Matthew 25:31-46 - Revision of the Textus Receptus

The gospel according to Matthew

Chapter 25

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31. οταν δε ελθη ο υιος του ανθρωπου εν τη δοξη αυτου και παντες οι αγιοι αγγελοι μετ αυτου τοτε καθισει επι θρονου δοξης αυτου “But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the holy[1] angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory.

32. και συναχθησεται[2] εμπροσθεν αυτου παντα τα εθνη και αφοριει[3] αυτους απ αλληλων ωσπερ ο ποιμην αφοριζει τα προβατα απο των εριφων And all nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.

33. και στησει τα μεν προβατα εκ δεξιων αυτου τα δε εριφια εξ ευωνυμων And he will set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

34. τοτε ερει ο βασιλευς τοις εκ δεξιων αυτου δευτε οι ευλογημενοι του πατρος μου κληρονομησατε την ητοιμασμενην υμιν βασιλειαν απο καταβολης κοσμου Then the king will say to those on his right hand, ‘Come, you who are blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

35. επεινασα γαρ και εδωκατε μοι φαγειν εδιψησα και εποτισατε με ξενος ημην και συνηγαγετε με For I was hungry and you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you took me in.

36. γυμνος και περιεβαλετε με ησθενησα και επεσκεψασθε με εν φυλακη ημην και ηλθετε[4] προς με I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to me.’

37. τοτε αποκριθησονται αυτω οι δικαιοι λεγοντες κυριε ποτε σε ειδομεν πεινωντα και εθρεψαμεν η διψωντα και εποτισαμεν “Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and gave you drink?

38. ποτε δε σε ειδομεν ξενον και συνηγαγομεν η γυμνον και περιεβαλομεν And when did we see you as a stranger and take you in? Or naked and clothed you?

39. ποτε δε σε ειδομεν ασθενη[5] η εν φυλακη και ηλθομεν προς σε And when did we see you sick or in prison and come to you?’

40. και αποκριθεις ο βασιλευς ερει αυτοις αμην λεγω υμιν εφ οσον εποιησατε ενι τουτων των αδελφων μου των ελαχιστων εμοι εποιησατε “And answering, the king will say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

41. τοτε ερει και τοις εξ ευωνυμων πορευεσθε απ εμου οι[6] κατηραμενοι εις το πυρ το αιωνιον το ητοιμασμενον τω διαβολω και τοις αγγελοις αυτου Then he will say also to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels;

42. επεινασα γαρ και ουκ εδωκατε μοι φαγειν εδιψησα και ουκ εποτισατε με for I was hungry, and you did not give me food, I was thirsty, and you gave me no drink,

43. ξενος ημην και ου συνηγαγετε με γυμνος και ου περιεβαλετε με ασθενης και εν φυλακη και ουκ επεσκεψασθε με I was a stranger, and you did not take me in, naked, and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison, and you did not visit me.’

44. τοτε αποκριθησονται και αυτοι λεγοντες κυριε ποτε σε ειδομεν πεινωντα η διψωντα η ξενον η γυμνον η ασθενη η εν φυλακη και ου διηκονησαμεν σοι “Then they will also answer [7], saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister to you?’

45. τοτε αποκριθησεται αυτοις λεγων αμην λεγω υμιν εφ οσον ουκ εποιησατε ενι τουτων των ελαχιστων ουδε εμοι εποιησατε “Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’

46. και απελευσονται ουτοι εις κολασιν αιωνιον οι δε δικαιοι εις ζωην αιωνιον And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

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[1] NA-Text and VgSt omit “holy”. The omission is supported by codices א, B, D, L, Θ, Π*, 074, family of manuscripts ƒ¹, minuscules 33, 124, 157, 565, the Coptic versions, the Armenian version and some manuscripts of the Georgian version, Origen, Hilary, Eusebius and Cyril of Alexandria. The inclusion is supported by codices A, K, Π^c, W, Δ, family of manuscripts ƒ¹³, minuscules 22 and 700, the Byzantine minuscules, the old Latin codex it^f, the Peshitta, the Harklean Syriac version and some manuscripts of the Bohairic Coptic version, the Diatessaron, Chrysostom and Theophylact. The external support for the omission is strong, but it is not safe to omit it in the text due to the instability of the word “holy” placed before “angels”. And this is because of the elevated potential for scribal error caused by a combination of visual homoeoarcton and homoeoteleuton (αγιοι αγγελοι, thus missing “holy”).

[2] NA-Text and WPF³⁵ read “συναχθησονται” (plural instead of singular), which is supported by codices א, B, Θ, some Byzantine manuscripts and Theophylact. The plural is supported by codices A, W, Γ, Δ, family of manuscripts ƒ¹, minuscules 700, 892, 1241, 1424, some Byzantine manuscripts and Eusebius. The support for the singular is better, but it is not prudent to adjust this verbal tense here since the singular is the harder reading, once scribes would tend to adjust this verb to go with the plural of “all nations”. The Greek text remains unchanged.

[3] NA-Text reads “αφορισει”, same verbal tense spelled differently. Normally the future tense is made with a “σ”, but neither Chrysostom nor Theophylact had the Alexandrian spelling in their manuscripts. The addition of the sigma is probably a scribal correction to the original text.

[4] NA-Text reads “ηλθατε”, same verbal tense spelled differently.

[5] NA-Text reads “ασθενουντα”, participle working as an adjective. The meaning is the same.

[6] NA-Text brackets the definite article “οι” as doubtful.

[7] NA-Text, VgSt and M-Text omit “him” (Gr. “αυτω”). The omission is supported by codices B, D, Θ and Theophylact. Codex א supports the “αυτω” with a different reading (αυτω οι λεγοντες). The text has then been adjusted following the NA-Text and the M-Text. 

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Notes:

1. Text in red letters are places where the original reading in the Textus Receptus has been revised and corrected;

2. The English translation used as a reference is the WEB brought to conformity as literal as possible to the Textus Receptus. The end product though is not the WEB or a revised WEB and it should not be called WEB. The content of this post is freely available to everyone and it is not supposed to be copyrighted;

3. TR: Textus Receptus. This text is not copyrighted;

4. NA-Text: Nestle-Aland text commonly known as critical text;

5. M-Text: Majority Text;

6. VgSt: Vulgate of Stuttgart;  

7. WPF³⁵: Wilbur Pickering-family 35;

8. PT: Patriarchal Text, also known as Patriarchal Greek New Testament, published by the ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.

9. The creator of the variant apparatus available in the VarApp kindly gave me permission to freely use the information contained in the material he put together.

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To God all the glory for the preservation of the scriptures! He reigns!