complete verse (Matthew 25:15)

Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 25:15:

  • Uma: “He gave each one according to their ability. One he gave five thousand gold moneys/coins, to one two thousand, and to one a thousand. And then he left.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “The money he entrusted to them was according to their ability/knowledge. One he gave five thousand pesos, one two thousand, and one one thousand pesos. Then he left.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “He divided to each one of them according to what each one could do. To one of them he gave five thousand pesos. To another, he gave two thousand, and another, a thousand pesos is what he gave him. And then he left.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “He gave to each of them in proportion to their ability. He gave one five talents (loan talento), another two talents, and the other also only-one talent. Then he set-off.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “He left money with each according to his-own ability. He gave to one person the sum of five thousand, to another person two thousand and to another person one thousand. And then he set out.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Each one was given how much he would be able to put to work. One worker was given five thousand monies. Another worker was given two thousand monies. Another worker was given one thousand monies. When he had delivered over the money to the workers, the boss went far away.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Parable of the Talents

The following artwork is part of a series of 56 paintings on biblical themes by Kazakh artist Nelly Bube (born 1949):

Copyright by Norwegian Bible Society , used with permission.

For other images of Nelly Bube in TIPs, see here.

Following is a 1973 painting of the JESUS MAFA project, a response to New Testament readings from the Lectionary by a Christian community in Cameroon, Africa. Each of the readings was selected and adapted to dramatic interpretation by the community members. Photographs of their interpretations were made, and these were then transcribed to paintings:

From Art in the Christian Tradition , a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. Image retrieved March 23, 2026. Original source: librairie-emmanuel.fr.

Translation commentary on Matthew 25:15

Even though the text uses the word gave, the meaning is not that he gave a gift to each servant, but that he entrusted the money to them to manage. Some translators have had to say “gave to take care of.”

Five talents is stated in a more dynamic form in several translations: “five bags of gold” (New English Bible) and “five thousand gold coins” (Good News Translation). The talent was worth between five and six thousand denarii (see 18.24, 28). Sometimes it is tempting to express the value in modern currencies such as pounds or dollars or francs. But this should be avoided, since currencies may quickly change their market value. It is the relative value of five, two, and one that is important, not the actual value, and so it may be better to use something more general such as “five bags of gold,” “five bags of money,” or “five thousand pieces of gold.” If translators can use a term that refers to coins, it is better than one which refers to paper money, which may become rotten in the ground if it is buried.

According to his ability relates to the servants, not to the man who is giving out the money. Barclay makes this clear by saying “He gave each man a sum proportionate to his ability.” Another way to express this is “the amount he gave each man depended on how skilful that servant was.” Whether to put this expression at the beginning of the sentence (Good News Translation) or at the end (Revised Standard Version, Barclay) will depend on the receptor language.

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1988. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .