And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Parallel translations
- WEB Throw out the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
- BSB And throw that worthless servant into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
- NKJV And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
- NASB And throw the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
- NLT Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
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 unprofitable servant is cast into outer darkness with weeping and gnashing of teeth. Fruitless, unfaithful service ends in judgment.
Overview
The severe sentence reveals that the servant's neglect exposed an unbelieving heart, not mere underperformance. 'Outer darkness' and 'weeping and gnashing of teeth' are Matthew's images of final exclusion from God's kingdom. The parable thus warns that those who do nothing with Christ's trust show they never truly belonged to him. It presses hearers toward genuine, fruitful faith.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- Matt 8:12But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
- Rev 3:15–16I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
- Matt 13:50And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
- Matt 22:13Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
- Heb 6:7–8For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God:
- Jude 1:13Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.
- Titus 3:14And let ours also learn to maintain good works for necessary uses, that they be not unfruitful.
- Matt 13:42And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
- Luke 13:28There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.
- Matt 24:51And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
- Jer 15:1–2Then said the LORD unto me, Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people: cast them out of my sight, and let them go forth.
- John 15:6If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
- Matt 5:13Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
- Ezek 15:2–5Son of man, What is the vine tree more than any tree, or than a branch which is among the trees of the forest?
- 2 Pet 2:17These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever.
- Luke 14:34–35Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned?
- Rev 21:8But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
- Matt 3:10And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 25:30 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.