“Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned.
Parallel translations
- WEB Don’t judge, and you won’t be judged. Don’t condemn, and you won’t be condemned. Set free, and you will be set free.
- KJV Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:
- BSB Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
- NKJV “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
- NLT “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus warns against a censorious, condemning spirit and commends a forgiving one. The measure we extend to others reflects and affects the measure we receive.
Overview
This is not a ban on all moral discernment but a rebuke of harsh, self-righteous judgment that usurps God's role as Judge. A merciful, releasing disposition toward others corresponds to the mercy we ourselves receive. The forgiveness God grants in Christ frees us to extend forgiveness rather than condemnation.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Eph 4:32And be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving each other, just as God also in Christ forgave you.
- Jas 5:9Don’t grumble, brothers, against one another, so that you won’t be judged. Behold, the judge stands at the door.
- Matt 7:1–5“Don’t judge, so that you won’t be judged.
- Mark 11:25Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father, who is in heaven, may also forgive you your transgressions.
- 1 Cor 13:4–7Love is patient and is kind; love doesn’t envy. Love doesn’t brag, is not proud,
- Rom 2:1–2Therefore you are without excuse, O man, whoever you are who judge. For in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself. For you who judge practice the same things.
- Rom 14:10–16But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
- Matt 5:7Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
- Rom 14:3–4Don’t let him who eats despise him who doesn’t eat. Don’t let him who doesn’t eat judge him who eats, for God has accepted him.
- Col 3:13bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, if any man has a complaint against any; even as Christ forgave you, so you also do.
- Matt 18:34–35His lord was angry, and delivered him to the tormentors, until he should pay all that was due to him.
- Matt 6:14–15“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
- 1 Cor 4:3–5But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you, or by man’s judgment. Yes, I don’t judge my own self.
- Jas 4:11–12Don’t speak against one another, brothers. He who speaks against a brother and judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law, but a judge.
- Luke 17:3–4Be careful. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him. If he repents, forgive him.
- Isa 65:5who say, ‘Stay by yourself, don’t come near to me, for I am holier than you.’ These are smoke in my nose, a fire that burns all day.
- Matt 18:30He would not, but went and cast him into prison, until he should pay back that which was due.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 6:37 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.