New International Version
Matthew 25:5
5The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
Matthew 25:5 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
- English Standard Version (ESV)As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept.
- 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
3The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. 6“At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ 7“Then all the virgins woke up 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 25:19“After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them.
- Matthew 24:48But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’
- Habakkuk 2:3For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.
- Luke 12:45But suppose the servant says to himself, ‘My master is taking a long time in coming,’ and he then begins to beat the other servants, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk.
- Luke 20:9He went on to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, rented it to some farmers and went away for a long time.
- Hebrews 10:36You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.
- 2 Peter 3:4They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.”
- Revelation 2:25except to hold on to what you have until I come.’
- Matthew 26:40Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter.
- Jonah 1:5All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship. But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep.
- Mark 14:37Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour?
- Luke 18:8I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
- Romans 13:11And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.
- Ephesians 5:14This is why it is said: “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
- 1 Thessalonians 5:6So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober.
- 1 Peter 5:8Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for 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
New International Version — © NIV® 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica
Commentaries