Matthew 7:1-5

Do Not Judge

7:1 “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. ¹  7:2 For by the standard you judge you will be judged, and the measure you use will be the measure you receive. ²  7:3 Why ³  do you see the speck ⁴  in your brother’s eye, but fail to see ⁵  the beam of wood ⁶  in your own? 7:4 Or how can you say ⁷  to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye,’ while there is a beam in your own? 7:5 You hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

[7:1]  ¹ sn The point of the statement do not judge so that you will not be judged is that the standards we apply to others God applies to us. The passive verbs in this verse look to God’s action.

[7:2]  ² tn Grk “by [the measure] with which you measure it will be measured to you.”

[7:3]  ³ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[7:3]  ⁴ sn The term translated speck refers to a small piece of wood, chaff, or straw; see L&N 3.66.

[7:3]  ⁵ tn Or “do not notice.”

[7:3]  ⁶ sn The term beam of wood refers to a very big piece of wood, the main beam of a building, in contrast to the speck in the other’s eye (L&N 7.78).

[7:4]  ⁷ tn Grk “how will you say?”