Luke 6:37

Do Not Judge Others

6:37 “Do 1  not judge, 2  and you will not be judged; 3  do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; forgive, 4  and you will be forgiven.

Luke 17:4

17:4 Even if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times returns to you saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive 5  him.”

Luke 23:34

23:34 [But Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.”] 6  Then 7  they threw dice 8  to divide his clothes. 9 

1 tn Grk “And do.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

2 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.

3 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.

4 sn On forgive see Luke 11:4; 1 Pet 3:7.

5 sn You must forgive him. Forgiveness is to be readily given and not withheld. In a community that is to have restored relationships, grudges are not beneficial.

6 tc Many important mss (Ì75 א1 B D* W Θ 070 579 1241 pc sys sa) lack v. 34a. It is included in א*,2 (A) C D2 L Ψ 0250 Ë1,(13) 33 Ï lat syc,p,h. It also fits a major Lukan theme of forgiving the enemies (6:27-36), and it has a parallel in Stephen’s response in Acts 7:60. The lack of parallels in the other Gospels argues also for inclusion here. On the other hand, the fact of the parallel in Acts 7:60 may well have prompted early scribes to insert the saying in Luke’s Gospel alone. Further, there is the great difficulty of explaining why early and diverse witnesses lack the saying. A decision is difficult, but even those who regard the verse as inauthentic literarily often consider it to be authentic historically. For this reason it has been placed in single brackets in the translation.

7 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

8 tn Grk “cast lots” (probably by using marked pebbles or broken pieces of pottery). A modern equivalent “threw dice” was chosen here because of its association with gambling.

9 sn An allusion to Ps 22:18, which identifies Jesus as the suffering innocent one.