You, 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.
Parallel translations
- WEB Therefore 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.
- KJV Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.
- NKJV Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.
- NASB Therefore you have no excuse, you foolish person, everyone of you who passes judgment; for in that matter in which you judge someone else, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.
- NLT You may think you can condemn such people, but you are just as bad, and you have no excuse! When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you who judge others do these very same things.
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
Anyone who judges others is without excuse, because in judging he condemns himself by doing the same things. Moral self-righteousness offers no escape from guilt.
Overview
Paul pivots from the openly sinful (chapter 1) to the self-righteous moralist who condemns others. The very act of passing judgment proves the judge knows right from wrong, yet he commits the same sins. This closes off the escape route of comparing oneself favorably to others. All are implicated, the moral critic no less than the immoral pagan.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- 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 2:3So when you, O man, pass judgment on others, yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment?
- John 8:7–9When they continued to question Him, He straightened up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to cast a stone at her.”
- Rom 2:21–23you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal?
- Matt 7:1–5“Do not judge, or you will be judged.
- Rom 1:18–20The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness.
- 2 Sam 12:5–7David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan: “As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die!
- Ps 50:16–20To the wicked, however, God says, “What right have you to recite My statutes and to bear My covenant on your lips?
- Rom 9:20But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to Him who formed it, “Why did You make me like this?”
- Matt 23:29–31Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous.
- Jas 4:11Brothers, 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.
- Jas 2:20O foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is worthless?
- Luke 19:22His master replied, ‘You wicked servant, I will judge you by your own words. So you knew that I am a harsh man, withdrawing what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow?
- Rom 2:26–27If a man who is not circumcised keeps the requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision?
- 1 Cor 7:16How do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Paul unfolds the gospel in full: Christ our righteousness received by faith, the second Adam in whom many are made righteous, in whose death and resurrection we are buried and raised.
How Romans 2:1 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.