He gave one servant five talents [Note: This 'talent' was a large sum of money in the form of a certain weight of silver. It was the equivalent of sixty years of a farm laborer's wages, or about $750,000 in income]. He gave two talents to another servant and one talent to another. He gave to each one an amount in keeping with his ability [to invest it wisely], and then left on his trip.

This calls for wisdom; the person who has understanding should calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a person. And his number is six hundred and sixty-six.

And [still] other seed fell onto fertile soil, where some of it produced a crop of one hundred, some sixty and some thirty times [as much as was planted].

But the person who was sown on the fertile soil is the one who hears the message and understands it. Truly, he produces a crop that yields one hundred, sixty or thirty times [as much as was planted]."

Then other seeds fell into fertile soil, and growing up to maturity, they yielded an ever increasing crop. They produced thirty, sixty and even a hundred times [as much as was planted]."

Then there were those who were sown on fertile soil. These represent people who heard 'the word,' accepted it and yielded a crop of thirty, sixty and even a hundred times [as much as was planted]."

[But] do not put a widow on the list [i.e., of people being helped by the church. See Acts 6:1] who is under sixty years old. [And she must] have been the wife of one man,

The one who had been given five talents came bringing another five and reported, 'Master, you entrusted me with five talents. Look, I have earned five more with them.'

Do you not understand yet or remember that five thousand people [were fed] with five loaves of bread and how many baskets [of pieces] were picked up [afterward]?

Five of the bridesmaids were foolish and five were sensible.

The one with the five talents soon invested the money in business transactions which netted him five more.

When I divided the five loaves of bread among the five thousand persons, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you gather up?" They said to Him, "Twelve baskets full."