Matthew 25:19

THE MESSAGE

"After a long absence, the master of those three servants came back and settled up with them. The one given five thousand dollars showed him how he had doubled his investment. His master commended him: ‘Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner.'

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
“After a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them.

King James Version (1611)
After a long time, the lord of those seruants commeth, and reckoneth with them.

King James Version
After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them.

English Standard Version
Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them.

New American Standard Bible
"Now after a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them.

New Century Version
"After a long time the master came home and asked the servants what they did with his money.

Amplified Bible
"Now after a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Now after a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them.

Legacy Standard Bible
"Now after a long time the master of those slaves *came and *settled accounts with them.

Berean Standard Bible
After a long time, the master of those servants returned to settle accounts with them.

Contemporary English Version
Some time later the master of those servants returned. He called them in and asked what they had done with his money.

Complete Jewish Bible
"After a long time, the master of those servants returned to settle accounts with them.

Darby Translation
And after a long time the lord of those bondmen comes and reckons with them.

Easy-to-Read Version
"After a long time the master came home. He asked the servants what they did with his money.

Geneva Bible (1587)
But after a long season, the master of those seruants came, and reckoned with them.

George Lamsa Translation
After a long time, the lord of those servants returned, and took an accounting from them.

Good News Translation
"After a long time the master of those servants came back and settled accounts with them.

Lexham English Bible
Now after a long time, the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them.

Literal Translation
And after much time, the lord of those slaves came and took account with them.

American Standard Version
Now after a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and maketh a reckoning with them.

Bible in Basic English
Now after a long time the lord of those servants comes, and makes up his account with them.

Hebrew Names Version
"Now after a long time the lord of those servants came, and reconciled accounts with them.

International Standard Version
"After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them.

Etheridge Translation
After a long time the lord of those servants came, and received from them the account.

Murdock Translation
And after a long time, the lord of those servants came, and received account from them.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
After a long season, the Lorde of those seruauntes commeth, and reckeneth with them.

English Revised Version
Now after a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and maketh a reckoning with them.

World English Bible
Now after a long time the lord of those servants came, and reconciled accounts with them.

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
After a long time, the lord of those servants cometh and reckoneth with them.

Weymouth's New Testament
"After a long lapse of time the master of those servants returned, and had a reckoning with them.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
But after long tyme, the lord of tho seruauntis cam, and rekenede with hem.

Update Bible Version
Now after a long time the lord of those slaves comes, and makes a reckoning with them.

Webster's Bible Translation
After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them.

New English Translation
After a long time, the master of those slaves came and settled his accounts with them.

New King James Version
After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.

New Living Translation
"After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money.

New Life Bible
"After a long time the owner of those servants came back. He wanted to know what had been done with his money.

New Revised Standard
After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And, after a long time, cometh the lord of those servants, and reckoneth with them.

Douay-Rheims Bible
But after a long time the lord of those servants came and reckoned with them.

Revised Standard Version
Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them.

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
After a longe season ye lorde of those servauntes came and rekened with the.

Young's Literal Translation
`And after a long time cometh the lord of those servants, and taketh reckoning with them;

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
After a longe season the lorde of those seruauntes came, and rekened with them.

Mace New Testament (1729)
after a long time the lord of those servants came, and reckoned with them.

Simplified Cowboy Version
"When the rancher returned, he asked them about the horses he had assigned them.

Contextual Overview

¹⁴"It's also like a man going off on an extended trip. He called his servants together and delegated responsibilities. To one he gave five thousand dollars, to another two thousand, to a third one thousand, depending on their abilities. Then he left. Right off, the first servant went to work and doubled his master's investment. The second did the same. But the man with the single thousand dug a hole and carefully buried his master's money. ¹⁹"After a long absence, the master of those three servants came back and settled up with them. The one given five thousand dollars showed him how he had doubled his investment. His master commended him: ‘Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner.' ²²"The servant with the two thousand showed how he also had doubled his master's investment. His master commended him: ‘Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner.' ²⁴"The servant given one thousand said, ‘Master, I know you have high standards and hate careless ways, that you demand the best and make no allowances for error. I was afraid I might disappoint you, so I found a good hiding place and secured your money. Here it is, safe and sound down to the last cent.' ²⁶"The master was furious. ‘That's a terrible way to live! It's criminal to live cautiously like that! If you knew I was after the best, why did you do less than the least? The least you could have done would have been to invest the sum with the bankers, where at least I would have gotten a little interest. ²⁸"‘Take the thousand and give it to the one who risked the most. And get rid of this "play-it-safe" who won't go out on a limb. Throw him out into utter darkness.'

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

a long: Matthew 25:5, Matthew 24:48

reckoneth: Matthew 18:23, Matthew 18:24, Luke 16:1, Luke 16:2, Luke 16:19-31, Romans 14:7-12, 1 Corinthians 3:12-15, 2 Corinthians 5:10, James 3:1

Reciprocal: Genesis 40:20 - lifted up Matthew 13:49 - and sever Matthew 20:8 - when Mark 13:32 - of Luke 19:15 - that he

Cross-References

1 Chronicles 1:32
Keturah, Abraham's concubine, gave birth to Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. Then Jokshan had Sheba and Dedan. And Midian had Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. These made up the Keturah branch.

Matthew 1:2
Abraham had Isaac, Isaac had Jacob, Jacob had Judah and his brothers, Judah had Perez and Zerah (the mother was Tamar), Perez had Hezron, Hezron had Aram, Aram had Amminadab, Amminadab had Nahshon, Nahshon had Salmon, Salmon had Boaz (his mother was Rahab), Boaz had Obed (Ruth was the mother), Obed had Jesse, Jesse had David, and David became king. David had Solomon (Uriah's wife was the mother), Solomon had Rehoboam, Rehoboam had Abijah, Abijah had Asa, Asa had Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat had Joram, Joram had Uzziah, Uzziah had Jotham, Jotham had Ahaz, Ahaz had Hezekiah, Hezekiah had Manasseh, Manasseh had Amon, Amon had Josiah, Josiah had Jehoiachin and his brothers, and then the people were taken into the Babylonian exile. When the Babylonian exile ended, Jeconiah had Shealtiel, Shealtiel had Zerubbabel, Zerubbabel had Abiud, Abiud had Eliakim, Eliakim had Azor, Azor had Zadok, Zadok had Achim, Achim had Eliud, Eliud had Eleazar, Eleazar had Matthan, Matthan had Jacob, Jacob had Joseph, Mary's husband, the Mary who gave birth to Jesus, the Jesus who was called Christ. There were fourteen generations from Abraham to David, another fourteen from David to the Babylonian exile, and yet another fourteen from the Babylonian exile to Christ. The birth of Jesus took place like this. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. Before they came to the marriage bed, Joseph discovered she was pregnant. (It was by the Holy Spirit, but he didn't know that.) Joseph, chagrined but noble, determined to take care of things quietly so Mary would not be disgraced. While he was trying to figure a way out, he had a dream. God's angel spoke in the dream: "Joseph, son of David, don't hesitate to get married. Mary's pregnancy is Spirit-conceived. God's Holy Spirit has made her pregnant. She will bring a son to birth, and when she does, you, Joseph, will name him Jesus—‘God saves'—because he will save his people from their sins." This would bring the prophet's embryonic sermon to full term: Watch for this—a virgin will get pregnant and bear a son; They will name him Immanuel (Hebrew for "God is with us"). Then Joseph woke up. He did exactly what God's angel commanded in the dream: He married Mary. But he did not consummate the marriage until she had the baby. He named the baby Jesus.

Acts 7:8
"Then he made a covenant with him and signed it in Abraham's flesh by circumcision. When Abraham had his son Isaac, within eight days he reproduced the sign of circumcision in him. Isaac became father of Jacob, and Jacob father of twelve ‘fathers,' each faithfully passing on the covenant sign.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

After a long time, the Lord of these servants cometh,.... Either in a providential way, by a fit of illness, or in a time of persecution, and awakens the conscience, and calls them to give an account of their stewardship; or by death, when their trading or working time is over, and they become accountable for their whole conduct, throughout their ministrations; or rather, at the last judgment, when all must appear before the judge of quick and dead, ministers as well as others, and give an account of their gifts, and the use of them, to their Lord, from whom they have received them, and whose servants they profess to be. Which coming of his is after a long time; for seventeen hundred years are now past, and he is not yet come; which is a long time in man's account, though not in God's account, with whom a thousand years are as one day; and in the apprehension of the saints, who love long for, and hasten to, the coming of Christ, are desirous of it, and impatient for it. But though it may seem long, he will certainly come: he stays long, to give time to his laborious ministers to exercise all those gifts he has bestowed upon them, and to leave slothful ones without excuse. It is not to be inferred from his delay, that he will not come: he is not unmindful of his promise, or slack concerning it; though he tarries long, he will not tarry beyond the appointed time; at the end he will come, though it is long first:

and reckoneth with them; what talents they received from him, what they had done with them, and what they had gained by them. The things that ministers of the word are intrusted with, are things of value; the Gospel is a pearl of great price, or rich treasure, that is put into their earthen vessels; it is the unsearchable riches of Christ; gifts to preach it are spiritual, and preferable to gifts of nature, and providence; and the souls of men committed to their care, are of great worth and esteem with Christ; nor are any of these their own, but Christ's, and therefore must give an account of them: this shows both the awfulness and usefulness of the Gospel ministry.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

After a long time ... - By the return of the lord of those servants to reckon with them is denoted the return of Christ to call people to an account for the manner in which they have improved their talents. See Romans 14:12; 2Co 5:10; 1 Thessalonians 4:16; Acts 1:11; Acts 17:31.

Reckon with them - To reckon is to settle accounts. Here it means to inquire into their faithfulness, and to reward or punish them accordingly.