# His winnowing fork is in his hand

John speaks of the Christ coming to judge people as being like a farmer who is ready to separate wheat seeds from chaff. Alternate translation: "He is like a farmer whose winnowing fork is in his hand"

# winnowing fork

This is a tool for tossing wheat grains into the air to separate the wheat seed from the chaff. The heavier seed falls back down and the unwanted chaff is blown away by the wind.

# threshing floor

The threshing floor was the place where people beat the wheat stalks so that the grains would fall off of them. Then they would winnow the grain.

# to gather the wheat

"to gather the wheat seeds." This is the part of the wheat that is stored and used for food.

# will burn up the chaff

The chaff is not useful for anything, so people burn it up.