“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.
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.
- NASB “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.
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.