Matthew 25:32 in 8 translations
7 distinct wordings, grouped by what each translation is trying to do. Differences from the King James text are marked below.
Early modern English
Seventeenth-century wording and sentence shape. Familiar, rhythmic, and the version most quotations you have heard are taken from.
And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth sheep from the goats:
1611 / 1769 · Public domain · The Authorised Version, revised to the 1769 Blayney text. Includes the Apocrypha as printed in 1611.
Literal, word-for-word
Follows Hebrew and Greek word order and grammar closely, even where the English becomes stiff. Useful for seeing what the underlying sentence is doing.
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;
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
and all the nations shall be gathered before him; and he shall separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats;
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
and gathered together before him shall be all the nations, and he shall separate them from one another, as the shepherd doth separate the sheep from the goats,
1898 · Public domain · The most extreme word-for-word rendering here, keeping Hebrew and Greek tense and word order at the cost of natural English.
Modern English
Contemporary vocabulary and punctuation, aiming for the sentence a present-day reader would write while staying close to the source.
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.
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
These 2 editions word this verse identically.
and all the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people – just as a shepherd separates sheep from goats –
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
Simplified English
Built from a deliberately small vocabulary so the sense stays reachable for new readers and non-native speakers. Trades nuance for clarity.
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.
1949 · Public domain · Written with roughly a thousand basic English words plus a small Bible vocabulary. The plainest reading available here.
What changes between the King James and modern wording
The modern rendering is printed below with every word that differs from the King James text marked, so the actual divergence is visible rather than left for you to spot.
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:
Word-for-word swaps
- shall→will
- divideth→separates
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.