In Greek there is a shift from a third-person reference (“men … they”) to a second-person form of address: your … you. Upon the basis of this observation, a number of commentators have concluded that Jesus is quoting a current proverbial statement. But it is also possible that the shift to the second person may indicate that Jesus is now addressing the Pharisees directly. This would seem to satisfy better the demands of the context, in which Jesus is in a controversy with the Pharisees over the healing of the blind and dumb man. In any case, there are indications from Jewish sources that the Jewish teachers also believed that a person was judged not only by what he did but by what he said. So for this reason, too, it seems reasonable to retain the second person form of address.

Note that for indicates that this verse follows on logically from verse 36. Jesus says that people will have to give account of their harmful words because it is on the basis of what you say that God will judge.

The two parallel structures for by your words … and by your words are combined in Good News Translation: “Your words will be used to….” New English Bible reveals the awkwardness of a literal reproduction of the Greek: “For out of your mouth you will be acquitted; out of your mouth you will be condemned.” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch restructures: “Based on your own words you will be declared either innocent or guilty.” In some languages it may be necessary to render your words by a verb structure and at the same time to indicate who will do the judging: “God will judge you by what you have said. If you have said the right things, he will declare you innocent. But if you have said the wrong things, he will declare you guilty.” A similar model for translators is “For God will judge you and declare you innocent or guilty, based on the things you said (depending on whether they were right or wrong).”

Will be justified (Good News Translation “declare … innocent”) is also used in 11.19 but nowhere else in Matthew. It is a favorite term of the apostle Paul, and its traditional rendering is reflected in Revised Standard Version.

Will be condemned (Good News Translation “declare … guilty”) is the same verb used in 12.7. Elsewhere in the New Testament it is used only in Luke 6.37 and James 5.6.

The translation of will be justified and will be condemned is related to “judging,” since they are the possible actions of a judge. It may be sufficient to say “God will declare you innocent” and “God will declare you guilty,” but in many languages the judging must be made explicit, as in “God will judge you and declare you innocent or guilty” or “God will declare you innocent or guilty when he judges you.” We discussed the translation of “judging” in 7.1, and translators should refer to that discussion.

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 .