8. But the foolish girls said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil. Our lamps are going out.’
9. The wise girls answered, ‘No! The oil we have might not be enough for all of us. Go to the people who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’
10. “So the five foolish girls went to buy oil. While they were gone, the bridegroom came. The girls who were ready went in with the bridegroom to the wedding feast. Then the door was closed and locked.
11. “Later the others came back. They called, ‘Sir, sir, open the door to let us in.’
12. But the bridegroom answered, ‘I tell you the truth, I don’t know you.’
13. “So always be ready. You don’t know the day or the time the Son of Man will come.
14. “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who was going to another place for a visit. Before he left, he talked with his servants. The man told them to take care of his things while he was gone.
15. He decided how much each servant would be able to care for. He gave one servant five bags of money. He gave another servant two bags of money. And he gave a third servant one bag of money. Then the man left.
16. The servant who got five bags went quickly to invest the money. The five bags of money earned five more.
17. It was the same with the servant who had two bags of money. He invested the money and earned two more.