“Then the servant who got 2,000 gold coins came to the master. The servant said, ‘Master, you gave me 2,000 gold coins to care for. So I used your 2,000 gold coins to earn 2,000 more.’ “The master answered, ‘You did right. You are a good servant who can be trusted. You did well with a small amount of money. So I will let you care for much greater things. Come and share my happiness with me.’ 

 

“Then the servant who got 1,000 gold coins came to the master. The servant said, ‘Master, I knew you were a very hard man. You harvest what you did not plant. You gather crops where you did not put any seed. So I was afraid. I went and hid your money in the ground. Here is the 1,000 gold coins you gave me.’ 

 

“The master answered, ‘You are a bad and lazy servant! You say you knew that I harvest what I did not plant and that I gather crops where I did not put any seed. So you should have put my money in the bank. Then, when I came home, I would get my money back. And I would also get the interest that my money earned.’ 

 

“So the master told his other servants, ‘Take the 1,000 gold coins from that servant and give it to the servant who has 10,000 gold coins. Everyone who uses what they have will get more. They will have much more than they need. But people who do not use what they have will have everything taken away from them.’ Then the master said, ‘Throw that useless servant outside into the darkness, where people will cry and grind their teeth with pain.’