But he who received the one talent went away and 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.
- BSB But the servant who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master’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.
- 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 these things are yours and abound, they make you to be not idle nor unfruitful to the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
- Heb 6:12that you won’t be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and perseverance inherited the promises.
- Prov 18:9One who is slack in his work is brother to him who is a master of destruction.
- Hag 1:2–4“This is what Yahweh of Armies says: These people say, ‘The time hasn’t yet come, the time for Yahweh’s house to be built.’”
- Luke 19:20Another came, saying, ‘Lord, behold, your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief,
- Mal 1:10“Oh that there were one among you who would shut the doors, that you might not kindle fire on my altar in vain! I have no pleasure in you,” says Yahweh of Armies, “neither will I accept an offering at your hand.
- Prov 26:13–16The sluggard says, “There is a lion in the road! A fierce lion roams the streets!”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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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.