Matthew 25:21-36

Living Bible

²¹ “His master praised him for good work. ‘You have been faithful in handling this small amount,’ he told him, ‘so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Begin the joyous tasks I have assigned to you.’

²² “Next came the man who had received the $2,000, with the report, ‘Sir, you gave me $2,000 to use, and I have doubled it.’

²³ “‘Good work,’ his master said. ‘You are a good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over this small amount, so now I will give you much more.’

^24-25 “Then the man with the $1,000 came and said, ‘Sir, I knew you were a hard man, and I was afraid you would rob me of what I earned,^[a] so I hid your money in the earth and here it is!’

²⁶ “But his master replied, ‘Wicked man! Lazy slave! Since you knew I would demand your profit, ²⁷ you should at least have put my money into the bank so I could have some interest. ²⁸ Take the money from this man and give it to the man with the $10,000. ²⁹ For the man who uses well what he is given shall be given more, and he shall have abundance. But from the man who is unfaithful, even what little responsibility he has shall be taken from him. ³⁰ And throw the useless servant out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

³¹ “But when I, the Messiah,^[b] shall come in my glory, and all the angels with me, then I shall sit upon my throne of glory. ³² And all the nations shall be gathered before me. And I will separate the people^[c] as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, ³³ and place the sheep at my right hand, and the goats at my left.

³⁴ “Then I, the King, shall say to those at my right, ‘Come, blessed of my Father, into the Kingdom prepared for you from the founding of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry and you fed me; I was thirsty and you gave me water; I was a stranger and you invited me into your homes; ³⁶ naked and you clothed me; sick and in prison, and you visited me.’