Matthew 25:37

Modern

Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink?

Traditional

Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

Literal

Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungering, and fed You? Or thirsting, and gave You to drink?

Latin

Tunc respondebunt ei justi, dicentes: Domine, quando te vidimus esurientem, et pavimus te: sitientem, et dedimus tibi potum?

Greek

English

Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink?

These righteous people (see Mathhew 5:6, 20) obey God's will as Jesus taught them. They show this most clearly through acts of love (7:12; 9:9–13; 22:34–40; 25:35–40).

This describes the final judgment of which Jesus had been warning (see Matthew 7:13–27; 8:10–12; 11:20–24; 12:38–42; 13:24–30, 36–43; 16:24–28; 24:37–25:30).

Jesus now applied his prophecies (Matthew 24:1–36) to his disciples so they would stay faithful and be ready for his second coming.

Theme notes and profiles

Matthew 6:3
But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
1 Chronicles 29:14
But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? For everything comes from You, and from Your own hand we have given to You.
1 Peter 5:5–6
Young men, in the same way, submit yourselves to your elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
Isaiah 64:6
Each of us has become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind.
Proverbs 15:33
The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom, and humility comes before honor.
1 Corinthians 15:10
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not in vain. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.