The Life of Jesus

for as they were, in the days before the flood, eating, and drinking, marrying, and giving in marriage, till the day Noah entered into the ark,

and they did not know till the flood came and took all away; so shall be also the presence of the Son of Man.

Then two men shall be in the field, the one is received, and the one is left;

two women shall be grinding in the mill, one is received, and one is left.

`Watch ye therefore, because ye have not known in what hour your Lord doth come;

and this know, that if the master of the house had known in what watch the thief doth come, he had watched, and not suffered his house to be broken through;

because of this also ye, become ye ready, because in what hour ye do not think, the Son of Man doth come.

`Who, then, is the servant, faithful and wise, whom his lord did set over his household, to give them the nourishment in season?

Happy that servant, whom his lord, having come, shall find doing so;

verily I say to you, that over all his substance he will set him.

`And, if that evil servant may say in his heart, My Lord doth delay to come,

and may begin to beat the fellow-servants, and to eat and to drink with the drunken,

the lord of that servant will arrive in a day when he doth not expect, and in an hour of which he doth not know,

and will cut him off, and his portion with the hypocrites will appoint; there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of the teeth.

`Then shall the reign of the heavens be likened to ten virgins, who, having taken their lamps, went forth to meet the bridegroom;

and five of them were prudent, and five foolish;

they who were foolish having taken their lamps, did not take with themselves oil;

and the prudent took oil in their vessels, with their lamps.

`And the bridegroom tarrying, they all nodded and were sleeping,

and in the middle of the night a cry was made, Lo, the bridegroom doth come; go ye forth to meet him.

`Then rose all those virgins, and trimmed their lamps,

and the foolish said to the prudent, Give us of your oil, because our lamps are going out;

and the prudent answered, saying--Lest there may not be sufficient for us and you, go ye rather unto those selling, and buy for yourselves.

`And while they are going away to buy, the bridegroom came, and those ready went in with him to the marriage-feasts, and the door was shut;

and afterwards come also do the rest of the virgins, saying, Sir, sir, open to us;