He will set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
Parallel Translations
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He will set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
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And he shall set the shepe on his right honde and the gotes on the lyfte.
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And he shall set the sheepe on his right hand, and the goates on the left.
Cross-references (13)
Passages linked to Matthew 25:33 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Psalms 100:3 Know that Yahweh, he is God. It is he who has made us, and we are his. We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
- Psalms 45:9 Kings’ daughters are among your honorable women. At your right hand the queen stands in gold of Ophir.
- John 10:26-28 But you don’t believe, because you are not of my sheep, as I told you. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give eternal life to them. They will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
- John 21:15-17 So when they had eaten their breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I have affection for you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I have affection for you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you have affection for me?” Peter was grieved because he asked him the third time, “Do you have affection for me?” He said to him, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I have affection for you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.
- Psalms 110:1 Yahweh says to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool for your feet.”
- Genesis 48:13-14 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 to him. Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it on Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands knowingly, for Manasseh was the firstborn.
- Psalms 79:13 So we, your people and sheep of your pasture, will give you thanks forever. We will praise you forever, to all generations.
- Psalms 95:7 for he is our God. We are the people of his pasture, and the sheep in his care. Today, oh that you would hear his voice!
- Mark 16:19 So then the Lord, after he had spoken to them, was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.
- Acts 2:34-35 For David didn’t ascend into the heavens, but he says himself, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit by my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” ’
- Ephesians 1:20 which he worked in Christ, when he raised him from the dead and made him to sit at his right hand in the heavenly places,
- Hebrews 1:3 His Son is the radiance of his glory, the very image of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, who, when he had by himself purified us of our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high,
- Genesis 48:17-19 When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him. He held up his father’s hand, to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this is the firstborn. Put your right hand on his head.” His father refused, and said, “I know, my son, I know. He also will become a people, and he also will be great. However, his younger brother will be greater than he, and his offspring will become a multitude of nations.”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 33 And he shall set the sheep on his…
33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
Ver. 33. The sheep on the right hand, &c.] A place of dignity and safety. Our Saviour seems here to allude to that of Moses’ dividing the tribes on Gerizim and Ebal. Those six tribes that came from the free women are set to bless the people; as the other five, that came of the bondwomen (whereunto is adjoined Reuben for his incest) are set to say Amen to the curses, Deu 27:11-13.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And he shall set the sheep on his right…
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 "for absolution"; and they that are on the left hand are criminals, and are "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),
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(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.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 33. He shall set the sheep, c.] The…
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,
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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 Eze 34:17, and Zec 10:3.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Shall set the sheep ... - By “the sheep”…
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 Joh 10:7, Joh 10:14-16, Joh 10:27; Psa 100:3; Psa 74:1; Psa 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 Ecc 10:2; Eph 1:20; Psa 110:1; Act 2:25, Act 2:33.
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The goats - The wicked. See Eze 34:17.
The left - That is, the left hand. This was the place of dishonor, denoting condemnation. See Ecc 10:2.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain The sheep on his right hand. The sheep are…
The sheep on his right hand. The sheep are the type of the docile, the profitable, the innocent, the good. (see Rom_2:7, Rom_2:10) The right hand is the place of favour and honour. (Gen_48:17 Luk_1:11 Mar_16:5) The goats (erifia , kids) on the left. The diminutive is here used for the goats, to convey an impression of their worthlessness. Compare kunaria , "whelps," in the conversation of our Lord with the Syro-Phoenician woman. (Mat_15:26, Mat_15:27) They are the type of the unruly, the proud, (Isa_14:9, Hebrew) the unprofitable, the evil. (see Rom_2:8, Rom_2:9) This judicial distinction between the right and left hands is found in classical writers. Thus Plato, "De Republica," 10:13, tells of what a certain man, who revived after a cataleptic attack, saw when his soul left his body. he came to a mysterious place, where were two chasms in the earth, and two openings in the heavens opposite to them, and the judges of the dead sat between these.
And when they gave judgment, they commanded the just to go on the right hand, and upwards through the heavens; but the unjust they sent to the left, and downwards; and both the just and unjust had upon them the marks of what they had done in the body. So Virgil makes the Elysian Fields to lie on the right of the palace of Dis, and the penal Tartarus on the left ("AEn.," 6:540, etc.).
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 33. He shall set the sheep at his right…
33. He shall set the sheep at his right hand. The sheep, who represent the righteous, are placed at the right hand, the place of honor. See Heb. 12:2.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 25:33 The right hand is the place of honor…
25:33 The right hand is the place of honor (Gen 48:13-20; Ps 110:1).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.