³⁶ and be like men who are ^(A)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 ^(B)knocks.

²⁰ Behold, I stand at the door and ^(A)knock. ^(B)If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, ^(C)I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

²⁰ But you, beloved, ^(A)building yourselves up in your most holy faith and ^(B)praying in the Holy Spirit, ^21 (C)keep yourselves in the love of God, ^(D)waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.

Patience in Suffering

⁷ Be patient, therefore, brothers,^[a] until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives ^(A)the early and the late rains. ⁸ You also, be patient. ^(B)Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord ^(C)is at hand.

²⁵ Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was ^(A)righteous and ^(B)devout, ^(C)waiting for ^(D)the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. ²⁶ And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not ^(E)see death before he had seen ^(F)the Lord's Christ. ²⁷ And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when ^(G)the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, ²⁸ he took him up in his arms and ^(H)blessed God and said,

^34 (A)It is like a man ^(B)going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants^[a] in charge, ^(C)each with his work, and commands ^(D)the doorkeeper to stay awake. ^35 (E)Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, ^(F)in the evening, or ^(G)at midnight, or ^(H)when the rooster crows,^[b] or ^(I)in the morning— ³⁶ lest ^(J)he come suddenly and ^(K)find you asleep. ³⁷ And what I say to you I say to all: ^(L)Stay awake.”

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.

⁴² Therefore, ^(A)stay awake, for you do not know on what day ^(B)your Lord is coming. ^43 (C)But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night ^(D)the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴ Therefore you also must be ^(E)ready, for ^(F)the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.