Misled in Translation: Luke 6:37

The meaning of Jesus’s words in this verse is not lost in translation in this verse as much as made intentionally misleading. This crime is in the last line, the punchline. I used the word “crime” because this mistranslation cannot be characterized as a mistake. It is clearly intentional. What makes this crime so terrible is that all the major biblical translations echo it. The truth is that Jesus said something much more interesting and in tune with modern sensibilities.

In this article, we will go through Luke 6:37 a little at a time so we can see how Jesus is led to this end.

Translations

Here is Luke 6:37 as usually translated with its main errors in bold face..

KJV: Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:
NIV: “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

“Judge”

The verb "judged" primarily means "to separate," "sever," and "distinguish" as in separating fact from fiction and dividing people into different groups. Jesus has been arguing for treating those we care about the same as those who hate us (Luke 6:35 But love ye your enemies, and do good…”). The meaning here is not to separate people so we can cancel some of them.

However, there is a second meaning to the Greek word for “judge” that also fits. It also means "to pick out," "to choose," and "to prefer." It means comparing things to choose among them. The noun form means “judge” because we all act as judges when we choose among things. In our era, this idea of “separating” people has been carried to the extreme of judging people by the group they belong to.

“Not”

There are two different Greek constructions here, both translated as “not.” The first “not” (“not judge”) is a regular negative in the form used for commands. However, the second “not” (“not be judged”) is more extreme. In English, our more extreme negative is “never.”

“Shall/Will”

Is Jesus really saying that non-judgmental people will “never” be judged? This is a blanket amnesty. But Jesus didn’t use the future tense with this negative. Doing so would be the same mistake that people make in arguments when they say, “you never do this,” or “you always do that.” The verb forms Jesus used that are translated “will be forgiven” and “will be condemned” are in the form of possibility, known in Greek as the “subjunctive mood.” In English, we express this form by adding a “should” or “might” before the verb. Jesus said that we “might be forgiven” and “might be condemned.” This implies that there is a later judgment. Being non-judgmental is weighed against other factors.

How the Setup Was Heard

Translating double meanings in words like “judge” is difficult. What we try to do is find an English word that has some of the same feeling in this context. Since the context is not clearly that of a court, we should avoid the term “judge.”

The first clause begins the setup. The next verb makes a gentle transition from this beginning. Translating it as “condemn” reinforces this idea of a trial almost implying a death sentence. This is not what Jesus’s listeners heard. The verb is not nearly so negative and much more general, or should we say, less judgmental. It simply means “decide against.” It could refer to anything from deciding against one side in an argument to deciding against in a court where the result is paying a fine.

Translating the first part of this verse so that we can get more of a sense of what Jesus’s listeners heard, we get something like:

Listeners Heard: And don't cut off, and you might never be cut off. And don't decide against and you might never be decided against.

This is not nearly so dramatic, but this part of the verse isn’t intended to have the impact of a punchline. “Cut off” seems like the best choice for “judge” because of the way this verse ends, It also best fits many of the Greek word’s meanings as well, including its primary meaning of “for separate” and “to sever.”

The Verse’s Biggest Crime

As I said at the beginning, the next translation problem is a “crime” because this mistranslation is intentional and supported by all major translations.

We might think that this Greek word would be the same word as the word usually translated as “forgive” (see this article). We would be wrong. The Greek word use here is not translated as “forgive” anywhere else in the more than fifty times it appears in the New Testament. It means "to loosen from" "to set free," "to release," "to acquit," and "to divorce [a wife]". Its root is the verb that means "untie" with a prefix that means from” so "untie from." Biblically it is translated as:

• “lose” when referring to life (John 12:25),

• “sending away,” a crowd (Matthew 15:32),

• releasing someone from their sickness (Luke 13:12),

• but most of Jesus’s uses refer to divorcing, or, in the sense of the time, “setting free” a wife.

Its passive (the form the second time Jesus used it here) primarily means "to be released.” The use of the passive points to the meaning of its first use.

How did most of Jesus’s listeners more likely hear it?

Listeners Heard: Set free and you will be set free.

If it means “to be released,” its sense seems to be “release” or, more dramatically, to “set free.” This also plays with the “cut off” in the first section. If that “judge” is negative, cutting off groups of people, this is a more positives view of a similar idea, “setting them free.”

Final Words

I find many errors in translating Jesus’s verses. Many of them are errors that are made consistently such as those with the normal word translated as “forgive.” Most translators are indifferent to accurate translation. They simply try to capture the general idea of what Jesus said. This paraphrasing has grown worse, culminating in the Living Bible.” The popularity of this version only reinforces the indifference of translators toward accuracy.

My view is that Jesus was divinely precise in his meaning, but I am an outlier. Jesus is clearly more challenging that others authors of the New Testament. The works of Paul are pablum by comparison. Some of you might be ready for the straight stuff.