1 Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten young women took their lamps and went to meet a man who was being married.
2 Five of them were foolish and five of them were wise.
3 The five foolish women took their lamps but took no oil with them.
4 The wise ones took bottles of oil with their lamps.
5 It was a long time before the man came, so they all went to sleep.
6 At midnight there was a call, "Here comes the man who is to be married! Come out to meet him."
7 Then all the young women woke up. They cleaned their lamps.
8 The foolish ones said to the wise ones, "Give us some of your oil. The light in our lamps is dying."
9 But the wise ones answered, "There may not be enough oil for us all. Go to the market and buy some for yourselves."
10 While they went away to buy oil, the man came. Those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast. Then the door was shut.
11 After that, the other women also came. They called, "Sir, sir, open the door for us."
12 But he said, "I tell you the truth. I do not know you."
13 So watch! You do not know the day or the hour.
3 Tell the older women also that they must live like Christians. They must not tell lies about anyone. They must not drink much wine. They must teach what is good.
4 They must teach the young women to love their husbands and their children.
5 They must teach young women to have good sense, to live a clean life, to care for their homes, to be kind, and to obey their husbands. Then people cannot say wrong things about Gods word.
5 If any of you need to be wise, ask God to make you wise. He gives plenty of wisdom to all people. He is not angry because you ask him. He will make you wise.
11 In the same way, their wives must be women whom people respect. They must not tell lies about anyone. They must be able to control themselves. They must live so that people can trust them in all things.