Matthew 25:1-16

“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went to wait for the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The five foolish bridesmaids took their lamps, but they did not take more oil for the lamps to burn. The wise bridesmaids took their lamps and more oil in jars. Because the bridegroom was late, they became sleepy and went to sleep. “At midnight someone cried out, ‘The bridegroom is coming! Come and meet him!’ Then all the bridesmaids woke up and got their lamps ready. But the foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.’ The wise bridesmaids answered, ‘No, the oil we have might not be enough for all of us. Go to the people who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’ “So while the five foolish bridesmaids went to buy oil, the bridegroom came. The bridesmaids who were ready went in with the bridegroom to the wedding feast. Then the door was closed and locked. “Later the others came back and said, ‘Sir, sir, open the door to let us in.’ But the bridegroom answered, ‘I tell you the truth, I don’t want to know you.’ “So always be ready, because you don’t know the day or the hour the Son of Man will come. “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who was going to another place for a visit. Before he left, he called for his servants and told them to take care of his things while he was gone. He gave one servant five bags of gold, another servant two bags of gold, and a third servant one bag of gold, to each one as much as he could handle. Then he left. The servant who got five bags went quickly to invest the money and earned five more bags.