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Read the Bible

Contemporary English Version

Matthew 25:33

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

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Jesus, the Christ;   Jesus Continued;   Judgment;   Opportunity;   Righteous;   Unfaithfulness;   Wicked (People);   Scofield Reference Index - Day (of Destruction);   Thompson Chain Reference - Certainties;   God's;   Seven;   Sheep, God's;   Uncertainties-Certainties;   The Topic Concordance - Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ;   Division;   Eternal Life;   Gathering;   Hell;   Help;   Inheritance;   Judgment;   Kingdom of God;   Nations;   Punishment;   Separation;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Excellency and Glory of Christ, the;   Goat, the;   Saints, Compared to;   Sheep;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Marriage;   Sheep;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Church;   Eschatology;   Hospitality;   Kingdom of god;   Son of man;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Animals;   Ethics;   Hell;   Hospitality;   Immortality;   Jesus Christ;   Judgment, Day of;   Kingdom of God;   Wages;   Wealth;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Annihilation;   Holiness of God;   Joy;   Judgment, Last;   Meditation;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Goat;   Judgment, the Final;   Prophecy;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Goat;   Hand;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Flock;   Hospitality;   Judgment Day;   Kingdom of God;   Left Hand;   Life;   Love;   Matthew, the Gospel of;   Resurrection;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Goat;   Messiah;   Olives, Mount of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Acceptance;   Character;   Claims (of Christ);   Consciousness;   Day of Judgment;   Doctrines;   Eternal Life (2);   Guilt (2);   Heart;   Humanity of Christ;   Imagination;   Judgment;   Man (2);   Matthew, Gospel According to;   Merit;   Preaching Christ;   Quotations (2);   Religious Experience;   Resurrection of the Dead;   Righteous, Righteousness;   Sanctify, Sanctification;   Socialism;   Soul;   Sympathy;   Wealth (2);   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Goat;   Matthew, Gospel by;   Sheep;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Goat;   Judge;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Angel;   Chief parables and miracles in the bible;   Goat;   Judgment the day of;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Judgment;   Justice;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Jesus of Nazareth;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Goat;   Hand;   King, Christ as;   Punishment, Everlasting;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Cabala;   Christianity in Its Relation to Judaism;  

Devotionals:

- Chip Shots from the Ruff of Life - Devotion for October 7;  

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.
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 the Son of Man comes in his glory with all of his angels, he will sit on his royal throne. 32 The people of all nations will be brought before him, and he will separate them, as shepherds separate their sheep from their goats. 33 He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34 Then the king will say to those on his right, "My father has blessed you! Come and receive the kingdom that was prepared for you before the world was created. 35 When I was hungry, you gave me something to eat, and when I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink. When I was a stranger, you welcomed me, 36 and when I was naked, you gave me clothes to wear. When I was sick, you took care of me, and when I was in jail, you visited me." 37 Then the ones who pleased the Lord will ask, "When did we give you something to eat or drink? 38 When did we welcome you as a stranger or give you clothes to wear 39 or visit you while you were sick or in jail?" 40 The king will answer, "Whenever you did it for any of my people, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you did it for me."

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
Abram answered: The Lord God Most High made the heavens and the earth. And I have promised him
Genesis 24:3
in the name of the Lord , who rules heaven and earth, that you won't choose a wife for my son Isaac from the people here in the land of Canaan.
Genesis 25:7
Abraham died at the ripe old age of one hundred seventy-five.
Genesis 27:36
Esau replied, "My brother deserves the name Jacob, because he has already cheated me twice. The first time he cheated me out of my rights as the first-born son, and now he has cheated me out of my blessing." Then Esau asked his father, "Don't you still have any blessing left for me?"
Mark 6:23
I swear that I will give you as much as half of my kingdom, if you want it."
Hebrews 6:16
When anyone wants to settle an argument, they make a vow by using the name of someone or something greater than themselves.
Hebrews 12:16
Watch out for immoral and ungodly people like Esau, who sold his future blessing for only one meal.

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.


 
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