Bible Strands
John 7:51
“Does our law convict a man without first hearing from him to determine what he has done?”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Nicodemus, a council member who had previously visited Jesus, confronts the Pharisees during their condemnation of Jesus, questioning their procedural violation.
The words — μὴ (mē) and ἐὰν (ean) frame the rhetorical question, literally “Surely not” and “only,” structuring the claim that legal judgment requires prior hearing.
The thread — The requirement for pre-judgment hearing and evidentiary standards runs through Proverbs 18:13, Deuteronomy 1:17, and Deuteronomy 19:15.
Why it lands — It requires readers to verify that their own judgments follow established procedural fairness before issuing condemnation.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
Doth our law judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he doeth?
Cross-references
- Proverbs 18:13 He who answers a matter before he hears it—this is folly and disgrace to him.
- Deuteronomy 1:17 Show 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 will hear it.”
- Deuteronomy 19:15 A lone witness is not sufficient to establish any wrongdoing or sin against a man, regardless of what offense he may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.
- Acts 23:3 Then 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.”
- Deuteronomy 17:6 On 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.
- Deuteronomy 17:8 If a case is too difficult for you to judge, whether the controversy within your gates is regarding bloodshed, lawsuits, or assaults, you must go up to the place the LORD your God will choose.