John 7:51
in John 7“Does our law convict a man without first hearing from him to determine what he has done?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Doth our law judge a man, except it first hear from himself and know what he doeth?
KJV
Doth our law judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he doeth?
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This verse in John 7
Commentary
15 notes on this verseWhat does Nicodemus point out to them? He says: "Does our Law condemn a man without first hearing him?" By this he shows that they neither read the Law nor fulfilled its requirements, although they boasted much about lawfulness. For if the Law commands not …
This site's exposition
who had gone to Jesus earlier
on John 7:50-51
Nicodemus speaks from inside the council he sits on. John reminds the reader that he had gone to Jesus earlier, by night, in chapter 3. His question is about procedure, whether the law convicts a man before it hears him, and Deuteronomy 1:16 puts that hearing on every judge in Israel.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
"Nicodemus," however, "one of the Pharisees, who had come to the Lord by night,"-not indeed as being himself unbelieving, but timid; for therefore he came by night to the light, because he wished to be enlightened and feared to be known;-Nicodemus, I say, answered the Jews, "Doth our law judge a man before it hear him, and know what he doeth?" For they perversely wished to condemn before they examined. Nicodemus indeed knew, or rather believed, that if only they were willing to give Him a patient hearing, they would perhaps become like those who were sent to take Him, but preferred to believe.
He showeth that they neither know the Law, nor do the Law; for if that Law commandeth to kill no man without first hearing him, and they before hearing were eager for this deed, they were transgressors of the Law. And because they said, "None of the rulers hath believed on him" (ver. 50), therefore the Evangelist informs us that Nicodemus was "one of them," to show that even rulers believed on Him; for although they showed not yet fitting boldness, still they were becoming attached to Christ. Observe how cautiously he rebukes them; he said not, "Ye desire to kill him, and condemn the man for a deceiver without proof"; but spake in a milder way, hindering their excessive violence, and their inconsiderate and murderous disposition. Wherefore he turns his discourse to the Law, saying, "Except it hear him carefully, and know what he doeth." So that not a bare "hearing," but "careful hearing" is required. For the meaning of, "know what he doeth," is, "what he intendeth," "on what account," "for what purpose," "whether for the subversion of the order of things and as an enemy."
What then? Shall one blame God for this? Away with the thought. This blame is theirs. And what other proof can a man bring of your not knowing the Law than your not obeying it? For when they had said, "Hath any of the rulers believed on him?" and, "These who know not the Law," Nicodemus in fair consequence upbraids them, saying, "Doth our law judge any man before it hear him?" He showeth that they neither know the Law, nor do the Law; for if that Law commandeth to kill no man without first hearing him, and they before hearing were eager for this deed, they were transgressors of the Law. And because they said, "None of the rulers hath believed on him", therefore the Evangelist informs us that Nicodemus was "one of them," to show that even rulers believed on Him; for although they showed not yet fitting boldness, still they were becoming attached to Christ.
It is evident that not all the doctors approved what they were doing, since one of the doctors was Nicodemus, who replied against their words.
He replies, Doth our law judge any man before it hear him, and know what he doeth? He thought that, if they would only hear Him patiently, they would be overcome, as the officers had been. But they preferred obstinately condemning Him, to knowing the truth. He calls the law of God, our law; because it was given to men.
8 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church2 voices
The advice of Nicodemus is given when he says: Does our law judge a man without first hearing from him and knowing what he has done? For according to the civil laws, a judgment was only to be given after a complete investigation. This is …
"Does our Law judge a man unless it has first heard from him and known what he does?" As if to say: no. Deuteronomy 17: "When upon hearing you shall have inquired diligently," etc. Job observed this law, chapter 29: "The cause which I did …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Doth our law judge any man,.... Or condemn any man; or can any man be lawfully condemned: before it hear him: what he has to say for himself; is this the usual process in our courts? or is this a legal one to condemn a man unheard? and know what he doth? what his crimes are. This he said, having a secret respect for Christ, though he had not courage enough openly to appear for him.
12 And there was much murmuring among the people concerning him: for some said, He is a good man: others said, Nay; but he deceiveth the people. 13 Howbeit no man spake openly of him for fear of the Jews. The reason given why Christ spent more of his time in Galilee than in Judea (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Doth our law ... - The law required justice to be done, and gave every man the right to claim a fair and impartial trial, Lev 19:15-16; Exo 23:1-2; Deu 19:15, Deu 19:18. Their condemnation of Jesus was a violation of every rule of right. He was not arraigned; he was not heard in self-defense, 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 to be innocent until he is proved to be guilty.
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1869)
These verses show us, for one thing, how useless is knowledge in religion, if it is not accompanied by grace in the heart. We are told that some of our Lord's hearers knew clearly where Christ was to be born. They referred to Scripture, like men familiar with its contents. "Has not the Scripture said that Christ comes of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?" And yet the eyes of their understanding were not enlightened. Their own Messiah stood before them, and they neither received, nor believed, nor obeyed Him.
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1869)
proposed
These verses show us, for one thing, how useless is knowledge in religion, if it is not accompanied by grace in the heart. We are told that some of our Lord's hearers knew clearly where Christ was to be born. They referred to Scripture, like men familiar with its contents. "Has not the Scripture said that Christ comes of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?" And yet the eyes of their understanding were not enlightened. Their own Messiah stood before them, and they neither received, nor believed, nor obeyed Him. A certain degree of religious knowledge, beyond doubt, is of vast importance. Ignorance is certainly not the mother of true devotion, and helps nobody toward heaven. An "unknown God" can never be the object of a reasonable worship. Happy indeed would it be for Christians if they all knew the Scriptures as well as the Jews seem to have done, when our Lord was on earth! But while we value religious knowledge, we must take care that we do not overvalue it. We must not think it enough to know the facts and doctrines of our faith, unless our hearts and lives are thoroughly influenced by what we know. The very devils know the creed intellectually, and "believe and tremble," but remain devils still. (James 2:19.) It is quite possible to be familiar with the letter of Scripture, and to be able to quote texts appropriately, and reason about the theory of Christianity, and yet to remain dead in trespasses and sins. Like many of the generation to which our Lord preached, we may know the Bible well, and yet remain faithless and unconverted. Heart-knowledge, we must always remember, is the one thing needful. It is something which schools and universities cannot confer. It is the gift of God.
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.
How the passage was read
On John 7:1-53On John 7:1-53
The water ceremony He interrupted
“The Feast of Booths” is Tabernacles, in Hebrew Sukkot: the autumn week when Israel lived (and Jewish families still eat) in leafy shelters remembering the wilderness. In Temple times each morning of the feast a priest carried water in gold from the pool of Siloam up to the altar and poured it out, praying for the year's rain, while the crowds sang: the Mishnah calls it the Rejoicing at the Place of the Water-Drawing, and the Talmud says whoever never saw it “has never seen rejoicing in his life” (Sukkah 51a).
That is the scene on “the last day of the feast, the great day,” when Jesus stood and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink”: a claim staged inside the feast's own ceremony, at the moment all Jerusalem was thinking about water from God.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Sources: Mishnah Sukkah 4:9 (the water-drawing rite) · Sukkah 51a (“has never seen rejoicing”)
The words behind it
17 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| μὴ | me | Surely not | G3361 → | 1066 times |
| ὁ | ho | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| νόμος | nomos | law | G3551 → | 192 times |
| ἡμῶν | hemon | of us | G3165 → | 1936 times |
| κρίνει | krinei | does judge | G2919 → | 114 times |
| τὸν | ton | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἄνθρωπον | anthropon | man | G444 → | 549 times |
| ἐὰν | ean | only | G1437 → | 352 times |
| μὴ | me | unless | G3361 → | 1066 times |
| ἀκούσῃ | akouse | it shall hear | G191 → | 425 times |
| πρῶτον | proton | first | G4413 → | 152 times |
| παρ᾽ | par᾽ | from | G3844 → | 192 times |
| αὐτοῦ | autou | him | G846 → | 5565 times |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| γνῷ | gno | may know | G1097 → | 221 times |
| τί | ti | what | G5101 → | 563 times |
| ποιεῖ;¶ | poiei | he does? | G4160 → | 569 times |
μὴSurely not
meG3361 →1066 times
ὁthe
hoG3588 →19766 times
νόμοςlaw
nomosG3551 →192 times
ἡμῶνof us
hemonG3165 →1936 times
κρίνειdoes judge
krineiG2919 →114 times
τὸνthe
tonG3588 →19766 times
ἄνθρωπονman
anthroponG444 →549 times
ἐὰνonly
eanG1437 →352 times
μὴunless
meG3361 →1066 times
ἀκούσῃit shall hear
akouseG191 →425 times
πρῶτονfirst
protonG4413 →152 times
παρ᾽from
par᾽G3844 →192 times
αὐτοῦhim
autouG846 →5565 times
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
γνῷmay know
gnoG1097 →221 times
τίwhat
tiG5101 →563 times
ποιεῖ;¶he does?
poieiG4160 →569 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Deuteronomy 1:17Show no partiality in judging; hear both small and great alike. Do not be intimidated by anyone, for judgment belongs to God. And bring to me any case too difficult for you, and I…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 16:19
Do not deny justice or show partiality. Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.
- Exodus 18:26
And they judged the people at all times; they would bring the difficult cases to Moses, but any minor issue they would judge themselves.
- James 2:9
But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.
- 2 Chronicles 19:6
Then he said to the judges, “Consider carefully what you do, for you are not judging for man, but for the LORD, who is with you when you render judgment.
- Leviticus 19:15
You must not pervert justice; you must not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the rich; you are to judge your neighbor fairly.
- Deuteronomy 16:19
Through
Acts 23:3Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit here to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck.”
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 25:1–2
If there is a dispute between men, they are to go to court to be judged, so that the innocent may be acquitted and the guilty condemned.
- Deuteronomy 25:1–2
Through
Deuteronomy 17:6On the testimony of two or three witnesses a man shall be put to death, but he shall not be executed on the testimony of a lone witness.
it leads to
- Numbers 35:30
If anyone kills a person, the murderer is to be put to death on the testimony of the witnesses. But no one is to be put to death based on the testimony of a…
- Hebrews 10:28
Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.
- Numbers 35:30
Where this verse is studied
About John
This page draws on 14 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Tractates on John 33; Augustine of Hippo, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Bonaventure, Commentary on John, Chapter 7; J. C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, John; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Homily on the Gospel of John 52; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Theodore of Mopsuestia, COMMENTARY ON JOHN 3.7.50-51; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on John and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on John.