John 7:51

John 7:51 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Doth our law judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he doeth?
• New International Version (NIV)“Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?”
• English Standard Version (ESV)"Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?"
• New King James Version (NKJV)“Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?”

Context of John 7:51

49But this crowd which does not know the Law is accursed.” 50Nicodemus (he who came to Him before, being one of them) said to them, “Our Law does not judge a man unless it first hears from him and knows what he is doing, does it?” 52They answered him, “You are not also from Galilee, are you? Search, and see that no prophet arises out of Galilee.” 53[Everyone went to his home.

John 7:51 word by word

μὴ ὁ νόμος ἡμῶν κρίνει τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἐὰν μὴ ἀκούσῃ πρῶτον παρ᾽ αὐτοῦ καὶ γνῷ τί ποιεῖ;¶Read the interlinear

• Our Lawνόμοςnomos · lawG3551
• does not judgeκρίνωkrinō · to judgeG2919
• a manἄνθρωποςanthrōpos · a humanG444
• unlessἐάνean · ifG1437
• unlessμήmē · notG3361
• it firstπρῶτοςprōtos · firstG4413
• hearsἀκούωakouō · to hearG191
• from him and knowsγινώσκωginōskō · to knowG1097
• whatτίςtis · which?G5101
• he is doingποιέωpoieō · to do/make: doG4160

Cross-references for John 7:51

• Deuteronomy 1:17You shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall hear the small and the great alike. You shall not fear man, for the judgment is God’s. The case that is too hard for you, you shall bring to me, and I will hear it.’
• Deuteronomy 17:8“If any case is too difficult for you to decide, between one kind of homicide or another, between one kind of lawsuit or another, and between one kind of assault or another, being cases of dispute in your courts, then you shall arise and go up to the place which the Lord your God chooses.
• Deuteronomy 19:15“A single witness shall not rise up against a man on account of any iniquity or any sin which he has committed; on the evidence of two or three witnesses a matter shall be confirmed.
• Proverbs 18:13He who gives an answer before he hears, It is folly and shame to him.

Commentaries on John 7:51

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 51Doth our law judge any man - , the man, i.e. who is accused. Perhaps Nicodemus did not refer so much to any thing in the law of Moses, as to what was commonly practiced among them. Josephus says, Ant. b. xiv. c. 9. s. 3, That the law has forbidden any man to be put to death, though wicked, unless he be first condemned to die by the Sanhedrin. It was probably to this law, which is not expressly mentioned in the five books of Moses, that Nicodemus here…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 40-53Verses 40-53 The malice of Christ's enemies is always against reason, and sometimes the staying of it cannot be accounted for. Never any man spake with that wisdom, and power, and grace, that convincing clearness, and that sweetness, wherewith Christ spake. Alas, that many, who are for a time restrained, and who speak highly of the word of Jesus, speedily lose their convictions, and go on in their sins! People are foolishly swayed by outward motives in…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 49-51Nicodemus was likely starting to believe in Jesus (see 3:1–21; 19:38–42). Some leaders claimed that none of the Pharisees believed in Jesus (7:48). They spoke as if only the crowd, whom the leaders believed did not understand the law, supported him. However, Nicodemus shows that this was not completely true. Not only the people in the crowd, but also some Pharisees were beginning to believe in him.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 50-5350-53. Nicodemus--reappearing to us after nearly three years' absence from the history, as a member of the council, probably then sitting.Read the comment

Topics related to John 7:51

• Jesus, the Christ
• Justice
• Nicodemus
• Self-Defense
• Trial

In the dictionaries

• Division
• Galilee
• Judge
• Thither
• Jesus Christ
• John, Gospel of
• Law in the New Testament
• Nicodemus
• Temple

Commentaries on John 7

• 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
• 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
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings