And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats:
And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats:
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;
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.
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:
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.
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:
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.
And before him ... - At his coming to judgment the world will be burned up, 2 Peter 3:10, 2 Peter 3:12; Revelation 20:11. The dead in Christ that is, all true Christians - will be raised up from their graves, 1 Thessalonians 4:16. The living will be changed - i. e., will be made like the glorified bodies of those that are raised from the dead, 1 Corinthians 15:52-54; 1 Thessalonians 4:17. All the wicked will rise and come forth to judgment, John 5:28-29; Daniel 12:2; Matthew 13:41-42; Revelation 20:13. Then shall the world be judged, the righteous saved, and the wicked punished.
And he shall separate ... - Shall determine respecting their character, and shall appoint them their doom accordingly.