Before him means “in front of him” and does not refer to before him in time.

Will be gathered may imply an agent, as in “They will gather all the nations before him,” but it may also have the meaning “will come together” or “will gather themselves together” (see, for example, 22.41; 26.3; 27.17). Several commentators believe that the verb refers primarily to the action of a shepherd gathering his sheep, and that is the symbolism intended here. But Matthew uses this verb twenty-four times in his Gospel, and in all of the New Testament it appears some fifty-nine times, but never with “sheep” as its object. Since it is unlikely, therefore, that sheep are implied, there is also little basis for assuming the shepherd as agent. So it is not very likely that Matthew intends that the verb be understood in a sense of someone actually gathering the people for this judgment scene. Thus “will gather together” will be the better rendering.

In place of all the nations, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch has “all the people of the earth.” New Jerusalem Bible‘s footnote indicates that the meaning is “Every human being of every period of history.” This is important because the translation should not give the impression that the judge will separate righteous nations from others; it is the righteous people as individuals who will be separated from the others.

As a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats reflects Palestinian life. During the day the sheep and goats graze together, but at night they are separated, because goats must be kept warm at night, while sheep prefer to sleep in the open air. Good News Translation and Barclay have rendered separate them one from another as “divide (or, separate) them into two groups.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1988. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .