Matthew 25:25

25 And [because I] was afraid, I went away [and] hid your talent in the ground. See, you have [what is] yours!'

Matthew 25:25 Meaning and Commentary

Matthew 25:25

And I was afraid
The Persic version adds, "to negotiate with thy money": he was afraid, lest by trading he should not gain what his Lord expected; and most of all, lest he should lose the talent itself; and dreaded his Lord's austerity, should that be the case, fearing that he would have no mercy on him. This was his pretence; but the true causes were sloth and earthly mindedness:

and went and hid thy talent in the earth;
that it might not be lost, though it lay useless, and turned to no account. The Arabic version renders it, "and buried thy goods in the earth": he owned the money to be his Lord's, and thought he did very well, and enough, that he preserved it, though he had not improved it; and this he hoped would be a sufficient excuse, and on which he laid the greatest stress:

lo! there thou hast that is thine:
he again acknowledges, that the gifts he had were not his own, but his master's; and whereas he had kept them entire, as he had received them, and there was the full sum he was intrusted with, he hoped no more would be required: but it is not sufficient to retain what is given, it must be made use of and improved; for every spiritual gift is given to profit with: and besides, there seems to be a degree of rudeness in these words; he does not bring the talent with him, and return it, but only signifies that he had hid it in the earth, in such a place, and "there" it was, where his Lord might take it, and have it again, if he pleased.

Matthew 25:25 In-Context

23 His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful slave! You were faithful over a few [things]; I will put you [in charge] over many [things]. Enter into the joy of your master!'

24 And the one who had received the one talent came up also [and] said, 'Master, [because I] knew you, that you are a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering from where you did not scatter [seed].

25 And [because I] was afraid, I went away [and] hid your talent in the ground. See, you have [what is] yours!'

26 But his master answered [and] said to him, 'Evil and lazy slave! You knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather from where I did not scatter [seed].

27 Then you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and [when I] returned I would have gotten back [what was] mine with interest!

Footnotes

• [a] *Here "[because]" is supplied as a component of the participle ("was afraid") which is understood as causal
• [b] *Here "[and]" is supplied because the previous participle ("went away") has been translated as a finite verb