Maleakhi 3:17-18

3:17 “They will belong to me,” says the Lord who rules over all, “in the day when I prepare my own special property. ¹  I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. 3:18 Then once more you will see that I make a distinction between ²  the righteous and the wicked, between the one who serves God and the one who does not.

Matius 25:31-46

The Judgment

25:31 “When ³  the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 25:32 All ⁴  the nations will be assembled before him, and he will separate people one from another like a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 25:33 He ⁵  will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 25:34 Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 25:35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 25:36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 25:37 Then the righteous will answer him, ⁶  ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 25:38 When ⁷  did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or naked and clothe you? 25:39 When ⁸  did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 25:40 And the king will answer them, ⁹  ‘I tell you the truth, ¹⁰  just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters ¹¹  of mine, you did it for me.’

25:41 “Then he will say ¹²  to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire that has been prepared for the devil and his angels! 25:42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink. 25:43 I was a stranger and you did not receive me as a guest, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 25:44 Then they too will answer, ¹³  ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not give you whatever you needed?’ 25:45 Then he will answer them, ¹⁴  ‘I tell you the truth, ¹⁵  just as you did not do it for one of the least of these, you did not do it for me.’ 25:46 And these will depart into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Matius 25:1

The Parable of the Ten Virgins

25:1 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.

Yohanes 3:2

3:2 came to Jesus ¹⁶  at night ¹⁷  and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs ¹⁸  that you do unless God is with him.”

[3:17]  ¹ sn The Hebrew word סְגֻלָּה (sÿgullah, “special property”) is a technical term referring to all the recipients of God’s redemptive grace, especially Israel (Exod 19:5; Deut 7:6; 14:2; 26:18). The Lord says here that he will not forget even one individual in the day of judgment and reward.

[3:18]  ² tn Heb “you will see between.” Cf. NRSV, TEV, NLT “see the difference.”

[25:31]  ³ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[25:32]  ⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[25:33]  ⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[25:37]  ⁶ tn Grk “answer him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[25:38]  ⁷ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[25:39]  ⁸ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[25:40]  ⁹ tn Grk “answering, the king will say to them.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation.

[25:40]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[25:40]  ¹¹ tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited). In this context Jesus is ultimately speaking of his “followers” (whether men or women, adults or children), but the familial connotation of “brothers and sisters” is also important to retain here.

[25:41]  ¹² tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[25:44]  ¹³ tn Grk “Then they will answer, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[25:45]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “answer them, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[25:45]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[3:2]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:2]  ¹⁷ tn Or “during the night.”

[3:2]  sn Possibly Nicodemus came…at night because he was afraid of public association with Jesus, or he wanted a lengthy discussion without interruptions; no explanation for the timing of the interview is given by the author. But the timing is significant for John in terms of the light-darkness motif – compare John 9:4, 11:10, 13:30 (especially), 19:39, and 21:3. Out of the darkness of his life and religiosity Nicodemus came to the Light of the world. The author probably had multiple meanings or associations in mind here, as is often the case.

[3:2]  ¹⁸ sn The reference to signs (σημεῖα, shmeia) forms a link with John 2:23-25. Those people in Jerusalem believed in Jesus because of the signs he had performed. Nicodemus had apparently seen them too. But for Nicodemus all the signs meant is that Jesus was a great teacher sent from God. His approach to Jesus was well-intentioned but theologically inadequate; he had failed to grasp the messianic implications of the miraculous signs.