Sermon on Mount, law and fulfillment, visible and hidden, temporary and permanent, criticism and acceptance
Matthew 7:1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.
Matthew 7:1 Do not judge, or you too will be judged.
You all shouldn't judge so that you all aren't judged.
We can only criticize the visible and temporary.
The Greek source here is short, only five words, a couple of negatives and a the same verb used twice, with a conjunction to join them. Because of the many different shades of meanings in the verb, it has many different shades of meanings in translation.
The terms used here for "judge" and "shall be judged" primarily means "to separate", "to put asunder," and "to distinguish." It has a lot of other secondary meanings. Unlike most words, which Jesus uses specifically, he uses this word in a variety of ways simply because no English word corresponds to it precisely. It can mean "judge", "criticize", "decide", "discriminate," and "separate," depending on the context.
Since this is the first line in a new topic in his Sermon, we have very little context other than continuing the idea of "temporary and permanent, visible and invisible." However, from the following verse, the meaning seems to be more in the sense of "criticize". The form in this first occurrence is active and either a command or a simple statement, "don't criticize" or "you shouldn't criticize." The second occurrence is passive and either "you won't be criticized" or "you shouldn't be criticized."
- WW - Wrong Word -- The word translated as "or" should be "that."
- IW - Inserted Word -- The word "to" doesn't exist in the source.
- WT - Wrong Tense - The verb "will" indicates the future tense, but the tense is something happening at a point in time past, present, or future.
Judge - The term used here for "judge" primarily means "to separate", "to put asunder," and "to distinguish." It can mean "judge", "criticize", "decide", "discriminate," and "separate," depending on the context. This verb is a plural command.
not, - The negative used twice here is the Greek negative of a subjective opinion, commands, and requests. The sense is that "you don't want" to do something, not that it isn't done. But since "judging" is by its nature a subjective opinion, this negative should usually be used with it.
that - The word translated as "that" introduces dependent phrases and means "that", "where" and "when". It has the sense of "because" but Christ uses another word in that specific meaning.
ye -- This is from the second-person, plural form of the verb.
be -- This helping verb "be" indicates that the verb is passive. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English.
not - The negative used twice here is the Greek negative of a subjective opinion, commands, and requests.
judged. - The term used here for "judge" primarily means "to separate", "to put asunder," and "to distinguish." It can mean "judge", "criticize", "decide", "discriminate," and "separate," depending on the context. The form here could be a statement of possibility, which would require a "should" or a "might." It could also be a simple statement.
Do -- This helping verb is used to create commands, negative statements, and smooth word flow in English, but the Greek could be either a question or a statement.
not, - The negative used twice here is the Greek negative of a subjective opinion, commands, and requests. The sense is that "you don't want" to do something, not that it isn't done. But since "judging" is by its nature a subjective opinion, this negative should usually be used with it.
judge, - The term used here for "judge" primarily means "to separate", "to put asunder," and "to distinguish." It can mean "judge", "criticize", "decide", "discriminate," and "separate," depending on the context. This verb is a plural command.
or - (WW) The word translated as "or" introduces dependent phrases and means "that", "where" and "when". It has the sense of "because" but Christ uses another word in that specific meaning.
you -- This is from the second-person, plural form of the verb.
too - (IW) There is nothing that can be translated as "too" in the Greek source.
will -- (WT) The verb here is not the future tense. This could be a "should" or "might" because the form could be one of possibility.
be -- This helping verb "be" indicates that the verb is passive. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English.
not - The negative used twice here is the Greek negative of a subjective opinion, commands, and requests.
judged. - The term used here for "judge" primarily means "to separate", "to put asunder," and "to distinguish." It can mean "judge", "criticize", "decide", "discriminate," and "separate," depending on the context. The form here could be a statement of possibility, which would require a "should" or a "might." It could also be a simple statement.
Μὴ (partic) "Not" is from me, which is the negative used in prohibitions and expressions of doubt meaning "not" and "no." As οὐ (ou) negates fact and statement; μή rejects, οὐ denies; μή is relative, οὐ absolute; μή subjective, οὐ objective. -
κρίνετε, (2nd pl pres ind act or verb 2nd pl pres imperat act or verb 2nd pl aor subj act ) "Judge" is from krino, which primarily means "to separate", "to put asunder," and "to distinguish." It has a lot of other secondary meanings, including "to pick out", "to choose", "to decide" disputes or accounts, "to win" a battle, "to judge" especially in the sense of "estimate", "to expound," or "to interpret" in a particular way.
ἵνα (conj/adv) "That" is from hina, which means "in that place", "there", "where", "when", "that", "in order that", "when," and "because."
μὴ (partic) "Not" is from me, which is the negative used in prohibitions and expressions of doubt meaning "not" and "no." As οὐ (ou) negates fact and statement; μή rejects, οὐ denies; μή is relative, οὐ absolute; μή subjective, οὐ objective.
κριθῆτε: (2nd pl aor subj pass or verb 2nd pl aor ind pass) "Be judged" is from krino, which primarily means "to separate", "to put asunder," and "to distinguish." It has a lot of other secondary meanings, including "to pick out", "to choose", "to decide" disputes or accounts, "to win" a battle, "to judge" especially in the sense of "estimate", "to expound," or "to interpret" in a particular way.
A play on the many meanings of "to separate" from "to discriminate" to "to decide."
An ascetic wearing animal skins, asked the next question. His attire marked him as a follower of Joahnen, the Nazarene’s cousin. Later, we met his brother in the town of Magdela where he ran a shop. We discovered that the ascetic’s name was Iozeph. His brother was called Eleasar.
“We ascetics think that your worriers who think but food, drink, and status are fools. Are we right?” the scrawny Iozeph called out.
“You all don’t want to judge,” the Teacher suggested.
“Why not?” the ascetic asked flippantly.
“Because,” the Teacher explained lightheartedly, “you all don’t want to be judged.”