¹⁹ Jesus said to them, “The wedding attendants cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them, can they? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.

The Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids

25 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten young women^[a] took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.^{[b](A) 2} Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.^{(B) 3} 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 was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept.^{(C) 6} But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ ⁷ Then all those young women^[c] got up and trimmed their lamps.^{(D) 8} The foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ ⁹ But the wise replied, ‘No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ ¹⁰ And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet, and the door was shut.^(E)

¹⁰ His father went down to the woman, and Samson made a feast there, as the young men were accustomed to do. ¹¹ When the people saw him, they brought thirty companions to be with him.

²² So Laban gathered together all the people of the place and made a feast.^(A)