Matthew 25:2

And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
And	δὲ de	G1161	but · conjunction
five	πέντε pente	G4002	"five" · adjective — numeral, indeclinable
of	ἐξ ex	G1537	literal or figurative · preposition
them	αὐτῶν autōn	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive plural feminine
were	ἦν ēn	G2258	I (thou
wise	φρόνιμοι· phronimoi	G5429	thoughtful · adjective — nominative plural feminine
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
five	πέντε pente	G4002	"five" · adjective — numeral, indeclinable
foolish	μωραὶ mōrai	G3474	dull or stupid (as if shut up) · adjective — nominative plural feminine

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

Jeremiah 24:2 One basket had very good figs, even like the figs that are first ripe: and the other basket had very naughty figs, which could not be eaten,…
1 Corinthians 10:1-5 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;
Matthew 13:19-23 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in…
Matthew 13:47-48 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:
1 John 2:19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, t…
Jude 1:5 I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afte…
Matthew 13:38-43 The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
Matthew 24:45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?

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

Commentary

John Gill on Matthew 25:2

And five of them were wise,.... The order of these words is inverted in some versions, as in the Vulgate Latin, Arabic, and Ethiopic, and in Munster's Hebrew Gospel, which read, "and five of them were foolish, and five of them were wise"; but this is of no great consequence. There is a parable of R. Jochanan ben Zaccai (m), who lived before, and after the destruction of the second temple, which bears some likeness to this part of the parable, and others in it, and is this; "a certain king invited his servants, but did not fix any time for them; those of them that were "wise", adorned themselves, and sat at the gate of the king's house, and said, is there any want at the king's house? but t…

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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 25:1-13

This parable reinforces the need for individuals to be watchful and to prepare for the return of Christ (25:13; see also Luke 12:35-36). 25:1 To meet the bridegroom is an image for the coming of the Messiah (see Mark 2:19-20). • Details of wedding customs during the period are not known. Some think that the bride was led to the home of the bridegroom, who would stay away until the time appointed for the wedding feast. The bridesmaids, who had already escorted the bride to the groom’s home, would then wait for news of his arrival and escort him to the feast (Matt 25:10). Others think the groom may have come late in the night to the bride’s home, where he was announced. Then, after celebratin…

The Church Fathers

Or, The five wise and five foolish are an absolute distinction between believers and unbelievers.
— Hilary of Poitiers ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

It says that even of these, who were virgins and carrying lamps, some are wise and some foolish. How is this distinction made? By what clue do we tell the difference? Only by whether the oil is present or missing.
— Augustine of Hippo, SERMON 93.4

: The wise virgins are those who, embracing the time available to them, were prepared at the first onset of the coming of the Lord. But the foolish were those who were lax and unmindful. They troubled themselves only over present matters and, forgetting what God said, did not direct their efforts toward hope for resurrection.
— Hilary of Poitiers,

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
Marriage · The bridegroom: Returned with the bride to his house at night — The bridegroom: Returned with the bride to his house at night
Opportunity · THE MEASURE OF RESPONSIBILITY — THE MEASURE OF RESPONSIBILITY
Parables · Parables of christ: Ten virgins — Parables of christ: Ten virgins
Procrastination · 11:2,3;12:22,27,28; — 11:2,3;12:22,27,28;
Resurrection · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Unfaithfulness