the Week of Proper 12 / Ordinary 17
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THE MESSAGE
Matthew 25:5
Bible Study Resources
Concordances:
- Nave'sDictionaries:
- AmericanEncyclopedias:
- CondensedDevotionals:
- ChipParallel Translations
When the groom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
While the bridegrome taried, they all slumbred and slept.
While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept.
"Now while the groom was delaying, they all became drowsy and began to sleep.
Because the bridegroom was late, they became sleepy and went to sleep.
"Now while the bridegroom was delayed, they all began to nod off, and they fell asleep.
"Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep.
Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep.
When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
The groom was late arriving, and the girls became drowsy and fell asleep.
Now the bridegroom was late, so they all went to sleep.
Now the bridegroom tarrying, they all grew heavy and slept.
When the bridegroom was very late, the girls could not keep their eyes open, and they all fell asleep.
Nowe while the bridegrome taried long, all slumbred and slept.
As the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.
The bridegroom was late in coming, so they began to nod and fall asleep.
And when the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
But the bridegroom delaying, all nodded and slept.
Now while the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
Now the husband was a long time in coming, and they all went to sleep.
Now while the bridegroom delayed, they all slumbered and slept.
Since the groom was late, all of them became sleepy and lay down.1 Thessalonians 5:6;">[xr]
But while the bridegroom withheld, they all dozed and slept.
And while the bridegroom delayed, they all became sleepy and fell asleep.
Whyle the brydegrome taryed, they all slumbred and slept.
Now while the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
Now while the bridegroom delayed, they all slumbered and slept.
While the bridegroom delayed, they all slumbered and slept.
The bridegroom was a long time in coming, so that meanwhile they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
And whilis the hosebonde tariede, alle thei nappiden and slepten.
Now while the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
When the bridegroom was delayed a long time, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.
When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
They all went to sleep because the man to be married did not come for a long time.
As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept.
Now, the bridegroom, delaying, they all became drowsy, and were sleeping.
And the bridegroom tarrying, they all slumbered and slept.
As the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.
Whill the brydgrome taryed all slombred and slepte.
`And the bridegroom tarrying, they all nodded and were sleeping,
Now whyle the brydegrome taried, they slombred all and slepte.
while the bridegroom tarried, they were drowsy and slept.
"The cowboy was comin' from another ranch and would arrive very late. They waited on him all night to be the first to welcome him.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
the: Matthew 25:19, Matthew 24:48, Habakkuk 2:3, Luke 12:45, Luke 20:9, Hebrews 10:36, Hebrews 10:37, 2 Peter 3:4-9, Revelation 2:25
they: Matthew 26:40, Matthew 26:43, Song of Solomon 3:1, Song of Solomon 5:2, Jonah 1:5, Jonah 1:6, Mark 14:37, Mark 14:38, Luke 18:8, Romans 13:11, Ephesians 5:14, 1 Thessalonians 5:6-8, 1 Peter 5:8
Reciprocal: Song of Solomon 5:3 - have put Matthew 13:25 - men Matthew 13:49 - and sever Mark 13:36 - he find
Cross-References
Abraham lived 175 years. Then he took his final breath. He died happy at a ripe old age, full of years, and was buried with his family. His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite, next to Mamre. It was the field that Abraham had bought from the Hittites. Abraham was buried next to his wife Sarah. After Abraham's death, God blessed his son Isaac. Isaac lived at Beer Lahai Roi.
This is the family tree of Ishmael son of Abraham, the son that Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's maid, bore to Abraham.
Isaac prayed hard to God for his wife because she was barren. God answered his prayer and Rebekah became pregnant. But the children tumbled and kicked inside her so much that she said, "If this is the way it's going to be, why go on living?" She went to God to find out what was going on. God told her, Two nations are in your womb, two peoples butting heads while still in your body. One people will overpower the other, and the older will serve the younger.
Jesus resumed talking to the people, but now tenderly. "The Father has given me all these things to do and say. This is a unique Father-Son operation, coming out of Father and Son intimacies and knowledge. No one knows the Son the way the Father does, nor the Father the way the Son does. But I'm not keeping it to myself; I'm ready to go over it line by line with anyone willing to listen.
Jesus, undeterred, went right ahead and gave his charge: "God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I'll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age."
I, Paul, have been sent on special assignment by Christ as part of God's master plan. Together with my friend Timothy, I greet the Christians and stalwart followers of Christ who live in Colosse. May everything good from God our Father be yours! Our prayers for you are always spilling over into thanksgivings. We can't quit thanking God our Father and Jesus our Messiah for you! We keep getting reports on your steady faith in Christ, our Jesus, and the love you continuously extend to all Christians. The lines of purpose in your lives never grow slack, tightly tied as they are to your future in heaven, kept taut by hope. The Message is as true among you today as when you first heard it. It doesn't diminish or weaken over time. It's the same all over the world. The Message bears fruit and gets larger and stronger, just as it has in you. From the very first day you heard and recognized the truth of what God is doing, you've been hungry for more. It's as vigorous in you now as when you learned it from our friend and close associate Epaphras. He is one reliable worker for Christ! I could always depend on him. He's the one who told us how thoroughly love had been worked into your lives by the Spirit. Be assured that from the first day we heard of you, we haven't stopped praying for you, asking God to give you wise minds and spirits attuned to his will, and so acquire a thorough understanding of the ways in which God works. We pray that you'll live well for the Master, making him proud of you as you work hard in his orchard. As you learn more and more how God works, you will learn how to do your work. We pray that you'll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul—not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that he has for us. God rescued us from dead-end alleys and dark dungeons. He's set us up in the kingdom of the Son he loves so much, the Son who got us out of the pit we were in, got rid of the sins we were doomed to keep repeating. We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God's original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment. And when it comes to the church, he organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body. He was supreme in the beginning and—leading the resurrection parade—he is supreme in the end. From beginning to end he's there, towering far above everything, everyone. So spacious is he, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the cross. You yourselves are a case study of what he does. At one time you all had your backs turned to God, thinking rebellious thoughts of him, giving him trouble every chance you got. But now, by giving himself completely at the Cross, actually dying for you, Christ brought you over to God's side and put your lives together, whole and holy in his presence. You don't walk away from a gift like that! You stay grounded and steady in that bond of trust, constantly tuned in to the Message, careful not to be distracted or diverted. There is no other Message—just this one. Every creature under heaven gets this same Message. I, Paul, am a messenger of this Message. I want you to know how glad I am that it's me sitting here in this jail and not you. There's a lot of suffering to be entered into in this world—the kind of suffering Christ takes on. I welcome the chance to take my share in the church's part of that suffering. When I became a servant in this church, I experienced this suffering as a sheer gift, God's way of helping me serve you, laying out the whole truth. This mystery has been kept in the dark for a long time, but now it's out in the open. God wanted everyone, not just Jews, to know this rich and glorious secret inside and out, regardless of their background, regardless of their religious standing. The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you, so therefore you can look forward to sharing in God's glory. It's that simple. That is the substance of our Message. We preach Christ, warning people not to add to the Message. We teach in a spirit of profound common sense so that we can bring each person to maturity. To be mature is to be basic. Christ! No more, no less. That's what I'm working so hard at day after day, year after year, doing my best with the energy God so generously gives me.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
While the bridegroom tarried,.... The space of time here referred to, is either from the ascension of Christ, to his coming to take vengeance on the Jews; or from thence to his second coming; or rather from the time of some general expectation by the saints, of the near approach of Christ, till such time he does come: for as there was a general expectation of the coming of Christ before he came in the flesh, so there will be a general expectation of Christ being near at hand some time before his second coming; and because such an expectation will not be answered, or Christ will not come so soon as was hoped for, and expected, a general drowsiness, and security, and unconcernedness, especially about the coming of Christ, will fall upon the churches. Thus, in the last century, there was among the people of God, in these kingdoms, a general expectation of Christ's speedy coming; but being in this disappointed, professors of all sorts are fallen asleep, and do not at all, or very little, at least very few, concern themselves about it: in a word, this interval of time seems to regard that period which is pointed out by the Laodicean church state, which will usher in the coming of Christ, and the last judgment. Now Christ, the bridegroom, may be said to tarry, not with respect to the time fixed by the Father and himself; for as this is settled, though unknown to man, it will not be passed by him; he does not, nor will he tarry beyond the appointed time: but either with respect to the time fixed by men; or with respect to the declaration of Christ, and his apostles, that he would come "quickly", and the length of time since; or rather with respect to the expectations of the saints, and their impatience. The reason why he tarries is, because his time is not come, and there are many things to be done first; there is to be a glorious spread of the Gospel all over the world; all the elect must be gathered in, both among Jews and Gentiles; and the man of sin must be destroyed; and the ungodly must fill up the measure of their iniquities; and Christ tarries to try the graces of his people, who should exercise faith in his coming, by looking, watching, and waiting for it, desirous of it, and hastening unto it; being ready for him, prepared to receive him, and to go with him to the nuptial-chamber; but instead of this
they all slumbered and slept: which is not to be understood as if that one only slumbered, and the other slept; that is, that the wise virgins slumbered, and the foolish virgins slept; for the wise virgins, or true believers, are elsewhere said to sleep, and formal professors to slumber; but both these are spoken of them all: and by this slumber, and sleep, is not meant a natural death; though that is sometimes called a sleep, and to which true believers are subject, as well as others; yet all at the coming of Christ will not be asleep in this sense: and were this intended, their resurrection would be designed by their "arising", in the seventh verse; and so the resurrection of the saints, and of others, would be together, which is not true, for the dead in Christ will rise first; and would be also before the coming of Christ, whereas the resurrection of the saints is not till at his coming; and it would look, by the account in some following verses, as if grace might be had, or, at least, be thought to be had, after the resurrection: nor is this to be understood of the dead sleep of sin: a death in sin may be signified by sleeping, and be so called, and conviction be an awakening out of it; but the foolish virgins were always asleep in this sense, and were never truly and thoroughly awaked; and wise virgins never do, nor can, fall into this sleep; for being quickened by Christ, they never die again: nor of a judicial slumber and sleep, which the saints are never given up to; but a dead, lifeless, and sleepy frame of spirit in the wise virgins: which lies in grace not being in exercise; in a slothfulness to perform religious duties; in taking up a satisfaction with the outward parts of religion; in an indifference about the interest of Christ; in an unconcernedness at the omission of duty, or commission of sin; and in an entire ease of mind with regard to such a frame and state: the causes of it are a body of sin; an anxious care of the world; a being weary of spiritual exercises, and a leaving them off; abstaining from an awakening ministry, and spiritual conversation; and keeping company with sleepy and slothful professors, or the men of the world: and often it arises from ease, peace, and liberty; and sometimes from long watchfulness, and waiting for the bridegroom's coming; in which, being disappointed, such a frame of spirit ensues: and also in the foolish virgins it intends great carnal security in themselves; a rest and confidence in their external profession; and a laying aside all thoughts of Christ, and his coming to judgment: for a difference there is between the sleep and slumbering of the one and of the other; the wise virgins are children of the day, and not of the night; though they sleep, their hearts wake, and they sleep with grace in their hearts; neither of which can be said of the foolish virgins, or formal professors: as to the phraseology here used, the Jews would distinguish upon it, for they make a difference between slumbering and sleeping:
"they do not dismiss (the company) after the passover with the sweet-meats: if some of them sleep, they may eat, but if all of them, they may not eat. R. Jose says, נתנמנמו, "if they slumber" they may eat; נרדמו, "if they sleep they may not eat" n: which Maimonides thus o explains, "if they slumber"; that is, if they begin to sleep, but are not yet overwhelmed with sleep, but bear when others speak to them, and answer immediately to them that call them: "if they sleep": if they are oppressed with a deep sleep.''
Though the phrase ניים ושכיב, which I should choose to render, "he slumbered and slept", is often said p of the same person, without any distinction, as here.
n Misn. Pesachim, c. 10. sect. 8. & Maimon. Hilch. Chametz Umetzah, c. 8. sect. 14. o In Misn. ib. p T. Bab. Bava Kama, fol. 47. 2. & 65. 1. & 67. 2.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
The bridegroom tarried - That is, while they waited for him. It was uncertain at what time he would come. He delayed longer than they expected.
All slumbered and slept - Waiting until near midnight, they fell into repose. This circumstance is not to be pressed to prove that all Christians will be asleep, or cold and careless, when the Lord Jesus shall come. “Many” may be so, but many, also, will be looking for his coming. This circumstance is designed simply to show more clearly the “duty of being ready,” Matthew 25:13. It does not mean to affirm it “as a fact” that none will be ready.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Matthew 25:5. The bridegroom tarried — The coming of the bridegroom to an individual may imply his death: his coming to the world-the final judgment. The delay - the time from a man's birth till his death, in the first case; in the second, the time from the beginning to the end of the world.
Slumbered and slept. — Or, ενυϚαξαν και εκαθευδον, they became drowsy and fell asleep. As sleep is frequently used in the sacred writings for death, so drowsiness, which precedes sleep, may be considered as pointing out the decays of the constitution, and the sicknesses which precede death. The other explanations which are given of this place must be unsatisfactory to every man who is not warped by some point in his creed, which must be supported at every expense. Carelessness disposed them to drowsiness, drowsiness to sleep, deep sleep, which rendered them as unconscious of their danger as they were before inattentive to their duty. The Anglo-Saxon has hit the meaning of the original well - [Anglo-Saxon] of which my old MS. Bible gives a literal version, in the English of the 14th century: forsothe-alle nappeden and sleptyn.
