John 8:15

You people ¹  judge by outward appearances; ²  I do not judge anyone. ³ 

You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no-one.

"You judge according to the flesh; I am not judging anyone.

You judge me with all your human limitations, but I am not judging anyone.

You decide according to what you can see and touch. I don't make judgments like that.

You are judging from what you see; I am judging no man.

You judge by human standards; I judge no one.

"You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one.

You people ¹  judge by outward appearances; ²  I do not judge anyone. ³ 

¹ tn The word “people” is supplied in the translation to indicate that the pronoun and verb (“judge”) in Greek are plural.

² tn Or “judge according to external things”; Grk “according to the flesh.” These translations are given by BDAG 916 s.v. σάρξ 5.

³ 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.