Reading: Genesis 26, Matthew 25

¹ And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar.² And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of:³ Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father;⁴ And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;⁵ Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.⁶ And Isaac dwelt in Gerar:⁷ And the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my sister: for he feared to say, She is my wife; lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look upon.⁸ And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was sporting with Rebekah his wife.⁹ And Abimelech called Isaac, and said, Behold, of a surety she is thy wife: and how saidst thou, She is my sister? And Isaac said unto him, Because I said, Lest I die for her.¹⁰ And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done unto us? one of the people might lightly have lien with thy wife, and thou shouldest have brought guiltiness upon us.¹¹ And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.¹² Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him.¹³ And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great:¹⁴ For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him.¹⁵ For all the wells which his father's servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth.¹⁶ And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we.¹⁷ And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.¹⁸ And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham: and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them.¹⁹ And Isaac's servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of springing water.²⁰ And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac's herdmen, saying, The water is ours: and he called the name of the well Esek; because they strove with him.²¹ And they digged another well, and strove for that also: and he called the name of it Sitnah.²² And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now the LORD hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.²³ And he went up from thence to Beersheba.²⁴ And the LORD appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake.²⁵ And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac's servants digged a well.²⁶ Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath one of his friends, and Phichol the chief captain of his army.²⁷ And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you?²⁸ And they said, We saw certainly that the LORD was with thee: and we said, Let there be now an oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee;²⁹ That thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away in peace: thou art now the blessed of the LORD.³⁰ And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink.³¹ And they rose up betimes in the morning, and sware one to another: and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.³² And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac's servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had digged, and said unto him, We have found water.³³ And he called it Shebah: therefore the name of the city is Beersheba unto this day.³⁴ And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite:³⁵ Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.

¹ Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.² And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.³ They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:⁴ But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.⁵ While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.⁶ And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.⁷ Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.⁸ And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.⁹ But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.¹⁰ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.¹¹ Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.¹² But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.¹³ Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.¹⁴ For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.¹⁵ And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.¹⁶ Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents.¹⁷ And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two.¹⁸ But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money.¹⁹ After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them.²⁰ And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.²¹ His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.²² He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them.²³ His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.²⁴ Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strowed:²⁵ And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.²⁶ 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 have not strowed:²⁷ Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.²⁸ Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.²⁹ For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.³⁰ And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.³¹ When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:³² And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his 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 an hungered, and ye gave me meat: 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 an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?³⁸ When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?³⁹ Or 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.⁴¹ Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:⁴² For I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat: 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 him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, 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 to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.⁴⁶ And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.