Matthew 12:36

Matthew 12:36 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
• New International Version (NIV)But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken.
• English Standard Version (ESV)I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak,
• New King James Version (NKJV)But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.

Context of Matthew 12:36

34Offspring of vipers! How are you able to say anything good, since you are evil? For the mouth speaks from what fills the heart. 35The good person brings good things out of his good treasury, and the evil person brings evil things out of his evil treasury. I tell you that on the day of judgment, people will give an account for every worthless word they speak. 37For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” 38Then some of the experts in the law along with some Pharisees answered him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”

Matthew 12:36 word by word

Λέγω δὲ ὑμῖν ὅτι πᾶν ῥῆμα ἀργὸν ὃ λαλήσουσιν οἱ ἄνθρωποι, ἀποδώσουσιν περὶ αὐτοῦ λόγον ἐν ἡμέρᾳ κρίσεως.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Butδέde · thenG1161
• I sayλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
• unto youσύsu · youG4771
• Thatὅτιhoti · that/since: thatG3754
• everyπᾶςpas · allG3956
• idleἀργόςargos · idleG692
• wordῥῆμαrhēma · declarationG4487
• thatὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
• ·ἐάνean · ifG1437
• menὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• menἄνθρωποςanthrōpos · a humanG444
• shall speakλαλέωlaleō · to speakG2980
• they shall giveἀποδίδωμιapodidōmi · to payG591
• accountλόγοςlogos · wordG3056
• ·περίperi · aboutG4012
• thereofαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• the dayἡμέραhēmera · dayG2250
• of judgmentκρίσιςkrisis · judgmentG2920

Cross-references for Matthew 12:36

• Ecclesiastes 12:14For God will evaluate every deed, including every secret thing, whether good or evil.
• Romans 2:16on the day when God will judge the secrets of human hearts, according to my gospel through Christ Jesus.
• Ephesians 6:4Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but raise them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
• Jude 1:14Now Enoch, the seventh in descent beginning with Adam, even prophesied of them, saying, “Look! The Lord is coming with thousands and thousands of his holy ones,
• Revelation 20:12And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne. Then books were opened, and another book was opened – the book of life. So the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to their deeds.

Commentaries on Matthew 12:36

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 36Every idle word - , a word that does nothing, that neither ministers grace nor instruction to them who hear it. The word corresponds to the Hebrew שוא shave, which signifies not only vain or empty, but also wicked and injurious, such as a false testimony against a neighbor, compare Deuteronomy 5:11, Deuteronomy 5:20. Add to this, that Symmachus translates פגול piggul, polluted, Leviticus 19:7, by the very Greek word in the text. It was to explain this…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 36But I say unto you … - Christ closes this address to his malignant and wicked hearers by a solemn declaration that for these things God would bring them into judgment. Therefore. They who had spoken so malignantly against him, could not escape. Idle word - This literally means a vain, thoughtless, useless word; a word that accomplishes no good. Here it means, evidently, “wicked, injurious, false, malicious, for such” were the words which they had spoken.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
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 3636. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment--They might say, "It was nothing: we meant no evil; we merely threw out a supposition, as one way of accounting for the miracle we witnessed; if it will not stand, let it go; why make so much of it, and bear down with such severity for it?" Jesus replies, "It was not nothing, and at the great day will not be treated as nothing: Words…Read the comment

Topics related to Matthew 12:36

• Conversation
• Jesting
• Jesus, the Christ
• Judgment
• Miracles
• Slander
• Speaking
• Words

In the dictionaries

• Day of Judgment
• Adulterous
• Condemn
• Desolation
• Idle
• Judgment
• Restore
• Sin
• Wither
• Give

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