“Do not judge, or you will be judged.
Parallel translations
- WEB “Don’t judge, so that you won’t be judged.
- KJV Judge not, that ye be not judged.
- NKJV “Judge not, that you be not judged.
- NASB “Do not judge, so that you will not be judged.
- NLT “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged.
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
Don't judge others in a censorious, condemning way, or you will be judged the same way. Jesus warns against a hypocritical, fault-finding spirit.
Overview
Opening a new section, Jesus forbids the harsh, self-righteous judging that condemns others while ignoring one's own sin. This is not a ban on all moral discernment—later verses require it—but a warning against a censorious heart. The standard we apply to others will rebound upon us, ultimately before God's own judgment seat.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Luke 6:37Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
- Rom 2:1–2You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on another. For on whatever grounds you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.
- Jas 4:11–12Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. And if you judge the law, you are not a practitioner of the law, but a judge of it.
- Luke 6:41Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but fail to notice the beam in your own eye?
- Rom 14:10–13Why, then, do you judge your brother? Or why do you belittle your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.
- Matt 7:5You hypocrite! First take the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
- 1 Cor 4:3–5I care very little, however, if I am judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself.
- Rom 14:3–4The one who eats everything must not belittle the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted him.
- Matt 7:2For with the same judgment you pronounce, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
- Ezek 16:52–56So now you must bear your disgrace, since you have brought justification for your sisters. For they appear more righteous than you, because your sins were more vile than theirs. So you too must bear your shame and disgrace, since you have made your sisters appear righteous.
- Jas 3:1Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.
- Isa 66:5You who tremble at His word, hear the word of the LORD: “Your brothers who hate you and exclude you because of My name have said, ‘Let the LORD be glorified that we may see your joy!’ But they will be put to shame.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 7:1 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.