ContradictionsReading order 104Bible context 3 min read
To judge or not to judge.
Broad prohibitions on judgment contrast with commands to judge fairly and exercise judgment within the religious community.
- Textual conflict
- Interpretive tension
- The passages pull in different directions, but the conflict depends on how their wording, scope, or narrative context is read.
- Importance
- Foundational
- A central claim about origins, salvation, divine justice, or religious authority.
Absolute-sounding bans on judgment meet explicit duties to judge, but scope, grounds, and timing distinguish many cases.
An editorial assessment of the quoted passages. Importance describes the stakes; it does not increase certainty. Reading order weighs both.
People are told not to judge others or judge before God's arrival
Judge not, that ye be not judged.
Matthew 7:1
Translation / edition: King James Version (KJV)
Read the full chapter:Matthew 7
Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:
Luke 6:37
Translation / edition: King James Version (KJV)
Read the full chapter:Luke 6