Matthew 25:1-6

The Parable of the Ten Virgins

25:1 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 25:2 Five ¹  of the virgins ²  were foolish, and five were wise. 25:3 When ³  the foolish ones took their lamps, they did not take extra ⁴  olive oil ⁵  with them. 25:4 But the wise ones took flasks of olive oil with their lamps. 25:5 When ⁶  the bridegroom was delayed a long time, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. 25:6 But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look, the bridegroom is here! Come out to meet him.’ ⁷ 

[25:2]  ¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[25:2]  ² tn Grk “Five of them.”

[25:3]  ³ tn Grk “For when.” Here γάρ (gar) has not been translated.

[25:3]  ⁴ tn The word “extra” is not in the Greek text but is implied. The point is that the five foolish virgins had only the oil in their lamps, but took along no extra supply from which to replenish them. This is clear from v. 8, where the lamps of the foolish virgins are going out because they are running out of oil.

[25:3]  ⁵ tn On the use of olive oil in lamps, see L&N 6.202.

[25:5]  ⁶ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[25:6]  ⁷ tc ‡ Most witnesses have αὐτοῦ (autou, “[with] him”) after ἀπάντησιν (apanthsin, “meeting”), a reading which makes explicit what is already implied in the shorter text (as found in א B 700). The translation likewise adds “him” for clarity’s sake even though the word is not considered part of the original text. NA²⁷ has αὐτοῦ in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.