Matthew 25 · Verse 32

Matthew 25:32

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:

Matthew 25:32, King James Version

Matthew 25:32 in other translations

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.
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.
ASV	and before him shall be gathered all the nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as the shepherd separateth the sheep from the goats;
YLT	and gathered together before him shall be all the nations, and he shall separate them from one another, as the shepherd doth separate the sheep from the goats,
DARBY	and all the nations shall be gathered before him; and he shall separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats;
BBE	And before him all the nations will come together; and they will be parted one from another, as the sheep are parted from the goats by the keeper.
Webster	And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:

What does Matthew 25:32 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

32. And before him shall be gathered all nations--or, "all the nations." That this should be understood to mean the heathen nations, or all except believers in Christ, will seem amazing to any simple reader. Yet this is the exposition of Olshausen, Stier, Keil, Alford (though latterly with some diffidence), and of a number, though not all, of those who hold that Christ will come the second time before the millennium, and that the saints will be caught up to meet Him in the air before His appearing. Their chief argument is, the impossibility of any that ever knew the Lord Jesus wondering, at the Judgment Day, that they should be thought to have done--or left undone--anything "unto Christ." To that we shall advert when we come to it. But here we may just say, that if this scene does not describe a personal, public, final judgment on men, according to the treatment they have given to Christ--and consequently men within the Christian pale--we shall have to consider again whether our Lord's teaching on the greatest themes of human interest does indeed possess that incomparable simplicity and transparency of meaning which, by universal consent, has been ascribed to it. If it be said, But how can this be the general judgment, if only those within the Christian pale be embraced by it?--we answer, What is here described, as it certainly does not meet the case of all the family of Adam, is of course so far not general. But we have no right to conclude that the whole "judgment of the great day" will be limited to the point of view here presented. Other explanations will come up in the course of our exposition. and he shall separate them--now for the first time; the two classes having been mingled all along up to this awful moment. as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats--(See Eze 34:17).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Barnes' Notes

Verse 32. And before him, etc. At his coming to judgment, the world will be burned up and destroyed, 2Pet 3:10,12, Rev 20:11. The dead in Christ, i.e., all true Christians--shall be first raised up from their graves, 1Thes 4:16. The living shall be changed --i.e., shall be made like the glorified bodies of those that are raised from the dead, 1Cor 15:52-54, 1Thes 4:17. All the wicked shall rise and come forth to judgment, Jn 5:28,29, Dan 12:2; Mt 13:41,42, Rev 20:13. Then shall the world be judged, the righteous saved, and the wicked punished.

And he shall separate, etc. Shall determine respecting their character, and shall appoint them their doom accordingly.

(w) "And before him" Rom 14:10, 2Cor 5:10, Rev 20:12 (x) "separate them" Eze 20:38, Mt 13:49 (y) "shepherd divideth" Ps 78:52, Jn 10:14,27

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 32 All nations - Literally, all the nations - all the Gentile world; the Jews are necessarily included, but they were spoken of in a particular manner in the preceding chapter. He shall separate them - Set each kind apart by themselves. As a shepherd divideth, etc. - It does not appear that sheep and goats were ever penned or housed together, though they might feed in the same pasture; yet even this was not done but in separate flocks; so Virgil, Eclog. vii. v. 2. Compulerantque greges Corydon et Thyrsis in unum; Thyrsis Oves, Corydon distentas lacte Capellas "Thyrsis and Corydon drove their flocks together: Thyrsin his sheep; and Corydon his goats, their udders distended with milk." These two shepherds had distinct flocks, which fed in the same pasture, but separately; and they are only now driven together, for the convenience of the two shepherds, during the time of their musical contest.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Matthew 25:31-46

This is a description of the last judgment. It is as an explanation of the former parables. There is a judgment to come, in which every man shall be sentenced to a state of everlasting happiness, or misery. Christ shall come, not only in the glory of his Father, but in his own glory, as Mediator. The wicked and godly here dwell together, in the same cities, churches, families, and are not always to be known the one…

Read the full comment on Matthew 25:31-46 →

Matthew 25:32 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

καὶkaiAndG2532

συναχθήσονταιsunachthēsontaithey will be gatheredG4863

ἔμπροσθενemprosthenbeforeG1715

αὐτοῦautouHimG846

πάνταpantaallG3956

τὰtatheG3588

ἔθνη,ethnēnations,G1484

καὶkaiandG2532

ἀφορίσειaphoriseiHe will separateG873

αὐτοὺςautousthemG846

ἀπ᾽ap᾽fromG575

ἀλλήλωνallēlōnone anotherG240

ὥσπερhōsperasG5618

ὁhotheG3588

ποιμὴνpoimēnshepherdG4166

ἀφορίζειaphorizeiseparatesG873

τὰtatheG3588

πρόβαταprobatasheepG4263

ἀπὸapofromG575

τῶνtōntheG3588

ἐρίφων,eriphōngoats,G2056

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Matthew 25:32

Malachi 3:18
Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.
Matthew 13:49
So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just,
2 Corinthians 5:10
For 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.
Psalms 98:9
Before the Lord; for he cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity.
Ezekiel 34:17-22
And 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. Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet? And as for my flock, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet; and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet. Therefore thus saith the Lord God unto them; Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle. …
Matthew 3:12
Whose 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.
Psalms 96:13
Before 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.
John 10:14
I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.
Psalms 50:3-5
Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him. He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people. Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.
Psalms 1:5
Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
Revelation 20:12-15
And 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. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
1 Corinthians 4:5
Therefore 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.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

before.
Ps 96:13; 98:9; Ac 17:30,31; Ro 2:12,16; 14:10-12; 2Co 5:10
Re 20:12-15
he shall separate.
3:12; 13:42,43,49; Ps 1:5; 50:3-5; Eze 20:38; 34:17-22; Mal 3:18
1Co 4:5
as.
Ps 78:52; Joh 10:14,27

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Matthew 25:31
When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
Matthew 25:32
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:
Matthew 25:33
And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

Read all of Matthew 25

Matthew 25:32 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Y serán reunidas delante de él todas las gentes: y los apartará los unos de los otros, como aparta el pastor las ovejas de los cabritos.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	et toutes les nations seront assemblées devant lui; et il séparera les uns d’avec les autres, comme un berger sépare les brebis d’avec les chèvres;
German Elberfelder 1871	und vor ihm werden versammelt werden alle Nationen, und er wird sie voneinander scheiden, gleichwie der Hirt die Schafe von den Böcken scheidet.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	et congregabuntur ante eum omnes gentes, et separabit eos ab invicem, sicut pastor segregat oves ab hædis: