Matthew 24 51

Matthew 24:51 kjv

And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Matthew 24:51 nkjv

and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Matthew 24:51 niv

He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Matthew 24:51 esv

and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Matthew 24:51 nlt

and he will cut the servant to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Matthew 24 verses

Matthew 24 51 Meaning

Matthew 24:51 presents the severe and final judgment pronounced by the Master upon an unfaithful servant from the preceding parable. The verdict entails a decisive, violent act of separation or destruction, followed by a specific, enduring assignment of his ultimate destiny. This "portion" is cast alongside those who profess outwardly but lack true devotion—the hypocrites. The culminating phrase encapsulates the profound and eternal anguish that defines this state, marked by inconsolable sorrow, bitter regret, and an agonizing torment of spirit and perhaps body. It underscores the irreversible consequences of unfaithfulness and spiritual duplicity when faced with divine accountability.

Matthew 24 51 Context

Matthew 24:51 serves as the climactic warning within the Parable of the Faithful and Wise Servant (Matthew 24:45-51), which itself is an integral part of Jesus' extensive Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24-25). This discourse, delivered on the Mount of Olives, addresses His disciples' questions about the signs of His coming and the end of the age. Throughout the chapter, Jesus stresses the unpredictable timing of His return, the need for constant vigilance, and faithful stewardship. The parable preceding this verse distinguishes between a servant who faithfully carries out his master's will while awaiting his return and another who becomes negligent, abusive, and worldly, presuming the master's delay. Verse 51 details the dire and ultimate consequences for this "evil servant," a direct warning against unreadiness, hypocrisy, and the misuse of entrusted authority in the light of Christ's eventual, yet unannounced, advent. It underscores the urgency of sincere discipleship and preparation for divine judgment.

Matthew 24 51 Word analysis

• And (Greek: kai - καὶ): A simple conjunction connecting the prior description of the evil servant's actions (delaying and abusing fellow servants) to the immediate consequence of judgment. It signifies a direct, inevitable link.

• shall cut him asunder (Greek: dikotomēsei - διχοτομήσει): Derived from dicha (in two) and temnō (to cut). This powerful verb means to cut or cleave in two. Its interpretations include:

  • Literal: A depiction of an extremely brutal, ancient form of execution or torture, symbolizing utter dismemberment or corporal punishment unto death, often practiced in the ancient Near East as a public spectacle to signify total destruction and dishonor.
  • Figurative: More commonly understood as a complete, violent separation or expulsion. This signifies utter ruin, the severing of one's hope, spiritual death, or permanent exclusion from God's presence and kingdom. The parallel in Luke 12:46 uses similar wording, indicating a drastic, irreparable break from the master's household, linking the "cutting" with a new, miserable "portion." It emphasizes total loss of status and life.

• and appoint (Greek: kai thēsei - καὶ θήσει): Meaning "and will place" or "assign." This verb implies a deliberate act by the Master, a decisive and determined allocation of the servant's fate. It signifies an intentional and unalterable judicial pronouncement.

• him his portion (Greek: to meros autou - τὸ μέρος αὐτοῦ): Literally "his part" or "his share." This refers to his divinely appointed destiny or lot in the afterlife, the place and state eternally assigned to him as a result of his unfaithfulness. It denotes his share in the eternal inheritance, which for the unfaithful is one of judgment and separation.

• with the hypocrites (Greek: meta tōn hypokritōn - μετὰ τῶν ὑποκριτῶν): "Together with the actors/pretenders." The Greek hypokritēs originally referred to a stage actor or one who plays a part.

  • Significance: The evil servant's actions are fundamentally hypocritical; he pretends to serve the master while living according to his own corrupt desires. Jesus consistently condemned the hypocrisy of the religious elite (e.g., Matt 23). This association means the servant's end is shared with all those who present a facade of righteousness but whose hearts are far from God, highlighting spiritual duplicity as a key characteristic warranting severe judgment. This reveals God’s definitive judgment on outward pretense lacking inward truth.

• there shall be (Greek: ekei estai - ἐκεῖ ἔσται): This phrase explicitly indicates the specific locale or condition where the appointed portion with the hypocrites exists. It confirms a fixed, ultimate reality for those condemned.

• weeping (Greek: klauthmos - κλαυθμός): Intense, audible lamentation and sorrow. This signifies profound grief, despair, and anguish over the realization of lost blessings, irreversible exclusion, and the torment of their chosen path.

• and gnashing of teeth (Greek: kai brugmos tōn odontōn - καὶ βρυγμὸς τῶν ὀδóντων):

  • Brugmos means grinding or grating. It describes the grinding or clenching of teeth.
  • Significance: This is a recurring phrase in Matthew's Gospel, a proverbial idiom consistently associated with eternal damnation and exclusion from the kingdom of God (Mt 8:12; 13:42, 50; 22:13; 25:30). It conveys intense physical and emotional agony, bitter rage, frustrated despair, and the deep, inconsolable torment of those experiencing final judgment, knowing their fate is sealed and their suffering is irreversible. It expresses a combination of physical pain and spiritual torment, often linked with "outer darkness" signifying complete alienation from God's light and grace.

• Words-group Analysis:

  • "shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion": This powerful pairing underscores the comprehensive nature of the divine judgment: first, a violent act of dissolution or complete separation, followed by a specific, authoritative allocation of destiny. It reveals that the punishment is both active (a deed performed) and static (a final state assigned).
  • "with the hypocrites": This specific grouping emphasizes the true character and fellowship of the unfaithful servant. By identifying his fate with "hypocrites," Jesus classifies his betrayal of trust as an act of pretense and insincerity, underscoring that all forms of religious duplicity ultimately share the same condemnation.
  • "there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth": This triplet is a definitive, almost liturgical, phrase in Matthew that serves as a universal descriptor of eternal suffering for those cast out of God's presence. It consistently denotes a state of profound, inconsolable sorrow, bitter regret, intense mental and emotional distress, and often implied physical agony within "outer darkness," emphasizing the inescapable and ultimate despair of the condemned.

Matthew 24 51 Bonus section

The specific intensity of "cutting asunder" (dikotomēsei) could be rooted in a literal ancient judicial punishment involving dismemberment or extreme flogging to death, lending a horrific physical aspect to the spiritual judgment described. However, in the Gospel context, and especially paired with "appoint his portion," it leans more towards symbolizing total destruction, absolute severing from relationship with God, or exclusion that utterly demolishes a person's hope and being. It's a hyperbole to convey maximum severity, regardless of precise literal interpretation. Furthermore, this verse underscores the radical importance of faithful stewardship in the interval between Christ's first and second comings. The "evil servant's" primary fault was his presumption of the master's delay, leading to negligence, self-indulgence, and abuse of authority. This directly ties the consequence of severe judgment to a lack of diligent, constant readiness for the Lord's return. The repeated phrase "weeping and gnashing of teeth" serves as a distinct theological marker in Matthew's Gospel, indicating that despite varying behaviors and types of unfaithfulness (e.g., not doing the Father's will, neglecting the needy, not being prepared), the ultimate destiny for the excluded is characterized by this specific state of extreme remorse and suffering, signifying a shared fate of profound regret and anguish outside God's saving grace.

Matthew 24 51 Commentary

Matthew 24:51 encapsulates the unsparing finality of divine judgment upon the unfaithful servant in Christ's parable. The phrase "shall cut him asunder" paints a vivid, albeit potentially metaphorical, picture of extreme severance—utter destruction, permanent separation from divine favor, or irreversible spiritual ruin. It speaks not merely of dismissal but of a drastic, painful sundering of what once was. The condemned servant is then definitively assigned "his portion with the hypocrites." This categorization is crucial: his internal duplicity, masked by outward position, aligns him with all those who feign righteousness but lack true commitment to God. His judgment is justly linked with those who betray divine trust through pretense and disobedience. The climactic declaration, "there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth," powerfully characterizes the inescapable state of profound and agonizing despair. This recurring Matthean motif for ultimate judgment denotes inconsolable grief, bitter frustration, and acute torment—the irreversible sorrow of being utterly excluded from God's glorious presence and kingdom. The verse is a severe and direct warning to all who bear the name of Christ, calling for genuine fidelity, diligent stewardship, and vigilant preparation, lest they fall into the condemnation reserved for those who are unfaithful and spiritually dishonest upon the Master's unannounced return.