Matthew 12:37

Modern

For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Traditional

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

Literal

For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Latin

Ex verbis enim tuis justificaberis et ex verbis tuis condemnaberis.

Greek

English

For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

The careless word, in this context, was the claim that demons empowered Jesus.
What a person says will either free or condemn them on the day of judgment. What people say shows the true state of their hearts.

Jesus addressed the main issue. The Pharisees did not accept him or believe his work came from God because they were wicked (see 7:15–27).

The Pharisees, the teachers of religious law, and many people of his generation rejected the Messiah.

Theme notes and profiles

Proverbs 13:3
He who guards his mouth protects his life, but the one who opens his lips invites his own ruin.
James 2:21–25
Was not our father Abraham justified by what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?