So it will be at the close of the age: for comments on the close of the age, see verse 39. This statement points forward to what follows, and it may be prudent to make evident the tie between the parable and its application; for example, “This story about the fish tells us (or, gives us a picture of) what it will be like at the end of time.” If such an analogy is not made explicit, the reader may not immediately see the connection between the story of the fish and what follows.

The angels will come out is translated “the angels of God will come” by Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch. It may even be useful to render “God will send his angels….”

For angels, see comments on 1.20.

Whether to say come out or “go out” will depend on the receptor language. The angels will presumably be leaving heaven to separate the evil people from the righteous here on earth. Some languages will need to make that clear. Others can say simply “will come and separate people.”

Separate can also be “take out from” or “gather (together) away from.”

The evil from the righteous: the preposition from (Good News Translation “from among”) indicates that Matthew is here describing God’s judgment on the Christian community rather than on the world. There both the evil and the righteous live side by side, professing to be God’s chosen people, but in the judgment a separation will be made.

Righteous is translated “just” by Revised Standard Version in 1.19 (see comments there); Matthew consistently uses this term to characterize people who obey God in whatever way they are called upon to do so. Righteous can be translated as “people who obey God’s commands,” “people who live as God requires,” or “good (people)” (Good News Translation). Evil can be “evil people” or “people who do evil.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1988. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .