Luke 6:37 (KJV)

What does Luke 6:37 mean?

In Luke 6:37, Jesus connects how people treat others with how they themselves will be treated. He tells his listeners to refrain from passing judgment and condemning, and to forgive, with the promise that they will not be judged or condemned and will be forgiven.

Jesus is speaking to his disciples within hearing of a larger crowd. Following his call to be merciful in verse 36, he gives three examples of how mercy relates to the way people regard and treat one another.

The Greek behind Luke 6:37

• “Judge” — κρίνω (krinō): This word can mean to form a judgment or make a decision about someone. Here it stands alongside “condemn,” giving the warning a focus on judging people.
• “condemn” — καταδικάζω (katadikazō): This word carries the sense of declaring someone guilty. It suggests a judgment that goes beyond forming an opinion to pronouncing a person blameworthy.
• “forgive” — ἀπολύω (apolyō): This word can mean to release or let go. Here it pictures forgiveness as releasing someone from a claim held against them.

Why Luke 6:37 matters

• Jesus speaks in paired statements. Each instruction has a corresponding outcome: “judge not” is paired with “ye shall not be judged,” and “forgive” with “ye shall be forgiven.”
• The surrounding passage also calls for careful discernment, not blindness to wrongdoing. In verse 42, Jesus speaks of removing a “mote,” or speck, from another person’s eye after dealing with the “beam” in one’s own.
• The verse places forgiveness beside mercy rather than presenting it as merely a private feeling. The image of release in “forgive” points to a change in how one treats another person.