Matthew 25:34
Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
Study Note
Study Note
'Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.' The royal welcome to the righteous reveals that their inheritance was 'prepared from the foundation of the world' — predating their acts of mercy and grounding their reception in divine election rather than earned reward. Ephesians 1:4 ('chosen in him before the foundation of the world') and Revelation 13:8 ('the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world') use the same temporal marker to establish the priority of divine grace over human merit. The kingdom as inheritance (klēronomia) draws on Psalm 2:8 and the Abrahamic promise, making the sheep's welcome the culmination of the entire redemptive story.
Other Translations
Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
`Then shall the king say to those on his right hand, Come ye, the blessed of my Father, inherit the reign that hath been prepared for you from the foundation of the world;
Then will the King say to those on his right, Come, you who have the blessing of my Father, into the kingdom made ready for you before the world was:
Cross References
And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and …
And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families …
Then will the Lord drive out all these nations from before you, and ye shall possess greater nations and mightier …
And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside out of …
Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.
Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory …
Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah.
He will bless them that fear the Lord, both small and great.
Ye are blessed of the Lord which made heaven and earth.
Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I …