And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
Parallel translations
- WEB Before him all the nations will be gathered, and he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
- BSB All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
- NKJV All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.
- NASB And all the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, just as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats;
- NLT All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
All nations are gathered before him and he separates them as a shepherd divides sheep from goats. Christ judges every person, dividing humanity decisively.
Overview
Every nation stands before the King, and he separates people with the ease and authority of a shepherd. The sheep-and-goats image conveys a clear, final division based on his judgment. No one is overlooked in this universal assize. It underscores that all people are accountable to Christ and will be sorted according to their true standing before him.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 20
- Mal 3:18Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.
- Matt 13:49So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just,
- 2 Cor 5:10For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
- Ps 98:9Before the LORD; for he cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity.
- Ezek 34:17–22And as for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he goats.
- Matt 3:12Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
- Ps 96:13Before the LORD: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.
- Rev 20:12–15And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
- Ps 1:5Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
- Ps 50:3–5Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him.
- John 10:14I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.
- Matt 13:42–43And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
- 1 Cor 4:5Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.
- Rom 14:10–12But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
- Rom 2:12For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;
- Rom 2:16In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.
- Ezek 20:38And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
- John 10:27My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
- Acts 17:30–31And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
- Ps 78:52But made his own people to go forth like sheep, and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.
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Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 25:32 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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