And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
Parallel translations
- WEB He will set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
- BSB He will place the sheep on His right and the goats on His left.
- NKJV And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.
- NASB and He will put the sheep on His right, but the goats on the left.
- NLT He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.
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
He sets the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. The two groups are assigned places of honor and judgment.
Overview
The right hand signifies favor and blessing, the left, rejection. The separation is personal and irreversible, made by the King himself. This pictures the final destinies that await the two groups. It reminds hearers that Christ's judgment results in a real and lasting division among all people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Ps 100:3Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
- Ps 45:9Kings’ daughters were among thy honourable women: upon thy right hand did stand the queen in gold of Ophir.
- John 10:26–28But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.
- John 21:15–17So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.
- Ps 110:1The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
- Ps 79:13So we thy people and sheep of thy pasture will give thee thanks for ever: we will shew forth thy praise to all generations.
- Gen 48:13–14And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them near unto him.
- Acts 2:34–35For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,
- Heb 1:3Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
- Mark 16:19So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.
- Ps 95:7For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice,
- Eph 1:20Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
- Gen 48:17–19And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father’s hand, to remove it from Ephraim’s head unto Manasseh’s head.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 25:33 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.