16. And the first came, saying: Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds.
17. And he said to him: Well done, thou good servant, because thou hast been faithful in a little, thou shalt have power over ten cities.
18. And the second came, saying: Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds.
19. And he said to him: Be thou also over five cities.
20. And another came, saying: Lord, behold here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin;
21. For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up what thou didst not lay down, and thou reapest that which thou didst not sow.
22. He saith to him: Out of thy own mouth I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up what I laid not down, and reaping that which I did not sow:
23. And why then didst thou not give my money into the bank, that at my coming, I might have exacted it with usury?
24. And he said to them that stood by: Take the pound away from him, and give it to him that hath ten pounds.
25. And they said to him: Lord, he hath ten pounds.
26. But I say to you, that to every one that hath shall be given, and he shall abound: and from him that hath not, even that which he hath, shall be taken from him.