(13) Therefore I will not bury his Talent in the Earth, but lend it out upon Usury or Interest, lest he should say to me at that Time of his requiring it of me, Thou wicked slothful Servant, why hast thou hid my Talent in the Darkness, and didst not put it out upon Use, and so now I might have received it with Usury, Gain, and Profit? And so then he will take it quite away from me, and give it to another, who hath gained many Talents with his one. Therefore I will sow, let him water it, I leave the Care to him. Now observe,

(24) What dost thou suppose the Master of the House will say to thee, when he shall require and demand his Talent which he entrusted thee with, thou having buried it in the Earth? Will he not say, Thou perverse wicked Servant, why didst thou not put my Talent out upon use, and then I could have demanded the Principle and the interest or Profit? Note:

(109) Jesus said, "The Kingdom is like a man who had a [hidden] treasure in his field without knowing it. And [after] he died, he left it to his son. The son did not know (about the treasure). He inherited the field and sold [it]. And the one who bought it went plowing and found the treasure. He began to lend money at interest to whomever he wished."

(2) And if knowledge belong not to all (set an ass to the lyre, as the proverb goes), yet written compositions are for the many. "Swine, for instance, delight in dirt more than in clean water." "Wherefore," says the Lord, "I speak to them in parables: because seeing, they see not; and hearing, they hear not, and do not understand; " not as if the Lord caused the ignorance: for it were impious to think so. But He prophetically exposed this ignorance, that existed in them, and intimated that they would not understand the things spoken. And now the Saviour shows Himself, out of His abundance, dispensing goods to His servants according to the ability of the recipient, that they may augment them by exercising activity, and then returning to reckon with them; when, approving of those that had increased His money, those faithful in little, and commanding them to have the charge over many things, He bade them enter into the joy of the Lord. But to him who had hid the money, entrusted to him to be given out at interest, and had given it back as he had received it, without increase, He said, "Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou oughtest to have given my money to the bankers, and at my coming I should have received mine own." Wherefore the useless servant "shall be cast into outer darkness." "Thou, therefore, be strong," says Paul, "in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things which thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also." And again: "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."

(63) Jesus said, "There was a rich man who had much money. He said, 'I shall put my money to use so that I may sow, reap, plant, and fill my storehouse with produce, with the result that I shall lack nothing. Such were his intentions, but that same night he died. Let him who has ears hear."

(17) Here, my entrusted Talent, which I have received, I will let out for Rent, Profit and Increase, as I am commanded to do, and he that will deal with me in this Way of Gain or Usury, it shall be free for him, he may freely do it, whether he be a Christian, a Jew, a Turk, or a Heathen; they will be all alike advantageous to me; my Warehouse shall stand open for every one, let none fear exacting Tricks or Deceit, for he that comes to deal with me in Wares, shall be justly, rightly, and fairly dealt with.

(7) I do it to try, whether I may happily with the infused Talent get Gain of Usury, and not return it to my God and Creator again singly and empty, without Improvement, like the lazy Servant, who had stood idle in the Vineyard of the Lord, and would require his Wages without having laboured at all.