Bible Strands
Matthew 25:37
Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink?
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The righteous address the Lord during a judgment scene, responding to His statement about their past service. They ask when they witnessed His physical needs and provided for them.
The words — ἀποκριθήσονται (apokrithēsontai) means "will answer," and δίκαιοι (dikaioi) translates to "righteous." These terms identify the group responding to the King with genuine surprise at their own unnoticed service.
The thread — This dialogue connects to Matthew 6:3 on secret giving and 1 Chronicles 29:14 on the source of all provision. The theme of unrecognized service also echoes in the stranger and naked encounters of Matthew 25:38.
Why it lands — The verse requires readers to recognize that faithful action often operates without self-awareness or reward-seeking. It demands a posture of humble service that does not track its own moral accounting.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
Cross-references
- Matthew 6:3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
- 1 Chronicles 29:14 But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? For everything comes from You, and from Your own hand we have given to You.
- 1 Peter 5:5 Young men, in the same way, submit yourselves to your elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
- Isaiah 64:6 Each of us has become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind.
- Proverbs 15:33 The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom, and humility comes before honor.
- 1 Corinthians 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not in vain. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.