Matthew 12:37

Matthew 12:37 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
• New International Version (NIV)For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."
• New King James Version (NKJV)For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Context of Matthew 12:37

35It is like things that you bring out of a room where you keep them. The good man says good things because he keeps good thoughts in his mind. The bad man says bad things because he keeps bad thoughts in his mind. 36I tell you this: One day, God will judge everybody. On that day, he will ask you about every useless word that you have spoken. God will think about the words that you have spoken. Then he will decide whether to let you go free or to punish you.’ 38Then some teachers of God's Law and some Pharisees said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, we want to see you do something powerful. This will show us that God has really sent you.’ 39Jesus replied, ‘The people who are alive today are very bad. They do not obey God, but they want God to show them something powerful. But God will not do this for them. They will only see the same powerful thing that God did for his prophet Jonah.

Matthew 12:37 word by word

ἐκ γὰρ τῶν λόγων σου δικαιωθήσῃ καὶ ἐκ τῶν λόγων σου καταδικασθήσῃ.¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Forγάρgar · forG1063
• byἐκek ex · out fromG1537
• thyσύsu · youG4771
• wordsὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• wordsλόγοςlogos · wordG3056
• thou shalt be justifiedδικαιόωdikaioō · to justifyG1344
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• thou shalt be condemnedκαταδικάζωkatadikazō · to condemnG2613

Cross-references for Matthew 12:37

• Proverbs 13:3Someone who thinks before he speaks will keep his life safe. But someone who talks too much will destroy himself.
• James 2:21Think about our ancestor Abraham. He offered his son Isaac on the altar as a gift to God. Because he did that good thing, God accepted him as right with himself.

Commentaries on Matthew 12:37

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 37By thy words thou shalt be justified - That is, the whole tenor of thy conversation will be an evidence for or against thee, in the great day. How many are there who count words for nothing! and yet eternity often depends on them. Lord, put a watch before the door of my lips! is a prayer proper for all men.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 37By thy words thou shalt be justified … - That is, “words” are the indication of the true principles of the heart; by “words” the heart shall be known, as the tree is by its fruit. If they are true, proper, chaste, instructive, pious, they will prove that the heart is right. If false, envious, malignant, and impious, they will prove that the heart is wrong, and will therefore be among the causes of condemnation. It is not meant that words will be the only…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 33-37Verses 33-37 Men's language discovers what country they are of, likewise what manner of spirit they are of. The heart is the fountain, words are the streams. A troubled fountain, and a corrupt spring, must send forth muddy and unpleasant streams. Nothing but the salt of grace, cast into the spring, will heal the waters, season the speech, and purify the corrupt communication. An evil man has an evil treasure in his heart, and out of it brings forth evil…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 36-37The careless word, in this context, was the claim that demons empowered Jesus. What a person says will either free or condemn them on the day of judgment. What people say shows the true state of their hearts.Read the comment

Topics related to Matthew 12:37

• Conversation
• Jesus, the Christ
• Judgment
• Miracles
• Responsibility
• Speaking
• Words

In the dictionaries

• Adulterous
• Condemn
• Desolation
• Idle
• Judgment
• Restore
• Sin
• Wither
• Jesus Christ
• Matthew, the Gospel of

Commentaries on Matthew 12

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Catena Aurea
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• John Lightfoot Commentary
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings