Matthew 7 "Stop separating-off, dividing-out and making distinctions (or: Do not have a habit of evaluating or judging) – so that you folks may not be separated-off, evaluated or judged.

JMNT⁽ⁱ⁾ ¹ "Stop separating-off, dividing-out and making distinctions (or: Do not have a habit of evaluating or judging) – so that you folks may not be separated-off, evaluated or judged. ² "You see, within and with whatever aspect of separating-off, effect of evaluation, result of discrimination, or produce of judgment you folks are habitually or normally separating-off, dividing-out, discriminating, evaluating and judging, you will be judged (etc.). And further, within and with whatever measure or standard you folks are using or applying, it will be used to measure you, and that standard will be applied to you (or: = you will receive in the same proportion that you give). ³ "Now why are you constantly or repeatedly looking at the speck (splinter of shriveled wood; small piece of straw) – the one in your brother's eye (= the small thing hindering the ability of your friend or fellow believer to see)! – and yet you are not continuing to fully consider and carefully think about the rafter (beam of wood; shaft of timber) in your own eye? ⁴ "Or how will you folks proceed in declaring to your brother, 'Allow [me], I can extract the speck (splinter) from your eye' – and now consider as you look! – a rafter (log; beam) [is] within the midst of your own eye? ⁵ "O hyper-critical one [cf 6:2, above]! First extract the rafter (log; plank) from out of your own eye, and then you will proceed to be seeing clearly to extract the speck (splinter) from out of your brother's eye. ⁶ "You folks should not give the set-apart (holy; sacred) things to the dogs, neither should you throw your pearls in front of the pigs (hogs; swine), lest at some time they will step on them and trample them down with their feet – and then, upon turning around, they might break forth on you folks and rip you up (tear you in pieces). ⁷ "Be habitually requesting (or: Keep on asking), and it (or: He) will proceed being given to (or: for; in) you people. Be habitually seeking (or: Keep on searching and trying to find), and you folks will repeatedly find. Be repeatedly (or: Keep on) knocking, and it (or: He) will habitually be opened up to (or: for; in) you. ⁸ "You see, everyone habitually requesting is repeatedly receiving. He who keeps on seeking and searching is constantly finding. And to (in; for) the person repeatedly knocking it will be opened up. ⁹ "Well then, a certain person [is] a man from among you folks from whom his son will request a loaf of bread – he will not proceed to be handing a stone to him, will he? ¹⁰ "Or, perhaps he will ask for a fish – he will not proceed to be handing a snake (serpent) to him, will he? ¹¹ "Since, then (or: If, therefore), you folks – being miserable, bad and useless as you are – have seen [in life] and now know to be habitually giving good gifts (or: the results of virtue and excellence) to your own children, how much more will your Father – the One within and in union with the heavens and within the midst of the atmospheres – continue giving good, excellent things as well as virtues to those continuing in requesting from Him (or: asking Him)? ¹² "Therefore, all things – as many as you folks may continue wanting or should by habit be purposing – that people (mankind; men) should be habitually doing to or for you, thus also (or: likewise), you folks, yourselves, be continuously doing to and for them (or: = Treat others in the way that you yourselves would like to be treated). You see, THIS is (or: exists being; = is the meaning of) the Law and the Prophets (= this sums up the message of the Scriptures)! ¹³ "You folks enter at once through the narrow, restrictive and cramping gate [note: is this a picture of being brought to birth?] – because wide [is] the gate and spacious (roomy, having the characteristics of free, open country) [is] roadway habitually leading off into the loosing-away of loss and destruction (or: demolition), and many are the folks continuously (or: one after another in a steady stream) entering through it – ¹⁴ "for the gate is narrow, cramping and restrictive which is habitually leading off into the Life – and the path has been compressed and squeezed [to where the traveler is being pressed and encumbered] – and the folks presently (or: one after another, in a continuous procession) finding it are few. ¹⁵ "Constantly apply yourselves to holding off the false prophets – whatsoever ones that are habitually coming to you folks in clothing belonging to sheep (= disguised as sheep; pretending to have the covering or appearance of sheep), yet inside they are ravenous, savage wolves. ¹⁶ "You will come to be recognizing and fully knowing them from their fruits. People are not normally picking or gathering clusters of grapes from thorn bushes (prickly plants), nor ripe figs from thistles or briers. ¹⁷ "Likewise every good (or: = healthy) tree constantly produces fine, beautiful (choice; ideal) fruit, but the decaying and rotten tree repeatedly bears bad and worthless (= inedible) fruit. ¹⁸ "A good, healthy tree normally has no power to bear bad and worthless fruit, neither [is] a rotten tree [able] to continue producing fine, beautiful fruit. ¹⁹ "Every tree not habitually producing choice, ideal fruit is normally being cut out [of the orchard] – and is normally being thrown into a fire (= used for fire wood). ²⁰ "Consequently, you folks will recognize and come to accurately know them from their fruits (= from what their lives produce). ²¹ "Not everyone constantly saying to Me, 'O Lord! Lord!' will proceed to be entering into the reign (or: sovereign rule; kingdom; realm of action and rule) of the heavens (or: which has the character of, and emanates from, the atmospheres) but rather, the one habitually performing the result or progressively producing the effect of the will, intent and purpose of My Father – the One within and in union with the heavens, and in the midst of the atmospheres – [will proceed entering]. ²² "Within (or: On) That Day many will repeatedly say to Me, 'Lord! O Lord! do (or: did) we not prophesy in (or: by) Your Name? And do (or: did) we not cast out demons (Hellenistic concept and term: = animistic influences) in (or: by) Your Name? And do (or: did) we not perform many works of power and ability in (or: by) Your Name? ²³ "And at that time I will repeatedly confess assuredly to them, 'I never came to know or became acquainted with you folks (or: I not even once had intimate, experiential knowledge of you). Those people habitually working (performing; or: making a trade of; making a living in) the lawlessness are now to go off to a space (or: territory) away, and proceed in giving way to Me and making room for Me.' [Ps. 6:9] ²⁴ "Everyone, then, who continues obediently hearing these words (thoughts; ideas; messages) of Mine, and habitually does them (or: acts on them), will progressively be made to be and to become like an intelligent, considerate, thoughtful, prudent and sensible adult male, who builds (or: built) his house upon the rock-mass. ²⁵ "And when the rain descended (or: falls) and the rivers came (or: come) [flooding] and the winds blew (or: blow) and lunged (or: fall toward; lash against) that house, it did (or: does) not fall, for it had been provided with a foundation and continued being established upon the rock-mass. ²⁶ "And by contrast, everyone who continues hearing the words (thoughts; ideas; messages) of Mine and yet is not continuing in doing them (or: acting on them) will progressively be made to be and to become like a stupid, senseless adult male (= an ignorant and careless builder) who built (or: builds) his house upon the sand. ²⁷ "And when the rain descended (or: falls) and the rivers came (or: come) [flooding] and the winds blew (or: blow) and lunged (or: fall toward; lash against) that house, it fell (or: falls), and its fall (collapse) was great." ²⁸ And so it happened that when Jesus finished these discourses (thoughts; ideas), the crowds began to be amazed and astounded at what He taught and His way (manner) of teaching, ²⁹ for He was continuing in teaching and instructing them as one holding authority ( or: having the right out of Being) – and not as their scribes (theologians; experts in the Law; scholars) [taught].