John 3:17

3:17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, ¹  but that the world should be saved through him.

John 5:22-27

5:22 Furthermore, the Father does not judge ²  anyone, but has assigned ³  all judgment to the Son, 5:23 so that all people ⁴  will honor the Son just as they honor the Father. The one who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.

5:24 “I tell you the solemn truth, ⁵  the one who hears ⁶  my message ⁷  and believes the one who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned, ⁸  but has crossed over from death to life. 5:25 I tell you the solemn truth, ⁹  a time ¹⁰  is coming – and is now here – when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 5:26 For just as the Father has life in himself, thus he has granted the Son to have life in himself, 5:27 and he has granted the Son ¹¹  authority to execute judgment, ¹²  because he is the Son of Man.

John 8:15

8:15 You people ¹³  judge by outward appearances; ¹⁴  I do not judge anyone. ¹⁵ 

Jeremiah 1:9-10

1:9 Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I will most assuredly give you the words you are to speak for me. ¹⁶  1:10 Know for certain that ¹⁷  I hereby give you the authority to announce to nations and kingdoms that they will be ¹⁸  uprooted and torn down, destroyed and demolished, rebuilt and firmly planted.” ¹⁹ 

Luke 2:34

2:34 Then ²⁰  Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, “Listen carefully: ²¹  This child ²²  is destined to be the cause of the falling and rising ²³  of many in Israel and to be a sign that will be rejected. ²⁴ 

Luke 13:30

13:30 But ²⁵  indeed, ²⁶  some are last ²⁷  who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”

Luke 13:2

13:2 He ²⁸  answered them, “Do you think these Galileans were worse sinners ²⁹  than all the other Galileans, because they suffered these things?

Colossians 2:16

2:16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you with respect to food or drink, or in the matter of a feast, new moon, or Sabbath days –

¹ sn That is, “to judge the world to be guilty and liable to punishment.”

² tn Or “condemn.”

³ tn Or “given,” or “handed over.”

⁴ tn Grk “all.” The word “people” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for stylistic reasons and for clarity (cf. KJV “all men”).

⁵ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

⁶ tn Or “obeys.”

⁷ tn Or “word.”

⁸ tn Grk “and does not come into judgment.”

⁹ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

¹⁰ tn Grk “an hour.”

¹¹ tn Grk “him.”

¹² tn Grk “authority to judge.”

¹³ tn The word “people” is supplied in the translation to indicate that the pronoun and verb (“judge”) in Greek are plural.

¹⁴ tn Or “judge according to external things”; Grk “according to the flesh.” These translations are given by BDAG 916 s.v. σάρξ 5.

¹⁵ sn What is the meaning of Jesus’ statement “I do not judge anyone”? It is clear that Jesus did judge (even in the next verse). The point is that he didn’t practice the same kind of judgment that the Pharisees did. Their kind of judgment was condemnatory. They tried to condemn people. Jesus did not come to judge the world, but to save it (3:17). Nevertheless, and not contradictory to this, the coming of Jesus did bring judgment, because it forced people to make a choice. Would they accept Jesus or reject him? Would they come to the light or shrink back into the darkness? As they responded, so were they judged – just as 3:19-21 previously stated. One’s response to Jesus determines one’s eternal destiny.

¹⁶ tn Heb “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.” This is an example of the Hebrew “scheduling” perfect or the “prophetic” perfect where a future event is viewed as so certain it is spoken of as past. The Hebrew particle rendered here “assuredly” (Heb הִנֵּה, hinneh) underlines the certitude of the promise for the future. See the translator’s note on v. 6.

¹⁷ tn Heb “See!” The Hebrew imperative of the verb used here (רָאָה, ra’ah) functions the same as the particle in v. 9. See the translator’s note there.

¹⁸ tn Heb “I appoint you today over nations and kingdoms to uproot….” The phrase refers to the Lord giving Jeremiah authority as a prophet to declare what he, the Lord, will do; it does not mean that Jeremiah himself will do these things. The expression involves a figure of speech where the subject of a declaration is stated instead of the declaration about it. Compare a similar use of the same figure in Gen 41:13.

¹⁹ sn These three pairs represent the twofold nature of Jeremiah’s prophecies, prophecies of judgment and restoration. For the further programmatic use of these pairs for Jeremiah’s ministry see 18:7-10 and 31:27-28.

²⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

²¹ tn Grk “behold.”

²² tn Grk “this one”; the referent (the child) is supplied in the translation for clarity.

²³ sn The phrase the falling and rising of many emphasizes that Jesus will bring division in the nation, as some will be judged (falling) and others blessed (rising) because of how they respond to him. The language is like Isa 8:14-15 and conceptually like Isa 28:13-16. Here is the first hint that Jesus’ coming will be accompanied with some difficulties.

²⁴ tn Grk “and for a sign of contradiction.”

²⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

²⁶ tn Grk “behold.”

²⁷ sn Some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last. Jesus’ answer is that some who are expected to be there (many from Israel) will not be there, while others not expected to be present (from other nations) will be present. The question is not, “Will the saved be few?” (see v. 23), but “Will it be you?”

²⁸ tn Grk “And he.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

²⁹ sn Jesus did not want his hearers to think that tragedy was necessarily a judgment on these people because they were worse sinners.