In Greek this verse reads Judge not, that you be not judged. In English the verb Judge generally requires an object, and for that reason Good News Translation has supplied the object “others.” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Bijbel in Gewone Taal, and Bible en français courant have done the same thing, as has Barclay.

Most translators avoid rendering Judge as “criticize.” Some use a word that means to examine the facts about someone and make a decision, very much as a judge might make a decision. More often, however, translators have felt the context indicates here that the idea is more “declare guilty” or “condemn.” Thus, possible translations are “Don’t pass judgment on people,” “Don’t decide other people are guilty,” or “Don’t condemn people.”

The Greek passive that you be not judged is assumed by the majority of scholars to be a reference to God as judge. Most translations maintain the passive form and so are ambiguous. Jerusalem Bible retains the passive, but with a footnote indicating the meaning: “Do not judge others if you do not wish to be judged by God.” Several translations switch to the active, with God as the explicit subject (Good News Translation, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Bible en français courant, Bijbel in Gewone Taal). Phillips obviously takes it as human judgment: “Don’t criticize people, and you will not be criticized.” In the solemn context of the Sermon on the Mount, it seems extremely doubtful that Jesus would be warning against the danger of reciprocal criticism from one’s fellowman. The situation demands that God be the subject of the passive verb.

Failure to make “God” explicit in the second part almost invariably leads people to believe the verse is saying “Don’t judge other people so they won’t judge you.” For this reason it is advisable to say “so God won’t judge you,” as in Good News Translation and other dynamic translations, or “so God won’t condemn you.” Jewish writers used the passive to avoid pronouncing God’s name, but the hearers understood that God was the agent. Few cultures today share this taboo, and there is no reason to maintain it, especially if the passive would not be correctly understood.

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1988. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .