Discovery BoxMatthew 25:40 
Context25:40 And the king will answer them, 1 ‘I tell you the truth, 2 just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters 3 of mine, you did it for me.’
Matthew 25:45-46
Context25:45 Then he will answer them, 4 ‘I tell you the truth, 5 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.”
1 tn Grk “answering, the king will say to them.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation.
2 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”
3 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.
4 tn Grk “answer them, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
5 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”
