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The Judgment

31 “When[a] the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All[b] the nations will be assembled before him, and he will separate people one from another like a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He[c] will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34 Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him,[d] ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When[e] did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or naked and clothe you? 39 When[f] did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the king will answer them,[g] ‘I tell you the truth,[h] just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters[i] of mine, you did it for me.’

41 “Then he will say[j] to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire that has been prepared for the devil and his angels! 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink. 43 I was a stranger and you did not receive me as a guest, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they too will answer,[k] ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not give you whatever you needed?’ 45 Then he will answer them,[l] ‘I tell you the truth,[m] just as you did not do it for one of the least of these, you did not do it for me.’ 46 And these will depart into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”[n]

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 25:31 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
  2. Matthew 25:32 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
  3. Matthew 25:33 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
  4. Matthew 25:37 tn Grk “answer him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
  5. Matthew 25:38 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
  6. Matthew 25:39 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
  7. Matthew 25:40 tn Grk “answering, the king will say to them.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation.
  8. Matthew 25:40 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amēn), I say to you.”
  9. Matthew 25:40 tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelphoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited). In this context Jesus is ultimately speaking of his “followers” (whether men or women, adults or children), but the familial connotation of “brothers and sisters” is also important to retain here.
  10. Matthew 25:41 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
  11. Matthew 25:44 tn Grk “Then they will answer, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
  12. Matthew 25:45 tn Grk “answer them, saying.” The participle λέγων (legōn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
  13. Matthew 25:45 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amēn), I say to you.”
  14. Matthew 25:46 sn Here the ultimate destination of the righteous is eternal life. In several places Matthew uses “life” or “eternal life” in proximity with “the kingdom of heaven” or merely “the kingdom,” suggesting a close relationship between the two concepts (compare Matt 25:34 with v. 46; Matt 19:16, 17, 29 with vv. 23, 24). Matthew consistently portrays “eternal life” as something a person enters in the world to come, whereas the Gospel of John sees “eternal life” as beginning in the present and continuing into the future (cf. John 5:24).

The Judgment of the Sheep and the Goats

31 Now when the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 And all the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them from one another like a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right and the goats on the left. 34 Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world! 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something[a] to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something[b] to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me as a guest, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you cared for me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you,[c] or thirsty and give you something[d] to drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you[e] as a guest, or naked and clothe you?[f] 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ 40 And the king will answer and[g] say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, in as much as you did it[h] to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it[i] to me.’ 41 Then he will also say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed ones, into the eternal fire that has been prepared for the devil and his angels! 42 For I was hungry and you did not give me anything[j] to eat, I was thirsty and you did not give me anything[k] to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me as a guest, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not care for me.’ 44 Then they will also answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and not serve you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly I say to you, in as much as you did not do it[l] to one of the least of these, you did not do it[m] to me.’ 46 And these will depart into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 25:35 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  2. Matthew 25:35 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  3. Matthew 25:37 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  4. Matthew 25:37 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  5. Matthew 25:38 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  6. Matthew 25:38 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  7. Matthew 25:40 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“will answer”) has been translated as a finite verb
  8. Matthew 25:40 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  9. Matthew 25:40 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  10. Matthew 25:42 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  11. Matthew 25:42 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  12. Matthew 25:45 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  13. Matthew 25:45 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation