Open Bible Data Home About News OET Key
OET OET-RV OET-LV ULT UST BSB MSB BLB AICNT OEB WEBBE WMBB NET LSV FBV TCNT T4T LEB BBE Moff JPS Wymth ASV DRA YLT Drby RV SLT Wbstr KJB-1769 KJB-1611 Bshps Gnva Cvdl TNT Wycl SR-GNT UHB BrLXX BrTr Related Topics Parallel Interlinear Reference Dictionary Search
InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
Mat C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21 C22 C23 C24 C25 C26 C27 C28
Mat 12 V1 V3 V5 V7 V9 V11 V13 V15 V17 V19 V21 V23 V25 V27 V29 V31 V33 V35 V39 V41 V43 V45 V47 V49
OET (OET-LV) For/Because you_will_be_being_justified by the messages of_you, and you_will_be_being_convicted by the messages of_you.
OET (OET-RV) because you’ll be either be convicted, or be declared guiltless, by the things that you yourself have said.”
In this section, Jesus continued to respond to the Pharisees’ accusation that he cast out evil spirits by the power of Satan. First, he said that the Pharisees needed to be consistent in their beliefs about him. Then he warned them that God would judge them for the words that they said.
Here are some other possible headings for this section:
A tree is known by its fruit
A tree and its fruit
People know you by your words (NCV)
This paragraph begins a new section. In this paragraph Jesus continued speaking. In some languages, it may be natural to make it explicit that Jesus continued speaking. For example:
Jesus continued and said,
Before you begin translating this verse, think about the most natural way to translate it in your language. This verse has two parallel parts:
aby your words you will be aquitted
bby your words you will be condemned
In some languages, it will be natural to combine these two parts. For example:
The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you. (NLT)
they will be told that they are either innocent or guilty because of the things they have said. (CEV)
For by your words you will be acquitted,
That is true because you will be declared innocent based on your words,
God will judge and declare a person not guilty because of the words he has spoken,
God will use your words to judge you either innocent
This clause continues to refer to what will happen on the day of judgment.
For: Verse 12:37 explains what Jesus said in 12:36. The Greek introduces this explanation with a conjunction that the BSB translates as For.
Here are some other ways to introduce this explanation:
Let me explain further
That is true because
Some English versions do not introduce this explanation with a conjunction. In some languages, a conjunction will not be necessary here either.
by your words you will be acquitted: This clause means that your words will determine whether God declares you innocent. In other words, on judgment day, God will examine your words and declare you either innocent or guilty. If you have spoken good words, God will declare you “not guilty.”
This clause is passive. Here are some other ways to translate it:
Use a passive verb. For example:
By your words you will be declared innocent (GW)
A person will be declared innocent because of the words that he has said
Use an active verb. For example:
God will judge you and declare you innocent because of the words you have said
God will use the words that a person has said to judge him innocent
your words you: In 12:36, Jesus spoke of “men”/people. Here in 12:37 he switched and used the singular pronouns your and you. But 12:37 still has a general application to all people. The pronoun you was not meant for only a single person in the crowd listening to Jesus. In some languages, it will be more natural to continue to use “people” or the singular “a person” here in 12:37. For example:
God will judge and declare a person innocent based on his words.
and by your words you will be condemned.”
and/or you will be judged as evil/sinful based on your words.”
or God/he will judge and declare a person guilty because of the words he has spoken.”
or guilty.”
and: Each person will be declared either innocent or guilty. It may be more natural in some languages to use “or” instead of and here. For example:
or by your words you will be declared guilty (GW)
by your words you will be condemned: This clause is parallel to the clause in 12:37a. It means that your words will determine whether God declares you guilty. In other words, on judgment day, God will examine your words and declare you either innocent or guilty. If you have spoken careless words, God will declare you “guilty.”
This clause is passive. Here are some other ways to translate it:
Use a passive verb. For example:
by your words you will be declared guilty (GW)
a person will be declared guilty because of the words that he has said
Use an active verb. For example:
God will judge you and declare you guilty because of the words you have said
God will use the words that a person has said to judge/declare him guilty
condemned: In this context, the Greek word that the BSB translates as condemned means “declared guilty.”
Here are some other ways to translate condemned:
declare…guilty (GNT)
judged as evil/sinful
This word also occurs in 12:7c.
Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-words-phrases
γὰρ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἐκ Γάρ τῶν λόγων σοῦ δικαιωθήσῃ καί ἐκ τῶν λόγων σοῦ καταδικασθήσῃ)
Here, the word For introduces a further explanation of what Jesus said in the previous verse about the day of judgment. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a word or phrase that introduces a further explanation, or you could leave For untranslated. Alternate translation: [Indeed,]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / parallelism
ἐκ & τῶν λόγων σου δικαιωθήσῃ, καὶ ἐκ τῶν λόγων σου καταδικασθήσῃ
by & the words by & (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἐκ Γάρ τῶν λόγων σοῦ δικαιωθήσῃ καί ἐκ τῶν λόγων σοῦ καταδικασθήσῃ)
These two clauses use the same form to give two options. The second provides a contrasting alternative to the first. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could combine parts of the two clauses together to form a natural contrast in your language. Alternate translation: [by your words you will be justified or condemned] or [by your words either you will be justified or you will be condemned]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / youcrowd
τῶν λόγων σου δικαιωθήσῃ & τῶν λόγων σου καταδικασθήσῃ
the words the words (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἐκ Γάρ τῶν λόγων σοῦ δικαιωθήσῃ καί ἐκ τῶν λόγων σοῦ καταδικασθήσῃ)
Even though Jesus is speaking to many people, he is addressing an individual situation, so your and you are singular throughout this verse. But if the singular form would not be natural in your language for someone who was speaking to a group of people, you could use the plural forms of you and your in your translation.
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
δικαιωθήσῃ & καταδικασθήσῃ
˱you˲_˓will_be_being˒_justified & ˱you˲_˓will_be_being˒_convicted
If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. If you need to say who does the action, it is clear from the context that it is God. Alternate translation: [God will justify you … God will condemn you]
12:22-45 The Messiah was rejected by the Pharisees, the teachers of religious law, and his own generation.
OET (OET-LV) For/Because you_will_be_being_justified by the messages of_you, and you_will_be_being_convicted by the messages of_you.
OET (OET-RV) because you’ll be either be convicted, or be declared guiltless, by the things that you yourself have said.”
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.