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Therefore: take the talent away from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’
Matthew 25:28 · New American Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Take away therefore the talent from him, and give it to him who has the ten talents.
  • KJV Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.
  • BSB Therefore take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten talents.
  • NKJV Therefore take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents.
  • NLT “Then he ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver.

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 master orders the talent taken from him and given to the servant with ten. Unused gifts are removed; faithfulness is increased.

Overview

The removal of the talent enacts judgment on the servant's neglect. Giving it to the most faithful illustrates the principle that fruitful stewardship is entrusted with more. This is not arbitrary favoritism but the just outworking of faithfulness and its lack. The verse warns that what is not used for the master may be lost.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 2

  • Luke 19:24He said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina away from him, and give it to him who has the ten minas.’
  • Luke 10:42but one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the good part, which will not be taken away from her.”

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (14)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Matthew videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Matthew 25:28YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on MatthewMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 25:28 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.