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants! ^39 (I)But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour ^(J)the thief was coming, he^[c] would not have left his house to be broken into. ⁴⁰ You also must be ^(K)ready, for ^(L)the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

⁴¹ Peter said, “Lord, ^(M)are you telling this parable for us or for all?” ⁴² And the Lord said, “Who then is ^(N)the faithful and ^(O)wise ^(P)manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? ^43 (Q)Blessed is that servant^[d] whom his master will find so doing when he comes. ⁴⁴ Truly, I say to you, ^(R)he will set him over all his possessions. ⁴⁵ But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master ^(S)is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and ^(T)get drunk, ⁴⁶ the master of that servant will come ^(U)on a day when he does not expect him and ^(V)at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful. ^47 (W)And that servant who ^(X)knew his master's will but ^(Y)did not get ready ^(Z)or act according to his will, will receive a ^(AA)severe beating. ^48 (AB)But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, ^(AC)will receive a light beating. ^(AD)Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.

The Parable of the Ten Minas

¹¹ As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because ^(A)they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. ¹² He said therefore, ^(B)“A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. ¹³ Calling ^(C)ten of his servants,^[a] he gave them ten minas,^[b] and said to them, ‘Engage in business ^(D)until I come.’ ¹⁴ But ^(E)his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ ¹⁵ When he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business. ¹⁶ The first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.’ ¹⁷ And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant!^[c] Because you have been ^(F)faithful in a very little, ^(G)you shall have authority over ten cities.’ ¹⁸ And the second came, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made five minas.’ ¹⁹ And he said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ ²⁰ Then another came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your mina, which I kept laid away in ^(H)a handkerchief; ²¹ for I was afraid of you, because you are ^(I)a severe man. You take ^(J)what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ ²² He said to him, ^(K)‘I will condemn you with your own words, ^(L)you wicked servant! You knew that I was ^(M)a severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? ²³ Why then did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’ ²⁴ And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ ²⁵ And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten minas!’ ²⁶ ‘I tell you that ^(N)to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. ²⁷ But ^(O)as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and ^(P)slaughter them before me.’”