Matthew 25:12

But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
But	δὲ de	G1161	but · conjunction
he answered	ἀποκριθεὶς apokritheis	G611	to conclude for oneself · verb — aorist passive deponent participle, nominative singular masculine
and said	εἶπεν· eipen	G2036	to speak or say (by word or writing) · verb — second aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular
Verily	ἀμὴν amēn	G281	properly · interjection — Hebrew
I say	λέγω legō	G3004	properly · verb — present active indicative, 1st person singular
unto you	ὑμῖν hymîn	G5213	to (with or by) you
I know	εἴδω eídō	G1492	used only in certain past tenses
you	ὑμᾶς hymâs	G5209	you (as the objective of a verb or preposition)
not	οὐκ ouk	G3756	the absolute negative (compare G3361 (μή)) adverb · particle — negative

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

1 Corinthians 8:3 But if any man love God, the same is known of him.
John 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
2 Timothy 2:19 Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the n…
Luke 13:26-30 Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets.
Psalms 1:6 For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
Psalms 5:5 The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity.
John 9:31 Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth.
Habakkuk 1:13 Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and ho…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

John Gill on Matthew 25:12

But he answered and said,.... The Lord and bridegroom from within, thought fit to give them an answer, but an unexpected and awful one to them: verily I say unto you, I know you not; which must be understood in consistence with the omniscience of Christ: he knew their persons, conduct, and state; he knew they were foolish virgins, graceless professors, who had made no account of him and his righteousness; but had trusted to, and depended upon, their external profession of religion: they were none of the people whom he foreknew, or knew as his own, and loved with an everlasting love; he never knew them as his father's choice in him, or as this father's gift to him; he never knew them in the…

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John Calvin on Matthew 25:1-13

Matthew 25:1-13 Matthew 25:1-13 1. Then shall the kingdom of heaven be like ten virgins, who took their lamps, and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2. And five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3. They that were foolish, while they took their lamps, took no oil with them: 4. But the wise took oil in their vessels along with their lamps. 5. And while the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. 6. And at midnight a cry arose, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go you out to meet him. 7. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. 8. And the foolish said to the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are going out. 9. But the wise answered, saying, By no means, lest…

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Tyndale Open Study Notes on Matthew 25:6

The arrival of the bridegroom at midnight while the bridesmaids slept further highlights the fact that the second coming of Jesus will come suddenly, at a time that no one can anticipate (24:42-51).

Henry, Jamieson-Fausset-Brown, Clarke, Gill, Calvin and Keil & Delitzsch are in the public domain; Tyndale Open Study Notes © Tyndale House Publishers, CC BY-SA 4.0 — all from the Free Use Bible API (bible.helloao.org). Rashi: the Rosenbaum & Silbermann Pentateuch (public domain) and the Judaica Press and Metsudah Tanakh (CC BY), via Sefaria. Spurgeon's Treasury of David: public domain (lyteword's markdown edition, CC0).

The Church Fathers

For the Lord knoweth them that are his, (2 Tim. 2:19.) and he that knoweth not shall not be known, and though they be virgins in purity of body, or in confession of the true faith, yet forasmuch as they have no oil, they are unknown by the bridegroom.
— Jerome ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

the five who were wise went in with the bridegroom into the bride-chamber, that is, into heaven, because, since they were wise, they chose virginity and alms-giving—but the foolish virgins who had chosen the one of these but despised the other, remained outside of the bride-chamber, having found the door shut, and heard these words: Depart from me, I know you not; being neither permitted to enter, nor condemned along with the impious, but remaining outside of the bride-chamber.
— Cosmas Indicopleustes, The Christian Topography, Book 5

(Verse 12) But he answered and said, Amen I say to you, I do not know you. The Lord knows those who are His, and those who do not know, will not be known (2 Timothy 2:19). The Lord does not know the workers of iniquity: and although they may be virgins, and boast of their bodily purity and true confession of faith (1 Corinthians 14:38); yet because they do not have the oil of knowledge, it is enough for them as punishment that they are unknown by the Bridegroom.
— Jerome, Commentary on Matthew

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Bride — Frequently used in the ordinary sense (Isa. 49:18; 61:10, etc.). The relation between Christ and his church is set forth under the figure of that between a bridegroom and bride (John 3:29). The…
Judgment, The final — The sentence that will be passed on our actions at the last day (Matt. 25; Rom. 14:10, 11; 2 Cor. 5:10; 2 Thess. 1:7-10). The judge is Jesus Christ, as mediator. All judgment is committed to him…
Bridegroom · Parable of — Parable of
Fool · .Of the foolish virgns — .Of the foolish virgns
Fools · Are: Mere professors of religion — Are: Mere professors of religion
Judgment · THE GENERAL — THE GENERAL
Kingdom Of Heaven · .To ten virgins — .To ten virgins
Opportunity · THE MEASURE OF RESPONSIBILITY — THE MEASURE OF RESPONSIBILITY
Parables · Parables of christ: Ten virgins — Parables of christ: Ten virgins
Probation · None after — None after
Procrastination · 11:2,3;12:22,27,28; — 11:2,3;12:22,27,28;
Reprobacy · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Resurrection · General scriptures concerning