Luke 6:36-38

6:36 Be merciful, ¹  just as your Father is merciful.

Do Not Judge Others

6:37 “Do ²  not judge, ³  and you will not be judged; ⁴  do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; forgive, ⁵  and you will be forgiven. 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you: A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, ⁶  will be poured ⁷  into your lap. For the measure you use will be the measure you receive.” ⁸ 

[6:36]  ¹ sn Merciful is a characteristic of God often noted in the OT: Exod 34:6; Deut 4:31; Joel 2:31; Jonah 4:2; 2 Sam 24:14. This remark also echoes the more common OT statements like Lev 19:2 or Deut 18:13: “you must be holy as I am holy.”

[6:37]  ² tn Grk “And do.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[6:37]  ³ sn As the Gospel makes clear, with the statement do not judge Jesus had in mind making a judgment that caused one to cut oneself off from someone so that they ceased to be reached out to (5:27-32; 15:1-32). Jesus himself did make judgments about where people stand (11:37-54), but not in such a way that he ceased to continue to offer them God’s grace.

[6:37]  ⁴ sn The point of the statement do not judge, and you will not be judged is that the standards one applies to others God applies back. The passive verbs in this verse look to God’s action.

[6:37]  ⁵ sn On forgive see Luke 11:4; 1 Pet 3:7.

[6:38]  ⁶ sn The background to the image pressed down, shaken together, running over is pouring out grain for measure in the marketplace. One often poured the grain into a container, shook it to level out the grain and then poured in some more. Those who are generous have generosity running over for them.

[6:38]  ⁷ tn Grk “they will give”; that is, “pour.” The third person plural has been replaced by the passive in the translation.

[6:38]  ⁸ tn Grk “by [the measure] with which you measure it will be measured back to you.”