English Standard Version
Matthew 25:5
5As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept.
Matthew 25:5 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
- New International Version (NIV)The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
- New King James Version (NKJV)But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.
- New Living Translation (NLT)When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
Context of Matthew 25:5
3For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. 6But at midnight there was a cry, 'Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.' 7Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps.
Read all of Matthew 25Matthew 25:5 word by word
χρονίζοντος δὲ τοῦ νυμφίου ἐνύσταξαν πᾶσαι καὶ ἐκάθευδον.¶Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Matthew 25:5
- Matthew 25:19Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them.
- Matthew 24:48But if that wicked servant says to himself, 'My master is delayed,'
- Habakkuk 2:3For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.
- Luke 12:45But if that servant says to himself, 'My master is delayed in coming,' and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk,
- Luke 20:9And he began to tell the people this parable: "A man planted a vineyard and let it out to tenants and went into another country for a long while.
- Hebrews 10:36For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.
- 2 Peter 3:4They will say, "Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation."
- Revelation 2:25Only hold fast what you have until I come.
- Matthew 26:40And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, "So, could you not watch with me one hour?
- Jonah 1:5Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god. And they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep.
- Mark 14:37And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, "Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour?
- Luke 18:8I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"
- Romans 13:11Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.
- Ephesians 5:14for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, "Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you."
- 1 Thessalonians 5:6So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.
- 1 Peter 5:8Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
Commentaries on Matthew 25:5
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5The 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, Ϛ , they became drowsy and fell asleep. As sleep is frequently used in the sacred writings for death, so drowsiness, which precedes sleep, may be…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5The 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…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5Both the prudent and the foolish bridesmaids sleep while waiting. The parable criticizes only the foolish bridesmaids’ failure to bring enough oil.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. While the bridegroom tarried--So in Mt 24:48, "My Lord delayeth His coming"; and so Peter says sublimely of the ascended Saviour, "Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things" (Ac 3:21, and compare Lu 19:11, 12). Christ "tarries," among other reasons, to try the faith and patience of His people. they all slumbered and slept--the wise as well as the foolish. The world "slumbered" signifies, simply, "nodded," or, "became…Read the comment
Topics related to Matthew 25:5
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Matthew 25
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Catena Aurea
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- John Lightfoot Commentary
- Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
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