¹⁰ When you have eaten and are satisfied,^(A) praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. ¹¹ Be careful that you do not forget^(B) the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. ¹² Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down,^{(C) 13} and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, ¹⁴ then your heart will become proud and you will forget^(D) the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. ¹⁵ He led you through the vast and dreadful wilderness,^(E) that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes^(F) and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock.^{(G) 16} He gave you manna^(H) to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never known,^(I) to humble and test^(J) you so that in the end it might go well with you. ¹⁷ You may say to yourself,^(K) “My power and the strength of my hands^(L) have produced this wealth for me.” ¹⁸ But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth,^(M) and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.

David’s Prayer

¹⁰ David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly, saying,

¹⁴ “But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this?^(F) Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.^(G)

The Parable of the Bags of Gold^(A)

¹⁴ “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey,^(B) who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. ¹⁵ To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag,^[a] each according to his ability.^(C) Then he went on his journey. ¹⁶ The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. ¹⁷ So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. ¹⁸ But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

¹⁹ “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them.^{(D) 20} The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’

²¹ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.^(E) Come and share your master’s happiness!’

²² “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’

²³ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.^(F) Come and share your master’s happiness!’

²⁴ “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. ²⁵ So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’

²⁶ “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? ²⁷ Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

²⁸ “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. ²⁹ For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.^{(G) 30} And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’^(H)

¹² So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.^(A)