Matthew 25 in the Unitarian Standard Version

 

Introducing the Unitarian Standard Version Bible

References Used in the Unitarian Standard Version

Read Matthew 1 and 2 here...Read Matthew 3 here...Read Matthew 4 here...Read Matthew 5 here...Read Matthew 6 here...Read Matthew 7 here...Read Matthew 8 here...Read Matthew 9 here...Read Matthew 10 here...Read Matthew 11 here...Read Matthew 12 here...Read Matthew 13 here...Read Matthew 14 here...Read Matthew 15 here...Read Matthew 16 here...Read Matthew 17 here...Read Matthew 18 here...Read Matthew 19 here...Read Matthew 20 here...Read Matthew 21 here...Read Matthew 22 here...Read Mathew 23 here...Read Matthew 24 here...

                                                                             Textual changes in favor of the newer Greek Texts are underlined.

1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, who took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. 2 And five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 For the foolish, when they took their lamps, took no oil with them: 4 but the wise took vessels of oil with their lamps. 5 Now while the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. 6 But at midnight there is a cry, Behold, the bridegroom! Come ye forth to meet him. 7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed(a) their lamps. 8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are going out. 9 But the wise answered, saying, No, there will not be enough for us and you: go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. 10 And while they went away to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage feast: and the door was shut. 11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord(b), open to us. 12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. 13 Watch therefore, for ye know not the day nor the hour.

14 For [it is] as [when] a man, going into another country, called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. 15 And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one; to each according to his several ability; and he went on his journey at once. 16    He that received the five talents(c) went and traded with them, and made five more. 17 Likewise he also that [received] the two gained other two. 18 But he that received the one went away and digged in the earth, and hid his lord`s money. 19 Now after a long time the lord(d) of those servants cometh, and maketh a reckoning with them. 20 And he that received the five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: lo, I have gained other five talents. 21 His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will set thee over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy lord. 22 And he also that had the two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: lo, I have gained other two talents. 23 His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will set thee over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy lord. 24 And he also that had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art a hard man, reaping where thou didst not sow, and gathering where thou didst not scatter; 25 and I was afraid, and went away and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, thou hast thine own. 26 But his lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I did not scatter; 27 thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the bankers, and at my coming I should have received back mine own with interest. 28 Take ye away therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him that hath the ten talents(e). 29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but of him that hath not, even that which he hath shall be taken away from him. 30 And cast ye out the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth(f).

31 But when the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the angels with him, then shall he sit on the throne of his glory: 32 and before him shall be gathered all the nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as the shepherd separateth the sheep from the goats; 33 and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hungry, and ye gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; 36 naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, and fed thee? or athirst, and gave thee drink? 38 And when saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39 And when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done [it] unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done [it] unto me(g).

41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left(h) hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into the eternal fire(i) prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry, and ye did not give me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink; 43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in; naked, and ye clothed me not; sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44 Then shall they also answer, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not unto one of these least, ye did it not unto me. 46 And these shall go away into eternal punishment(j): but the righteous into eternal life.

Footnotes

(a) Trim: to prepare or adjust (a lamp or a fire) for proper burning. Williams: "trimmed their lamp-wicks"
(b) This is an example of epizeuxis, a rhetorical device that involves repeating a word or phrase multiple times in close succession, usually within the same sentence. Epizeuxis is utilized to create an emotional appeal.
(c) Five talents - AT: five thousand dollars; NEB: five bags of gold; Unvarnished: five bars of silver.
(d) Lord, Greek: Kyrios/KURIOS. The word is used as a title of respect of men in authority, as well as the Divine. Many translations render this as "Master" in this Scripture.
(e) This parable depicts investing, not hoarding, as a righteous thing.
(f)  The weeping and the gnashing of teeth is mentioned seven times in the Bible, and only in the Gospels. (Matt. 8:12; 13:42, 50; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30; Luke 13:28).
(g) I reverted back the KJV for this Scripture as it was worded better.
(h) In many religions, including Christianity, the right hand of God is the favored hand. For example, Jesus sits at God's right side. Those who fall from favor with God are sent to left, as described in Matthew 25: 32–33, in which sheep represent the righteous and goats represent the fallen. In 19th-century Europe, homosexuals were referred to as "left-handed". In Protestant-majority parts of the United Kingdom, Catholics were called "left-footers", and vice versa in Catholic-majority parts of Ireland and Irish America. During the Spanish Inquisition, the Catholic Church would condemn and occasionally execute those who used their left hand. During the time of the Salem Witch Trials, use of the left hand could lead to one’s burning at the stake. Black magic is sometimes referred to as the "left-hand path", which is strongly associated with Satanism.
(i) The eternal fire, or lake of fire, was never intended for people.
(j) What many hope this means is that "everlasting punishment" should be interpreted as "eternal torment in a fiery hell." Notice that the Scripture says "punishment" not "punishing." Also, Romans 6:23 says that "the wages of sin is death" not an eternity of torment. John 3:16 lays out two options for believers: "eternal life" or "perish." What Mt 25:46 is saying is that there are those who will perish for an eternity. Those ones will be dead forever.

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"Christ, according to the faith, is the second person in the Trinity, the Father being the first and the Holy Ghost third. Each of these persons is God. Christ is his own father and his own son. The Holy Ghost is neither father nor son, but both. The son was begotten by the father, but existed before he was begotten--just the same before as after. Christ is just as old as his father, and the father is just as young as his son. The Holy Ghost proceeded from the Father and Son, but was equal to the Father and Son before he proceeded, that is to say, before he existed, but he is of the same age as the other two. So it is declared that the Father is God, and the Son and the Holy Ghost God, and these three Gods make one God. According to the celestial multiplication table, once one is three, and three time one is one, and according to heavenly subtraction if we take two from three, three are left. The addition is equally peculiar: if we add two to one we have but one. Each one equal to himself and to the other two. Nothing ever was, nothing ever can be more perfectly idiotic and absurd than the dogma of the Trinity."
[Ingersoll's Works, Vol. 4, p. 266-67].