1
Τότε ὁμοιωθήσεται ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν δέκα παρθένοις, αἵτινες λαβοῦσαι τὰς λαμπάδας ⸀ἑαυτῶν ἐξῆλθον εἰς ⸀ὑπάντησιν τοῦ νυμφίου.
“Then the kingdom of the heavens will be like ten virgins who took their torches and went out to meet the bridegroom.
This parable stands only in this book. Virgins (παρθένοι, parthenoi) — the word of 1:23.
pronoun who = the ten virgins
pronoun their = the ten virgins
Why this rendering
Matt.25.1 Observation
Syntactic observation
The parable turns on waiting for a bridegroom, and no bride appears in it. νύμφη stands at four places in the four Gospels, all of them elsewhere — Matthew 10:35 and its parallel Luke 12:53 (twice in the one verse), setting a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and John 3:29, the one who has the bride is the bridegroom. So three of the four are a daughter-in-law, and only John's reads as a bride. Mark never has it. νυμφίος, bridegroom, is in all four books — six in Matthew (9:15 twice, 25:1, 5, 6, 10), three in Mark (2:19 twice, 2:20), two in Luke, four in John (2:9, 3:29 three times). So the ten virgins of ch. 25 are not the bride but those going out to meet him, and the one awaited in this parable is the bridegroom alone. παρθένος occurs four times in Matthew, one of them 1:23 (a quotation) and three in this chapter, twice in Luke (1:27), and never in Mark or John. All five of λαμπάς are in this chapter, and the four Gospels's one other is John 18:3 — the torches of those coming to arrest Jesus. So the word stands in the four Gospels only where someone waits and where someone comes to seize. φρόνιμος, prudent, and μωρός, foolish, pair here, μωρός is Matthew's alone in the four Gospels (six), and φρόνιμος stands seven times in Matthew and twice in Luke, never in Mark.
Rendering options · 2
Adopted “virgins” and “lamps” — no bride supplied
Basis No bride is in the base text and none is supplied; λαμπάς is held to one rendering with John 18:3 so it stays countable.
Name the role — “bridesmaids”
Basis Lets the reader see what role is meant.
Rejected The text describes no wedding procedure and this parable has no bride; naming the role conjures one outside the sentence.
2
πέντε δὲ ⸂ἐξ αὐτῶν ἦσαν⸃ ⸂μωραὶ καὶ πέντε φρόνιμοι⸃.
And five of them were foolish and five prudent.
Foolish (μωραί, mōrai) and prudent (φρόνιμοι, phronimoi) — the pair of 7:24 and 7:26.
pronoun them = the ten virgins
3
⸂αἱ γὰρ⸃ μωραὶ λαβοῦσαι τὰς λαμπάδας αὐτῶν οὐκ ἔλαβον μεθ’ ἑαυτῶν ἔλαιον·
For the foolish, taking their torches, took no oil with them,
Took no oil with them — the whole difference is here.
pronoun their = the foolish
pronoun them = the foolish
4
αἱ δὲ φρόνιμοι ἔλαβον ἔλαιον ἐν τοῖς ⸀ἀγγείοις μετὰ τῶν λαμπάδων ⸀ἑαυτῶν.
but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their torches.
Flasks (ἀγγεῖα, angeia) are vessels — the word is used once in the four Gospels.
pronoun their = the prudent
5
χρονίζοντος δὲ τοῦ νυμφίου ἐνύσταξαν πᾶσαι καὶ ἐκάθευδον.
And while the bridegroom delayed, they all grew drowsy and slept.
They all grew drowsy and slept — the prudent sleep too.
pronoun they = the ten virgins
6
μέσης δὲ νυκτὸς κραυγὴ γέγονεν· Ἰδοὺ ὁ ⸀νυμφίος, ἐξέρχεσθε εἰς ἀπάντησιν ⸀αὐτοῦ.
But in the middle of the night there was a cry: ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.'
In the middle of the night — the hour that makes lamps matter.
pronoun him = the bridegroom
7
τότε ἠγέρθησαν πᾶσαι αἱ παρθένοι ἐκεῖναι καὶ ἐκόσμησαν τὰς λαμπάδας ⸀ἑαυτῶν.
Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their torches.
Trimmed (κοσμέω, kosmeō) is the adorn-verb of 12:44 and 23:29 — here it is putting a lamp in order.
pronoun those = the ten virgins
pronoun their = the ten virgins
8
αἱ δὲ μωραὶ ταῖς φρονίμοις εἶπαν· Δότε ἡμῖν ἐκ τοῦ ἐλαίου ὑμῶν, ὅτι αἱ λαμπάδες ἡμῶν σβέννυνται.
And the foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our torches are going out.'
Going out — the Greek says the lamps are being quenched.
pronoun your = the prudent
pronoun us = the foolish
pronoun our = the foolish
9
ἀπεκρίθησαν δὲ αἱ φρόνιμοι λέγουσαι· Μήποτε ⸂οὐ μὴ⸃ ἀρκέσῃ ἡμῖν καὶ ὑμῖν· ⸀πορεύεσθε μᾶλλον πρὸς τοὺς πωλοῦντας καὶ ἀγοράσατε ἑαυταῖς.
But the prudent answered, saying, ‘There may not be enough for us and for you; go rather to those who sell and buy for yourselves.'
There may not be enough — the Greek is cautious, not flatly refusing.
pronoun us = the prudent
pronoun you = the foolish
pronoun yourselves = the foolish
10
ἀπερχομένων δὲ αὐτῶν ἀγοράσαι ἦλθεν ὁ νυμφίος, καὶ αἱ ἕτοιμοι εἰσῆλθον μετ’ αὐτοῦ εἰς τοὺς γάμους, καὶ ἐκλείσθη ἡ θύρα.
And while they went off to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast, and the door was shut.
The door was shut — the passive does not say who shut it.
pronoun they = the foolish
pronoun him = the bridegroom
pronoun who = those who were ready
11
ὕστερον δὲ ἔρχονται καὶ αἱ λοιπαὶ παρθένοι λέγουσαι· Κύριε κύριε, ἄνοιξον ἡμῖν·
And later the rest of the virgins came too, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.'
Lord, lord — the doubling of 7:21.
pronoun us = the rest of the virgins
12
ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν· Ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, οὐκ οἶδα ὑμᾶς.
But answering he said, ‘Amen I say to you, I do not know you.'
I do not know you — the words of 7:23.
pronoun he = the bridegroom
pronoun I = the bridegroom — both times
pronoun you = the rest of the virgins — both times
13
γρηγορεῖτε οὖν, ὅτι οὐκ οἴδατε τὴν ἡμέραν οὐδὲ τὴν ⸀ὥραν.
So stay awake, because you know neither the day nor the hour.
Keep watch — the word of 24:42, closing the parable.
pronoun you = the disciples
14
Ὥσπερ γὰρ ἄνθρωπος ἀποδημῶν ἐκάλεσεν τοὺς ἰδίους δούλους καὶ παρέδωκεν αὐτοῖς τὰ ὑπάρχοντα αὐτοῦ,
For it is like a man going abroad, who called his own slaves and handed over to them his possessions.
This parable stands only in this book; Luke 19:12 tells a different one with minas.
pronoun who = a man going abroad
pronoun his own = the man
pronoun them = his slaves
pronoun his = the man
15
καὶ ᾧ μὲν ἔδωκεν πέντε τάλαντα ᾧ δὲ δύο ᾧ δὲ ἕν, ἑκάστῳ κατὰ τὴν ἰδίαν δύναμιν, καὶ ἀπεδήμησεν. εὐθέως
And to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one — to each according to his own ability — and he went abroad at once.
Talent is a weight of silver kept as sound — a very large sum. According to his own ability — the amounts are not equal, and the parable does not treat that as unfair.
pronoun he = the man — both times
pronoun his own = each slave
16
⸀πορευθεὶς ὁ τὰ πέντε τάλαντα λαβὼν ἠργάσατο ἐν αὐτοῖς καὶ ⸀ἐκέρδησεν ἄλλα ⸀πέντε·
The one who received the five talents went and worked with them and gained another five.
Worked with them — the Greek verb is the one for trading.
pronoun them = the five talents
17
⸀ὡσαύτως ὁ τὰ δύο ⸀ἐκέρδησεν ἄλλα δύο·
Likewise the one with the two gained another two.
So also — the second is told in half a line.
18
ὁ δὲ τὸ ἓν λαβὼν ἀπελθὼν ὤρυξεν ⸀γῆν καὶ ⸀ἔκρυψεν τὸ ἀργύριον τοῦ κυρίου αὐτοῦ.
But the one who received the one went off and dug in the ground and hid his master's silver.
Hid his master's silver — burying was held to be a safe keeping.
pronoun his = the third slave
19
μετὰ δὲ ⸂πολὺν χρόνον⸃ ἔρχεται ὁ κύριος τῶν δούλων ἐκείνων καὶ συναίρει ⸂λόγον μετ’ αὐτῶν⸃
And after a long time the master of those slaves comes and settles accounts with them.
Settles accounts renders the bookkeeping phrase of 18:23.
pronoun them = those slaves
20
καὶ προσελθὼν ὁ τὰ πέντε τάλαντα λαβὼν προσήνεγκεν ἄλλα πέντε τάλαντα λέγων· Κύριε, πέντε τάλαντά μοι παρέδωκας· ἴδε ἄλλα πέντε τάλαντα ⸀ἐκέρδησα.
And the one who had received the five talents came and brought five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have gained another five talents.'
See, I have gained — the report begins with what was given.
pronoun me = the first slave
pronoun I = the first slave
pronoun you = the master
21
⸀ἔφη αὐτῷ ὁ κύριος αὐτοῦ· Εὖ, δοῦλε ἀγαθὲ καὶ πιστέ, ἐπὶ ὀλίγα ἦς πιστός, ἐπὶ πολλῶν σε καταστήσω· εἴσελθε εἰς τὴν χαρὰν τοῦ κυρίου σου.
His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave; you were faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your master.'
Enter into the joy of your master — the reward is not a payment.
pronoun His = the first slave
pronoun him = the first slave
pronoun you = the first slave — both times
pronoun I = the master
pronoun your = the first slave
22
προσελθὼν ⸀δὲ καὶ ὁ τὰ δύο ⸀τάλαντα εἶπεν· Κύριε, δύο τάλαντά μοι παρέδωκας· ἴδε ἄλλα δύο τάλαντα ⸀ἐκέρδησα.
And the one with the two talents also came and said, ‘Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have gained another two talents.'
The second report is the first word for word, with the number changed.
pronoun me = the second slave
pronoun I = the second slave
pronoun you = the master
23
ἔφη αὐτῷ ὁ κύριος αὐτοῦ· Εὖ, δοῦλε ἀγαθὲ καὶ πιστέ, ἐπὶ ὀλίγα ἦς πιστός, ἐπὶ πολλῶν σε καταστήσω· εἴσελθε εἰς τὴν χαρὰν τοῦ κυρίου σου.
His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave; you were faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your master.'
The same words — the reward does not scale with the amount.
pronoun His = the second slave
pronoun him = the second slave
pronoun you = the second slave — both times
pronoun I = the master
pronoun your = the second slave
24
προσελθὼν δὲ καὶ ὁ τὸ ἓν τάλαντον εἰληφὼς εἶπεν· Κύριε, ἔγνων σε ὅτι σκληρὸς εἶ ἄνθρωπος, θερίζων ὅπου οὐκ ἔσπειρας καὶ συνάγων ὅθεν οὐ διεσκόρπισας·
But the one who had received the one talent came too and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you did not scatter.
A hard man (σκληρός, sklēros) — the same root as the hardness of heart at 19:8.
pronoun I = the third slave
pronoun you = the master — both times
25
καὶ φοβηθεὶς ἀπελθὼν ἔκρυψα τὸ τάλαντόν σου ἐν τῇ γῇ· ἴδε ἔχεις τὸ σόν.
And being afraid I went off and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.'
You have what is yours — the whole return is the same coin.
pronoun I = the third slave
pronoun your = the master
pronoun you = the master
pronoun yours = the master
26
ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ ὁ κύριος αὐτοῦ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Πονηρὲ δοῦλε καὶ ὀκνηρέ, ᾔδεις ὅτι θερίζω ὅπου οὐκ ἔσπειρα καὶ συνάγω ὅθεν οὐ διεσκόρπισα;
But answering, his master said to him, ‘Evil and sluggish slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I did not scatter?
Sluggish (ὀκνηρός, oknēros) is slow, shrinking from work.
pronoun his = the third slave
pronoun him = the third slave
pronoun you = the third slave
pronoun I = the master — both times
27
ἔδει ⸂σε οὖν⸃ βαλεῖν ⸂τὰ ἀργύριά⸃ μου τοῖς τραπεζίταις, καὶ ἐλθὼν ἐγὼ ἐκομισάμην ἂν τὸ ἐμὸν σὺν τόκῳ.
Then you ought to have put my silver with the bankers, and coming I would have received what was mine with interest.
Bankers (τραπεζῖται, trapezitai) is built on the word for a table — the money-changers' table.
pronoun you = the third slave
pronoun my = the master
pronoun I = the master
pronoun mine = the master
Why this rendering
Matt.25.27 Observation
Syntactic observation
Three words of money crowd into these two verses — τραπεζίτης, banker; τόκος, interest; and, at v.26, ὀκνηρός, sluggish. τραπεζίτης and ὀκνηρός are unique in the four Gospels, and τόκος stands also at Luke 19:23, the parallel in the parable of the minas. There, though, Luke names no person: ἐπὶ τράπεζαν, on a table, where Matthew has τοῖς τραπεζίταις, to the bankers. One reckoning stated once by the place and once by the people. τραπεζίτης comes from τράπεζα, table, the same root as the tables Jesus overturned at 21:12 (τὰς τραπέζας τῶν κολλυβιστῶν) — one word-root, once overturned and once where the money should have been placed. And τάλαντον stands thirteen times in this chapter and once at 18:24, fourteen in Matthew and none in Mark or John. The ten thousand talents of 18:24 were an unpayable debt; here talents are capital entrusted — the same unit doing different work in two parables. It is striking too that vv.24 and 26 repeat one saying in two mouths: the slave calls him a hard man reaping where he did not sow and gathering where he did not scatter, and the master takes the words up unchanged — so you knew — without denying them. Verse 30 closes with two of Matthew's own formulas: the outer dark, and the weeping and grinding of teeth.
Rendering options · 2
Adopted “to the bankers” and “with interest” — the word joined to 21:12
Basis τραπεζίτης and the κολλυβιστής of 21:12 are different words and are rendered differently; the shared root τράπεζα is recorded in the analysis rather than forced into the renderings. That Luke 19:23 uses τράπεζα itself shows the root belongs to this parable.
Render with a modern institution — “put it in the bank”
Basis Conveys the transaction at once.
Rejected τραπεζίτης is a person, not an institution; naming one loses the picture of a man at a table and the thread running to 21:12.
28
ἄρατε οὖν ἀπ’ αὐτοῦ τὸ τάλαντον καὶ δότε τῷ ἔχοντι τὰ δέκα τάλαντα·
So take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents.
Take the talent from him — the one buried is given to the one who used most.
pronoun him = the third slave
pronoun it = the talent
29
τῷ γὰρ ἔχοντι παντὶ δοθήσεται καὶ περισσευθήσεται· ⸂τοῦ δὲ⸃ μὴ ἔχοντος καὶ ὃ ἔχει ἀρθήσεται ἀπ’ αὐτοῦ.
For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
Abundance (περισσεύω, perisseuō) is to overflow — the saying of 13:12.
pronoun he = everyone who has — the second “he” is the one who has not
30
καὶ τὸν ἀχρεῖον δοῦλον ἐκβάλετε εἰς τὸ σκότος τὸ ἐξώτερον· ἐκεῖ ἔσται ὁ κλαυθμὸς καὶ ὁ βρυγμὸς τῶν ὀδόντων.
And throw the useless slave out into the outer dark. There there will be the weeping and the grinding of teeth.'
Useless (ἀχρεῖος, achreios) is used once in the four Gospels. The weeping and the grinding of teeth — the same close as 8:12, 13:42 and 22:13.
31
Ὅταν δὲ ἔλθῃ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐν τῇ δόξῃ αὐτοῦ καὶ πάντες ⸀οἱ ἄγγελοι μετ’ αὐτοῦ, τότε καθίσει ἐπὶ θρόνου δόξης αὐτοῦ·
And when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory.
This scene stands only in this book.
pronoun his = the Son of Man — both times
pronoun him = the Son of Man
pronoun he = the Son of Man
32
καὶ ⸀συναχθήσονται ἔμπροσθεν αὐτοῦ πάντα τὰ ἔθνη, καὶ ἀφορίσει αὐτοὺς ἀπ’ ἀλλήλων, ὥσπερ ὁ ποιμὴν ἀφορίζει τὰ πρόβατα ἀπὸ τῶν ἐρίφων,
And all the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them from one another as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
Goats here is ἔριφοι (eriphoi); at verse 33 the word changes to a diminutive, one verse later.
pronoun him = the Son of Man
pronoun he = the Son of Man
pronoun them = all the nations
pronoun another = one of the nations
33
καὶ στήσει τὰ μὲν πρόβατα ἐκ δεξιῶν αὐτοῦ τὰ δὲ ἐρίφια ἐξ εὐωνύμων.
And he will set the sheep at his right, and the goats at his left.
Goats here is ἐρίφια (eriphia), the diminutive — the word changes one verse after verse 32, and English cannot mark it.
pronoun he = the king
pronoun his = the king — both times
Why this rendering
Matt.25.33 Observation
Syntactic observation
The word for goat changes within one verse. Verse 32 has ἀπὸ τῶν ἐρίφων (ἔριφος); v.33 τὰ ἐρίφια (ἐρίφιον), a diminutive of it. ἐρίφιον is unique in the four Gospels; ἔριφος stands at two places, the other Luke 15:29, where the elder brother says you never gave me a young goat. The goat of the judgement and the goat of the feast are one word. Opposite them, πρόβατον, sheep, does not change — a common word (eleven in Matthew, two in Mark, nineteen in John). So only the side being separated wavers in its word. Matthew has one other such place: at 20:33-34 ὀφθαλμός became ὄμμα. Neither Korean nor English nor Portuguese has two words to divide ἔριφος and ἐρίφιον, so both verses read one word. Chinese could mark it with the prefix 小, but that would add a size the text does not state, and it is not used. The ἀφορίζω, to separate off, of v.32 occurs three times in Matthew and once in Luke (6:22, where people exclude you); Matthew's other is 13:49, where too angels separate the evil from among the righteous — and 13:49 is a place carrying the phrase συντέλεια τοῦ αἰῶνος, the completion of the age. The picture of a shepherd separating shares vocabulary with the shepherd and sheep of John 10.
Rendering options · 2
Adopted “goats” at both verses — the division recorded in the analysis
Basis Neither language has a word to mark the diminutive; forcing kids would import an age the text does not state.
Render v.33 as “kids”, distinguishing it
Basis The Greek changes the word, so the rendering changes.
Rejected In Koine a diminutive does not always mean small; the text states neither age nor size, so changing it would add information. The divergence itself is recorded as loss.
Lost in translation
ἔριφος against ἐρίφιον Matthew changes the word between consecutive verses, and English has nowhere to hold it; two words unique in the four Gospels merge into one in translation.
Survives in · this edition — 5 of the nine carry it (not this language)
34
τότε ἐρεῖ ὁ βασιλεὺς τοῖς ἐκ δεξιῶν αὐτοῦ· Δεῦτε, οἱ εὐλογημένοι τοῦ πατρός μου, κληρονομήσατε τὴν ἡτοιμασμένην ὑμῖν βασιλείαν ἀπὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου.
Then the king will say to those at his right, ‘Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the founding of the world.
The king — the Son of Man of verse 31 is now called king.
pronoun his = the king
pronoun you = those at his right — both times
pronoun my = the king
35
ἐπείνασα γὰρ καὶ ἐδώκατέ μοι φαγεῖν, ἐδίψησα καὶ ἐποτίσατέ με, ξένος ἤμην καὶ συνηγάγετέ με,
For I was hungry and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you took me in;
Took me in renders συνάγω (synagō), to gather — the same verb as “gathered” in verse 32.
pronoun I = the king — every “I” here is the king
pronoun you = those at his right — both times
pronoun me = the king — both times
36
γυμνὸς καὶ περιεβάλετέ με, ἠσθένησα καὶ ἐπεσκέψασθέ με, ἐν φυλακῇ ἤμην καὶ ἤλθατε πρός με.
naked, and you clothed me; sick, and you looked after me; in prison, and you came to me.'
Looked after (ἐπισκέπτομαι, episkeptomai) is to visit and see to.
pronoun you = those at his right — every “you” here is the same
pronoun me = the king — both times
37
τότε ἀποκριθήσονται αὐτῷ οἱ δίκαιοι λέγοντες· Κύριε, πότε σε εἴδομεν πεινῶντα καὶ ἐθρέψαμεν, ἢ διψῶντα καὶ ἐποτίσαμεν;
Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?
When did we see you — the righteous do not recognise their own deeds.
pronoun him = the king
pronoun we = the righteous
pronoun you = the king — every “you” here is the king
38
πότε δέ σε εἴδομεν ξένον καὶ συνηγάγομεν, ἢ γυμνὸν καὶ περιεβάλομεν;
And when did we see you a stranger and take you in, or naked and clothe you?
The question is put again, item by item.
pronoun we = the righteous
pronoun you = the king — every “you” here is the king
39
πότε δέ σε εἴδομεν ⸀ἀσθενοῦντα ἢ ἐν φυλακῇ καὶ ἤλθομεν πρός σε;
And when did we see you sick or in prison and come to you?'
The third asking closes the list.
pronoun we = the righteous
pronoun you = the king — both times
40
καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐρεῖ αὐτοῖς· Ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ἐφ’ ὅσον ἐποιήσατε ἑνὶ τούτων τῶν ἀδελφῶν μου τῶν ἐλαχίστων, ἐμοὶ ἐποιήσατε.
And answering, the king will say to them, ‘Amen I say to you, in as much as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.'
These my brothers — the manuscripts differ over whether “brothers” stands, and who they are is not said.
pronoun them = the righteous
pronoun I = the king
pronoun you = the righteous — both times
pronoun it = what you did — both times
pronoun these = the least
pronoun my = the king
pronoun me = the king
Why this rendering
Matt.25.40 Observation
Syntactic observation
Verses 40 and 45 pair, and one phrase differs. Verse 40 has ἑνὶ τούτων τῶν ἀδελφῶν μου τῶν ἐλαχίστων, to one of the least of these my brothers; v.45 has ἑνὶ τούτων τῶν ἐλαχίστων, to one of the least of these — without my brothers. The same sentence is repeated in the negative and just that phrase drops. ἐλάχιστος occurs five times in Matthew: 2:6 (Bethlehem is not least among the rulers of Judah), 5:19 twice (the least of the commandments, called least in the kingdom), and twice here. Luke has four (12:26, 16:10, 19:17), and Mark and John none. So the word arrives in Matthew wherever something reckoned least turns out not to be. The six items of vv.35-36 — hungry, thirsty, a stranger, naked, sick, in prison — recur four times in the passage (35-36, 37-39, 42-43, 44), and the list never shortens. Among them ξένος, stranger, occurs five times in Matthew, four of them here and the fifth at 27:7, the field for burying strangers.
Rendering options · 2
Adopted “my brothers” at v.40 only — not supplied at v.45
Basis The base text words the two verses differently; neither is harmonized to the other.
Supply my brothers at v.45 as well
Basis The verses pair, so the reading is evened out.
Rejected It is not in the base text; and since this phrase bears on whom the passage names, adding or removing it changes the sense — all the more reason to leave the text as it stands.
41
τότε ἐρεῖ καὶ τοῖς ἐξ εὐωνύμων· Πορεύεσθε ἀπ’ ἐμοῦ ⸀οἱ κατηραμένοι εἰς τὸ πῦρ τὸ αἰώνιον τὸ ἡτοιμασμένον τῷ διαβόλῳ καὶ τοῖς ἀγγέλοις αὐτοῦ.
Then he will say also to those at the left, ‘Go from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the slanderer and his angels.
Slanderer renders διάβολος (diabolos); this edition does not use “devil”. Prepared for the slanderer — not, as in verse 34, for those addressed.
pronoun he = the king
pronoun me = the king
pronoun you = those at the left
pronoun his = the slanderer
42
ἐπείνασα γὰρ καὶ οὐκ ἐδώκατέ μοι φαγεῖν, ⸀ἐδίψησα καὶ οὐκ ἐποτίσατέ με,
For I was hungry and you did not give me to eat; I was thirsty and you did not give me drink;
The list of verse 35 is put again with each item negated.
pronoun I = the king — both times
pronoun you = those at the left — both times
pronoun me = the king — both times
43
ξένος ἤμην καὶ οὐ συνηγάγετέ με, γυμνὸς καὶ οὐ περιεβάλετέ με, ἀσθενὴς καὶ ἐν φυλακῇ καὶ οὐκ ἐπεσκέψασθέ 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 look after me.'
And in prison — the last two are joined here, where verse 36 had them apart.
pronoun I = the king
pronoun you = those at the left — every “you” here is the same
pronoun me = the king — both times
44
τότε ἀποκριθήσονται καὶ αὐτοὶ λέγοντες· Κύριε, πότε σε εἴδομεν πεινῶντα ἢ διψῶντα ἢ ξένον ἢ γυμνὸν ἢ ἀσθενῆ ἢ ἐν φυλακῇ καὶ οὐ διηκονήσαμέν σοι;
Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not serve you?'
Serve renders διακονέω (diakoneō), the table-verb of 20:28.
pronoun they = those at the left
pronoun we = those at the left
pronoun you = the king — both times
45
τότε ἀποκριθήσεται αὐτοῖς λέγων· Ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ἐφ’ ὅσον οὐκ ἐποιήσατε ἑνὶ τούτων τῶν ἐλαχίστων, οὐδὲ ἐμοὶ ἐποιήσατε.
Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Amen I say to you, in as much as you did not do it to one of the least of these, neither did you do it to me.'
Neither did you do it to me — the answer is the same as verse 40, negated.
pronoun he = the king
pronoun them = those at the left
pronoun I = the king
pronoun you = those at the left — every “you” here is the same
pronoun it = what you did not do — both times
pronoun these = the least
pronoun me = the king
46
καὶ ἀπελεύσονται οὗτοι εἰς κόλασιν αἰώνιον, οἱ δὲ δίκαιοι εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον.
And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Eternal punishment and eternal life — the same adjective stands on both, and this edition keeps it so.
pronoun these = those at the left
Why this rendering
Matt.25.46 Observation
Syntactic observation
Within one verse αἰώνιος stands twice, attached to two opposed nouns — κόλασιν αἰώνιον and ζωὴν αἰώνιον. The same adjective in the same form twice, so the translation must use one word if the construction is to show. κόλασις is unique in the four Gospels. ζωὴ αἰώνιος is a common phrase (frequent in John), but only here does it stand beside κόλασις. And vv.41 and 46 diverge: v.41 has τὸ πῦρ τὸ αἰώνιον, the eternal fire, prepared for the slanderer and his angels, while the kingdom of v.34 is prepared for you and carries a point in time — from the foundation of the world. καταβολή, foundation, occurs twice in Matthew (13:35, 25:34), once in Luke (11:50) and once in John (17:24). Matthew 13:35 stands without κόσμου, while here and at Luke 11:50 κόσμου is attached. So two preparings face each other and only one is dated.
Rendering options · 2
Adopted “eternal punishment” and “eternal life” — one word for the adjective
Basis The Greek uses one adjective in one form twice, so the rendering must match; rendering them differently breaks the pairing the text builds.
Render the first as “age-long” and the second as “eternal”
Basis Keeps that αἰώνιος derives from αἰών, age.
Rejected However the word is understood, the text puts one word in one form at both places; splitting them inside a single verse lets the translation settle the word's sense where the reader cannot see it.