Matthew 25:4

But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
But	δὲ de	G1161	but · conjunction
the wise	φρόνιμοι phronimoi	G5429	thoughtful · adjective — nominative plural feminine
took	ἔλαβον elabon	G2983	while G138 (αἱρέομαι) is more violent · verb — second aorist active indicative, 3rd person plural
oil	ἔλαιον elaion	G1637	olive oil · noun — accusative singular neuter
in	ἐν en	G1722	"in · preposition
their	αὐτός autós	G846	the reflexive pronoun self
vessels	ἀγγείοις angeiois	G30	compare the base of G43 (ἀγκάλη)) · noun — dative plural neuter
with	μετὰ meta	G3326	properly · preposition
their	αὐτός autós	G846	the reflexive pronoun self
lamps	λαμπάδων lampadōn	G2985	a "lamp" or flambeau · noun — genitive 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

Romans 8:9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ,…
1 John 2:20 But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.
1 John 2:27 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth y…
John 3:34 For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.
Psalms 45:7 Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
Zechariah 4:2-3 And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his…
Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
John 1:15-16 John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before…

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

Commentary

John Gill on Matthew 25:4

But the wise took oil,.... They were concerned for the true grace of God, being enlightened by the Spirit of God; they saw their need of the grace of God, and being directed by him where it was to be had, went to Christ for it; and having received it from him, through the power of the Holy Ghost, exercised it on him; and herein lay their wisdom: for a stock of this in the heart, daily renewed by Christ, will supply the lamp of a profession well. This they had in their vessels, their oil vessels; by which are meant their hearts; so called in allusion either to the vessels in which the oil was put, when pressed out of the olives, Jeremiah 40:10 or to the oil vessels of the candlestick, Number…

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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 25:3

While some have speculated that the oil symbolizes something specific (such as the Holy Spirit), it probably merely supports the point that proper preparation for the second coming of Christ is needed.

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 by oil the splendor of glory is signified; and our vessels are our hearts, in which we carry all that we think. The wise therefore have oil in their vessels, because they retain the splendor of glory within their conscience, as Paul attests when he says: "Our glory is this, the testimony of our conscience." But the foolish virgins do not take oil with them, because they do not have glory within their conscience, since they seek it from the lips of their neighbors. But it should be noted that all have lamps, yet not all have oil, because often the reprobate display good works in themselves along with the elect, but only those come to the bridegroom with oil who seek glory inwardly for what they have done outwardly. Hence through the Psalmist also it is said of the holy Church of the elect: "All the glory of the king's daughter is from within."
— Gregory the Dialogist, Forty Gospel Homilies, Homily 12

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
Emblems Of The Holy Spirit, The · Illuminating — Illuminating
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
Lamps · Oil for, carried in vessels — Oil for, carried in vessels
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