But the servant who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master’s money.
Parallel translations
- WEB But he who received the one talent went away and dug in the earth, and hid his lord’s money.
- KJV But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord’s money.
- ESV But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money.
- NKJV But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money.
- NASB But he who received the one talent went away and dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master’s money.
- NLT But the servant who received the one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the master’s money.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The servant with one talent dug a hole and hid the master's money. He does nothing with what he was given.
Overview
The third servant's burial of the talent represents unfaithful neglect of God's trust. Out of fear and a wrong view of his master, he avoids risk and produces nothing. His inactivity is itself a betrayal of his stewardship. The verse warns that doing nothing with God's gifts is a serious failure, not a safe option.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- 2 Pet 1:8For if you possess these qualities and continue to grow in them, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
- Heb 6:12Then you will not be sluggish, but will imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.
- Prov 18:9Whoever is slothful in his work is brother to him who destroys.
- Hag 1:2–4that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “These people say, ‘The time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the LORD.’”
- Luke 19:20Then another servant came and said, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I have laid away in a piece of cloth.
- Mal 1:10“Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would no longer kindle useless fires on My altar! I take no pleasure in you,” says the LORD of Hosts, “and I will accept no offering from your hands.
- Prov 26:13–16The slacker says, “A lion is in the road! A fierce lion roams the public square!”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 25:18 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.