Matthew 12 · Verse 36

Matthew 12:36

But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
Matthew 12:36, King James Version

Matthew 12:36 in other translations

BSBBut I tell you that men will give an account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.
WEBI tell you that every idle word that men speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.
ASVAnd I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
YLT‘And I say to you, that every idle word that men may speak, they shall give for it a reckoning in a day of judgment;
DARBYBut I say unto you, that every idle word which men shall say, they shall render an account of it in judgment-day:
BBEAnd I say to you that in the day when they are judged, men will have to give an account of every foolish word they have said.
WebsterBut I say to you, That for every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account in the day of judgment.

What does Matthew 12:36 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
36. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment--They might say, "It was nothing: we meant no evil; we merely threw out a supposition, as one way of accounting for the miracle we witnessed; if it will not stand, let it go; why make so much of it, and bear down with such severity for it?" Jesus replies, "It was not nothing, and at the great day will not be treated as nothing: Words, as the index of the heart, however idle they may seem, will be taken account of, whether good or bad, in estimating character in the day of judgment."

Mt 12:38-50. A Sign Demanded and the Reply--His Mother and Brethren Seek to Speak with Him, and the Answer. ( = Lu 11:16, 24-36; Mr 3:31-35; Lu 8:19-21).

A Sign Demanded, and the Reply (Mt 12:38-45). The occasion of this section was manifestly the same with that of the preceding.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Barnes' Notes
Verse 36. But I say unto you, etc. Christ closes this address to his malignant and wicked hearers by a solemn declaration that for these things God would bring them into judgment. They, therefore, who had spoken so malignantly against him, could not escape.

Idle word. This literally means a vain, thoughtless, useless word, that accomplishes no good. Here it means, evidently, wicked and injurious, false and malicious; for such were the words which they had spoken.

(h) "give account" Eccl 12:14, Eph 5:4,6, Jude 1:15

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 36 Every idle word - Ρημα αργον, a word that does nothing, that neither ministers grace nor instruction to them who hear it. The word αργον corresponds to the Hebrew שוא shave, which signifies not only vain or empty, but also wicked and injurious, such as a false testimony against a neighbor, compare Deu 5:11, Deu 5:20. Add to this, that Symmachus translates פגול piggul, polluted, Lev 19:7, by the very Greek word in the text. It was to explain this ambiguous meaning of the word, that ten MSS. have changed αργον into πονηρον, evil. Our Lord must be understood here as condemning all false and injurious words: the scope of the place necessarily requires this meaning.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Matthew 12:33-37

Men's language discovers what country they are of, likewise what manner of spirit they are of. The heart is the fountain, words are the streams. A troubled fountain, and a corrupt spring, must send forth muddy and unpleasant streams. Nothing but the salt of grace, cast into the spring, will heal the waters, season the speech, and purify the corrupt communication. An evil man has an evil treasure in his heart, and…

Read the full comment on Matthew 12:33-37 →

Matthew 12:36 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.

ΛέγωLegōI sayG3004
δὲdenowG1161
ὑμῖνhuminto youG4771
ὅτιhotithatG3754
πᾶνpaneveryG3956
ῥῆμαrhēmadeclarationG4487
ἀργὸνargoncarelessG692
ὃhothatG3739
λαλήσουσινlalēsousinwill speakG2980
οἱhoi<the>G3588
ἄνθρωποι,anthrōpoimen,G444
ἀποδώσουσινapodōsousinthey will giveG591
περὶperiofG4012
αὐτοῦautouitG846
λόγονlogonan accountG3056
ἐνeninG1722
ἡμέρᾳhēmeradayG2250
κρίσεως.kriseōsof judgment.G2920

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

Cross references for Matthew 12:36

  • Ecclesiastes 12:14

    For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

  • Romans 2:16

    In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.

  • Revelation 20:12

    And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

  • Jude 1:14-15

    And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.

  • Ephesians 6:4-6

    And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
every.
Ec 12:14; Ro 2:16; Eph 6:4-6; Jude 1:14,15; Re 20:12
idle word.[Rhema ,] [argos ,] i.e., [ergo--work/act/deed,] from a, privative, and [ergon ,] work, a word that produces no good effect, and is not calculated to produce any. "Discourse," says Dr. Doddridge, "tending to innocent mirth, to exhilarate the spirits, is not idle discourse; as the time spent in necessary recreation is not idle time."

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

Context

  • Matthew 12:35

    A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.

  • Matthew 12:36

    But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.

  • Matthew 12:37

    For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

Read all of Matthew 12

Matthew 12:36 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Mas yo os digo, que toda palabra ociosa que hablaren los hombres, de ella darán cuenta en el día del juicio.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et je vous dis que, de toute parole oiseuse qu’ils auront dite, les hommes rendront compte au jour de jugement;
German
Elberfelder 1871		Ich sage euch aber, daß von jedem unnützen Worte, das irgend die Menschen reden werden, sie von demselben Rechenschaft geben werden am Tage des Gerichts;
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Dico autem vobis quoniam omne verbum otiosum, quod locuti fuerint homines, reddent rationem de eo in die judicii.