Matthew 25:33

THE MESSAGE

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on the left.

King James Version (1611)
And he shall set the sheepe on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

King James Version
And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

English Standard Version
And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left.

New American Standard Bible
and He will put the sheep on His right, but the goats on the left.

New Century Version
The Son of Man will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

Amplified Bible
and He will put the sheep on His right [the place of honor], and the goats on His left [the place of rejection].

New American Standard Bible (1995)
and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.

Legacy Standard Bible
and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.

Berean Standard Bible
He will place the sheep on His right and the goats on His left.

Contemporary English Version
He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

Complete Jewish Bible
The ‘sheep' he will place at his right hand and the ‘goats' at his left.

Darby Translation
and he will set the sheep on his right hand, and the goats on [his] left.

Easy-to-Read Version
He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And he shall set the sheepe on his right hand, and the goates on the left.

George Lamsa Translation
And he will set the sheep at his right, and the goats at his left.

Good News Translation
He will put the righteous people at his right and the others at his left.

Lexham English Bible
And he will place the sheep on his right and the goats on the left.

Literal Translation
And indeed He will set the sheep off His right, but the goats off the left hand .

American Standard Version
and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

Bible in Basic English
And he will put the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left.

Hebrew Names Version
He will set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

International Standard Version
He will put the sheep on his right but the goats on his left.

Etheridge Translation
And he shall cause the sheep to stand upon his right hand, and the goats on his left.

Murdock Translation
And he will place the sheep on his right hand, and the goats on his left.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And he shall set the sheepe on his right hande, but the goates on the lefte.

English Revised Version
and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

World English Bible
He will set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And he will set the sheep on his right-hand, and the goats on the left.

Weymouth's New Testament
and will make the sheep stand at His right hand, and the goats at His left.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
and he schal departe hem atwynne, as a scheeperde departith scheep from kidis; and he schal sette the scheep on his riythalf, and the kidis on the lefthalf.

Update Bible Version
and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

Webster's Bible Translation
And he will set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

New English Translation
He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

New King James Version
And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.

New Living Translation
He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.

New Life Bible
He will put the sheep on His right side, but the goats He will put on His left side.

New Revised Standard
and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And he will set, the sheep, indeed, on his right hand, but, the goats, on the left.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on his left.

Revised Standard Version
and he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at the left.

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
And he shall set the shepe on his right honde and the gotes on the lyfte.

Young's Literal Translation
and he shall set the sheep indeed on his right hand, and the goats on the left.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And he shal set ye shepe on his right honde, and the goates on the lefte.

Mace New Testament (1729)
and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

Simplified Cowboy Version
He will put the sheep on his right side and the goats to the left.

Contextual Overview

³¹"When he finally arrives, blazing in beauty and all his angels with him, the Son of Man will take his place on his glorious throne. Then all the nations will be arranged before him and he will sort the people out, much as a shepherd sorts out sheep and goats, putting sheep to his right and goats to his left. ³⁴"Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what's coming to you in this kingdom. It's been ready for you since the world's foundation. And here's why: I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, I was homeless and you gave me a room, I was shivering and you gave me clothes, I was sick and you stopped to visit, I was in prison and you came to me.' ³⁷"Then those ‘sheep' are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?' Then the King will say, ‘I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.' ⁴¹"Then he will turn to the ‘goats,' the ones on his left, and say, ‘Get out, worthless goats! You're good for nothing but the fires of hell. And why? Because— I was hungry and you gave me no meal, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was homeless and you gave me no bed, I was shivering and you gave me no clothes, Sick and in prison, and you never visited.' ⁴⁴ "Then those ‘goats' are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or homeless or shivering or sick or in prison and didn't help?' ⁴⁵ "He will answer them, ‘I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you failed to do one of these things to someone who was being overlooked or ignored, that was me—you failed to do it to me.' ⁴⁶ "Then those ‘goats' will be herded to their eternal doom, but the ‘sheep' to their eternal reward."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the sheep: Psalms 79:13, Psalms 95:7, Psalms 100:3, John 10:26-28, John 21:15-17

his: Genesis 48:13, Genesis 48:14, Genesis 48:17-19, Psalms 45:9, Psalms 110:1, Mark 16:19, Acts 2:34, Acts 2:35, Ephesians 1:20, Hebrews 1:3

Reciprocal: Leviticus 3:12 - a goat 1 Kings 2:19 - she sat 2 Kings 10:23 - the worshippers Psalms 16:11 - pleasures Jeremiah 24:3 - What Ezekiel 20:37 - pass Ezekiel 20:38 - I will purge Ezekiel 34:17 - I judge Zechariah 10:3 - and I Matthew 25:41 - them

Cross-References

Genesis 14:22
But Abram told the king of Sodom, "I swear to God , The High God, Creator of Heaven and Earth, this solemn oath, that I'll take nothing from you, not so much as a thread or a shoestring. I'm not going to have you go around saying, ‘I made Abram rich.' Nothing for me other than what the young men ate and the share of the men who went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; they're to get their share of the plunder."

Genesis 25:7
Abraham lived 175 years. Then he took his final breath. He died happy at a ripe old age, full of years, and was buried with his family. His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite, next to Mamre. It was the field that Abraham had bought from the Hittites. Abraham was buried next to his wife Sarah. After Abraham's death, God blessed his son Isaac. Isaac lived at Beer Lahai Roi.

Genesis 27:36
Esau said, "Not for nothing was he named Jacob, the Heel. Twice now he's tricked me: first he took my birthright and now he's taken my blessing." He begged, "Haven't you kept back any blessing for me?"

Mark 6:23
Just a Carpenter He left there and returned to his hometown. His disciples came along. On the Sabbath, he gave a lecture in the meeting place. He made a real hit, impressing everyone. "We had no idea he was this good!" they said. "How did he get so wise all of a sudden, get such ability?" But in the next breath they were cutting him down: "He's just a carpenter—Mary's boy. We've known him since he was a kid. We know his brothers, James, Justus, Jude, and Simon, and his sisters. Who does he think he is?" They tripped over what little they knew about him and fell, sprawling. And they never got any further. Jesus told them, "A prophet has little honor in his hometown, among his relatives, on the streets he played in as a child." Jesus wasn't able to do much of anything there—he laid hands on a few sick people and healed them, that's all. He couldn't get over their stubbornness. He left and made a circuit of the other villages, teaching. Jesus called the Twelve to him, and sent them out in pairs. He gave them authority and power to deal with the evil opposition. He sent them off with these instructions: "Don't think you need a lot of extra equipment for this. You are the equipment. No special appeals for funds. Keep it simple. "And no luxury inns. Get a modest place and be content there until you leave. "If you're not welcomed, not listened to, quietly withdraw. Don't make a scene. Shrug your shoulders and be on your way." Then they were on the road. They preached with joyful urgency that life can be radically different; right and left they sent the demons packing; they brought wellness to the sick, anointing their bodies, healing their spirits. King Herod heard of all this, for by this time the name of Jesus was on everyone's lips. He said, "This has to be John the Baptizer come back from the dead—that's why he's able to work miracles!" Others said, "No, it's Elijah." Others said, "He's a prophet, just like one of the old-time prophets." But Herod wouldn't budge: "It's John, sure enough. I cut off his head, and now he's back, alive." Herod was the one who had ordered the arrest of John, put him in chains, and sent him to prison at the nagging of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife. For John had provoked Herod by naming his relationship with Herodias "adultery." Herodias, smoldering with hate, wanted to kill him, but didn't dare because Herod was in awe of John. Convinced that he was a holy man, he gave him special treatment. Whenever he listened to him he was miserable with guilt—and yet he couldn't stay away. Something in John kept pulling him back. But a portentous day arrived when Herod threw a birthday party, inviting all the brass and bluebloods in Galilee. Herodias's daughter entered the banquet hall and danced for the guests. She dazzled Herod and the guests. The king said to the girl, "Ask me anything. I'll give you anything you want." Carried away, he kept on, "I swear, I'll split my kingdom with you if you say so!"

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And he shall set the sheep on his right hand,.... That is, the elect of God, and true believers, such as have the grace of God truly implanted in them; the sheep the Father gave unto Christ, and made his care and charge, whom he, as the good shepherd, laid down his life for; and who know his voice in effectual calling, and follow him in the way of his ordinances and appointments; and are comparable to sheep for their meekness and innocence, their simplicity and usefulness, and their harmless and inoffensive lives, and conversations: these Christ will set on his right hand, as a token of his affection for them, and a mark of respect and honour shown them, and as a pledge of that exaltation and glory he will be about to raise them to.

But the goats on the left; that is, the foolish virgins, wicked, and slothful servants, graceless professors, who, because of the impurity of their hearts, the filthiness of their lives, and their offensiveness to Christ, are compared to goats: these he will place at his left hand, in token of his disaffection for them, as a brand of disgrace upon them, and as an intimation of that dishonour, and miserable condition they will quickly be in. These different situations plainly pre-signify how things will go with each, that one will be acquitted, and made happy, the other will be condemned, and become miserable. Agreeable to which the Jews say c, that there is a right hand and a left hand with the Lord: they that are on the right hand, are such as have done well, and are לזכות, "for absolution"; and they that are on the left hand are criminals, and are לחובה, "for condemnation". Some think the allusion is to the two Scribes in the sanhedrim, who stood before the judges, one on the right hand, and the other on the left, and wrote the sentences; the one of those that were acquitted, and the other of those that were condemned d.

c Jarchi in Gen. i. 26. Kimchi in 1 Kings xxii. 19. Lex. Cabalist. p. 132. Zohar in Numb. fol. 93. 4. d Misn. Sanhedrin, c. 4. sect. 3. Maimon. Hilch. Sanhedrin, c. 1. sect. 9. Moses Kotsensis Mitzvot Tora pr. affirm. 97.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Shall set the sheep ... - By “the sheep” are denoted, here, the righteous. The name is given to them because the sheep is an emblem of innocence and harmlessness. See John 10:7, John 10:14-16, John 10:27; Psalms 100:3; Psalms 74:1; Psalms 23:1-6.

On the right hand - The right hand is the place of honor, and denotes the situation of those who are honored, or those who are virtuous. See Ecclesiastes 10:2; Ephesians 1:20; Psalms 110:1; Acts 2:25, Acts 2:33.

The goats - The wicked. See Ezekiel 34:17.

The left - That is, the left hand. This was the place of dishonor, denoting condemnation. See Ecclesiastes 10:2.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 33. He shall set the sheep, c.] The right hand signifies, among the rabbins, approbation and eminence: the left hand, rejection, and disapprobation. Hence in Sohar Chadash it is said, "The right hand is given, the left also is given - to the Israelites and the Gentiles are given paradise and hell - this world, and the world to come." The right and left were emblematical of endless beatitude and endless misery among the Romans. Hence Virgil:-

Hic locus est, partes ubi se via findit in ambas,

Dextera, quae Ditis magni sub moenia tendit:

Hac iter Elysium nobis at laeva malorum

Exercet poenas, et ad impia Tartara mittit.

AEn. vi. 540.

Here in two ample roads the way divides,

The right direct, our destined journey guides,

By Pluto's palace, to the Elysian plains;

The left to Tartarus, where bound in chains

Loud howl the damn'd in everlasting pains. PITT.

Of the good and faithful servants he approves, and therefore exalts them to his glory; of the slothful and wicked he disapproves, and casts them into hell.

SHEEP, which have ever been considered as the emblems of mildness, simplicity, patience, and usefulness, represent here the genuine disciples of Christ.

GOATS, which are naturally quarrelsome, lascivious, and excessively ill-scented, were considered as the symbols of riotous, profane, and impure men. They here represent all who have lived and died in their sins. See Ezekiel 34:17, and Zechariah 10:3.