John 7 · Verse 51

John 7:51

Doth our law judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he doeth?
John 7:51, King James Version

John 7:51 in other translations

BSB“Does our law convict a man without first hearing from him to determine what he has done?”
WEB“Does our law judge a man unless it first hears from him personally and knows what he does?”
ASVDoth our law judge a man, except it first hear from himself and know what he doeth?
YLT‘Doth our law judge the man, if it may not hear from him first, and know what he doth?'
DARBYDoes our law judge a man before it have first heard from himself, and know what he does?
BBEIs a man judged by our law before it has given him a hearing and has knowledge of what he has done?
WebsterDoth our law judge any man before it heareth him, and knoweth what he doeth?

What does John 7:51 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on John 7:50-53

50-53. Nicodemus--reappearing to us after nearly three years' absence from the history, as a member of the council, probably then sitting.

Read the full comment on John 7:50-53 →

Barnes' Notes
Verse 51. Doth our law, &c. The law required justice to be done, and gave every man the right to claim a fair and impartial trial, Lev 19:15,16, Ex 23:1,2, De 19:15,18. Their condemnation of Jesus was a violation of every rule of right. He was not arraigned; he was not heard in self-defence, and not a single witness was adduced. Nicodemus demanded that justice should be done, and that he should not be condemned until he had had a fair trial. Every man should be presumed innocent until he is proved to be guilty. This is a maxim of law, and a most just and proper precept in our judgments in private life.

(t) "Doth our law" De 17:8, Prov 18:13

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 51 Doth our law judge any man - Τον ανθρωπον, the man, i.e. who is accused. Perhaps Nicodemus did not refer so much to any thing in the law of Moses, as to what was commonly practiced among them. Josephus says, Ant. b. xiv. c. 9. s. 3, That the law has forbidden any man to be put to death, though wicked, unless he be first condemned to die by the Sanhedrin. It was probably to this law, which is not expressly mentioned in the five books of Moses, that Nicodemus here alludes. See laws relative to this point, Deu 17:8, etc.; Deu 19:15.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on John 7:40-53

The malice of Christ's enemies is always against reason, and sometimes the staying of it cannot be accounted for. Never any man spake with that wisdom, and power, and grace, that convincing clearness, and that sweetness, wherewith Christ spake. Alas, that many, who are for a time restrained, and who speak highly of the word of Jesus, speedily lose their convictions, and go on in their sins! People are foolishly…

Read the full comment on John 7:40-53 →

John 7:51 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

μὴmēSurely notG3361
ὁhotheG3588
νόμοςnomoslawG3551
ἡμῶνhēmōnof usG3165
κρίνειkrineidoes judgeG2919
τὸνtontheG3588
ἄνθρωπονanthrōponmanG444
ἐὰνeanonlyG1437
μὴmēunlessG3361
ἀκούσῃakousēit shall hearG191
πρῶτονprōtonfirstG4413
παρ᾽par᾽fromG3844
αὐτοῦautouhimG846
καὶkaiandG2532
γνῷgnōmay knowG1097
τίtiwhatG5101
ποιεῖ;¶poieihe does?G4160

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for John 7:51

  • Proverbs 18:13

    He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.

  • Deuteronomy 1:17

    Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; but ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment is God’s: and the cause that is too hard for you, bring it unto me, and I will hear it.

  • Acts 23:3

    Then said Paul unto him, God shall smite thee, thou whited wall: for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law?

  • Deuteronomy 19:15-19

    One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established. If a false witness rise up against any man to testify against him that which is wrong; Then both the men, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before the Lord, before the priests and the judges, which shall be in those days; And the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and, behold, if the witness be a false witness, and hath testified falsely against his brother; …

  • Deuteronomy 17:8-11

    If there arise a matter too hard for thee in judgment, between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke, being matters of controversy within thy gates: then shalt thou arise, and get thee up into the place which the Lord thy God shall choose; And thou shalt come unto the priests the Levites, and unto the judge that shall be in those days, and enquire; and they shall shew thee the sentence of judgment: And thou shalt do according to the sentence, which they of that place which the Lord shall choose shall shew thee; and thou shalt observe to do according to all that they inform thee: According to the sentence of the law which they shall teach thee, and according to the judgment which they shall tell thee, thou shalt do: thou shalt not decline from the sentence which they shall shew thee, to the right hand, nor to the left.

  • Deuteronomy 17:6

    At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
De 1:17; 17:8-11; 19:15-19; Pr 18:13

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • John 7:50

    Nicodemus saith unto them, (he that came to Jesus by night, being one of them,)

  • John 7:51

    Doth our law judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he doeth?

  • John 7:52

    They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet.

Read all of John 7

John 7:51 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		¿Juzga nuestra ley á hombre, si primero no oyere de él, y entendiere lo que ha hecho?
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Notre loi juge-t-elle l’homme avant de l’avoir entendu et d’avoir connu ce qu’il fait?
German
Elberfelder 1871		Richtet denn unser Gesetz den Menschen, ehe es zuvor von ihm selbst gehört und erkannt hat, was er tut?
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Numquid lex nostra judicat hominem, nisi prius audierit ab ipso, et cognoverit quid faciat?