New Living Translation
John 7:24
24Look beneath the surface so you can judge correctly.”
John 7:24 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.
- New International Version (NIV)Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment."
- New King James Version (NKJV)Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”
Context of John 7:24
22But you work on the Sabbath, too, when you obey Moses’ law of circumcision. (Actually, this tradition of circumcision began with the patriarchs, long before the law of Moses.) 23For if the correct time for circumcising your son falls on the Sabbath, you go ahead and do it so as not to break the law of Moses. So why should you be angry with me for healing a man on the Sabbath? Look beneath the surface so you can judge correctly.” 25Some of the people who lived in Jerusalem started to ask each other, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? 26But here he is, speaking in public, and they say nothing to him. Could our leaders possibly believe that he is the Messiah?
Read all of John 7John 7:24 word by word
μὴ κρίνετε κατ᾽ ὄψιν, ἀλλὰ τὴν δικαίαν κρίσιν κρίνετε.Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for John 7:24
- John 8:15You judge me by human standards, but I do not judge anyone.
- Deuteronomy 1:16“At that time I instructed the judges, ‘You must hear the cases of your fellow Israelites and the foreigners living among you. Be perfectly fair in your decisions
- Deuteronomy 16:18“Appoint judges and officials for yourselves from each of your tribes in all the towns the Lord your God is giving you. They must judge the people fairly.
- Psalms 58:1Justice—do you rulers know the meaning of the word? Do you judge the people fairly?
- Psalms 82:2“How long will you hand down unjust decisions by favoring the wicked? Interlude
- Psalms 94:20Can unjust leaders claim that God is on their side— leaders whose decrees permit injustice?
- Proverbs 17:15Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent— both are detestable to the Lord.
- Proverbs 24:23Here are some further sayings of the wise: It is wrong to show favoritism when passing judgment.
- Isaiah 5:23They take bribes to let the wicked go free, and they punish the innocent.
- Isaiah 11:3He will delight in obeying the Lord. He will not judge by appearance nor make a decision based on hearsay.
- James 2:1My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others?
Commentaries on John 7:24
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 24Judge not according to the appearance - Attend to the law, not merely in the letter, but in its spirit and design. Learn that the law which commands men to rest on the Sabbath day is subordinate to the law of mercy and love, which requires them to be ever active to promote God's glory in the comfort and salvation of their fellow creatures; and endeavor to judge of the merit or demerit of an action, not from the first impression it may make upon your…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 24Judge not according to the appearance - Not as a thing first offers itself to you, without reflection or candor. In appearance, to circumcise a child on the Sabbath might be a violation of the law; yet you do it, and it is right. So, to appearance, it might be a violation of the Sabbath to heal a man, yet it is right to do works of necessity and mercy. Judge righteous judgment - Candidly; looking at the law, and inquiring what its spirit really requires.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 14-24Verses 14-24 Every faithful minister may humbly adopt Christ's words. His doctrine is not his own finding out, but is from God's word, through the teaching of his Spirit. And amidst the disputes which disturb the world, if any man, of any nation, seeks to do the will of God, he shall know whether the doctrine is of God, or whether men speak of themselves. Only those who hate the truth shall be given up to errors which will be fatal. Surely it was as…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-52This chapter describes Jesus at the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles. Jesus used parts of the feast to reveal his true identity to his fellow Jews and to show that he had fulfilled the feast's essential meaning (see 7:37–39; 8:12).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 21-2421-24. I have done one work, &c.--Taking no notice of the popular appeal, as there were those there who knew well enough what He meant, He recalls His cure of the impotent man, and the murderous rage it had kindled (Joh 5:9, 16, 18). It may seem strange that He should refer to an event a year and a half old, as if but newly done. But their present attempt "to kill Him" brought up the past scene vividly, not only to Him, but without doubt to them, too, if…Read the comment
Topics related to John 7:24
In the dictionaries
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
New Living Translation — © 1996, 2004, 2015 Tyndale House Foundation
Commentaries