the sheep from the goats

The Greek in Matthew 25:32 that is translated as “the sheep from the goats” or similar in English is translated in the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) with die weißen Schafe von den schwarzen Ziegen or “the white sheep from the black goats.” The translators explain: “The usual [traditional German] translation as “ram (Böcke)” [see also the traditional German translation of Beelzebul] is sexist, simplistic and misleading. When juxtaposed with sheep, the word erifos means ‘goats.’ Since the goats in Palestine are black and the sheep are white, the contrast here is between white as the color of the righteous and black as the color of the unrighteous.”

sheep

“Sheep are known throughout most of the world, even though, as in Central Africa, they are a far cry from the fleecy wool-producing animals of colder climates. Where such animals are known, even by seemingly strange names, e.g. ‘cotton deer’ (Yucateco) or ‘woolly goat’ (Inupiaq), such names should be used. In some instances, one may wish to borrow a name and use a classifier, e.g. ‘an animal called sheep.’ In still other instances translators have used ‘animal which produces wool’, for though people are not acquainted with the animals they are familiar with wool.” (Source: Bratcher / Nida)

In Dëne Súline, it is usually translated as “an evil little caribou.” To avoid the negative connotation, a loan word from the neighboring South Slavey was used. (Source: NCEM, p. 70)

Note that the often-alleged Inuktitut translation of “sheep” with “seal” is an urban myth (source Nida 1947, p. 136).

See also lamb and sheep / lamb.

complete verse (Matthew 25:32)

Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 25:32:

  • Uma: “All mankind will gather in front of me and I will separate them into two groups, like a shepherd separates sheep from goats.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “All the people from all the tribes in the world will gather before me and I will separate them like a person who cares for animals separates the sheep and the goats.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And all mankind will have to come before me, and then I will separate them into two parts like a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “All people on the earth, they will be gathered before-me, and I will separate them like the way one who takes-care-of animals separates-into-distinct-groups sheep and goats.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “And then all people will be gathered in my presence, for I will sort-them-into-groups as is done by a shepherd of/to sheep and goats.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “All the people on earth will be gathered there where he sits. He will separate each one like a shepherd does when he has goats amidst his sheep.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

shepherd

The Greek, Latin, Ge’ez, and Hebrew that is translated as “shepherd” in English is translated in Kouya as Bhlabhlɛɛ ‘yliyɔzʋnyɔ — ” tender of sheep.”

Philip Saunders (2004, p. 231) explains:

“Then one day they tackled the thorny problem of ‘shepherd’. It was problematic because Kouyas don’t have herdsmen who stay with the sheep all the time. Sheep wander freely round the village and its outskirts, and often a young lad will be detailed to drive sheep to another feeding spot. So the usual Kouya expression meant a ‘driver of sheep’, which would miss the idea of a ‘nurturing’ shepherd. ‘A sheep nurturer’ was possible to say, but it was unnatural in most contexts. The group came up with Bhlabhlɛɛ ‘yliyɔzʋnyɔ which meant ‘a tender of sheep’, that is one who keeps an eye on the sheep to make sure they are all right. All, including the translators, agreed that this was a most satisfactory solution.”

Other translations include:

  • Chuj: “carer” (there was no single word for “shepherd”) (source: Ronald Ross)
  • Muna: “sheep guard” (dhagano dhumba) (there was no immediate lexical equivalent) (source: René van den Berg),
  • Mairasi: “people who took care of domesticated animals” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • Noongar: “sheep worker” (kookendjeriyang-yakina) (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Kwakum: “those-who-monitor-the-livestock” (source: Stacey Hare in this post )
  • Cherokee: “deer-watcher” (source: Bender / Belt 2025, p. 16)

See also I am the good shepherd, complete verse (Psalm 23:1), and sheep / lamb.

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Shepherds in the Bible .

goat

The Hebrew, Ge’ez, and Greek that is translated as “goat” in English is translated in Cherokee as ahwi dinihanulvhi or “bearded deer.” (source: Bender / Belt 2025, p. 18)

before / in the sight of / presence of (God) (Japanese honorifics)

Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.

Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.

One way to do this is through the usage (or a lack) of an honorific prefix as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. When the referent is God, the “divine” honorific prefix mi- (御 or み) can be used, as in mi-mae (御前) or “before (God)” in the referenced verses. In some cases in can also be used in reference to being before a king, such as in 1 Samuel 16:16.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also presence (Japanese honorifics) and before you / to you.