Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are that judge: for wherein you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you that judge do the same things.
Therefore.
Romans 1:18-20 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; …
O man.
Romans 2:3 And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?
Romans 9:20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
1 Corinthians 7:16 For what knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? or how knowest thou, O man, whether thou shalt save thy wife?
whosoever.
Romans 2:26,27 Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision? …
2 Samuel 12:5-7 And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the LORD liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die: …
Psalm 50:16-20 But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth? …
for thou that.
Romans 2:3,21-23 And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? …
you who pass judgment on another
Paul addresses those who judge others, likely referring to both Jews and Gentiles who consider themselves morally superior. In the cultural context, Jews might have felt a sense of superiority due to their possession of the Law. This phrase warns against hypocrisy and self-righteousness, aligning with Jesus' teachings in Matthew 7:1-5 about the dangers of judging others without self-reflection.
For on whatever grounds you judge the other
This phrase highlights the principle of reciprocity in judgment. The grounds or criteria used to judge others will be the same criteria by which one is judged. This reflects the biblical principle found in Matthew 7:2, where Jesus teaches that the measure used to judge others will be used against the judge. It underscores the importance of humility and self-awareness.
you are condemning yourself
Paul points out the self-condemnation inherent in judging others. This is a logical consequence of the previous phrase, as those who judge are often guilty of the same or similar sins. This concept is rooted in the idea of God's justice, where He judges impartially, as seen in Romans 2:11. It serves as a warning against hypocrisy and the need for repentance.
because you who pass judgment do the same things
This phrase reveals the hypocrisy of those who judge others while committing similar sins. It reflects the human tendency to overlook one's own faults while criticizing others. This aligns with Jesus' rebuke of the Pharisees in Matthew 23:27-28, where He calls them out for their outward righteousness but inward corruption. It serves as a call to self-examination and genuine repentance.
Paul’s “therefore” ties Romans 2:1 back to chapter 1, where he catalogued the sins of the Gentile world and declared, “they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20). Now he turns the spotlight from “they” to “you,” showing that every reader—Jew or Gentile—stands on the same footing before God. The shift echoes Nathan’s “You are the man!” to David (2 Samuel 12:7), exposing hidden hypocrisy. By connecting chapters 1 and 2, Paul underscores that moral knowledge apart from humble obedience never shields anyone from divine scrutiny (Hebrews 4:13).
“You, therefore, have no excuse…” mirrors Romans 1:20 yet cuts deeper: those who recognize sin in others possess enough light to recognize it in themselves.
• Like David who confessed, “I have sinned against the LORD” only after judging the parable’s villain (2 Samuel 12:5-13), we display awareness of God’s standards whenever we critique others.
• James 4:17 reminds, “If anyone knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, he is guilty of sin.” Knowledge multiplies accountability (Luke 12:47-48).
Paul is not condemning discernment (John 7:24) but the self-righteous habit of evaluating others while excusing oneself. Jesus warned, “Judge not, that you be not judged” (Matthew 7:1-5), pressing hearers to remove their own plank before addressing a brother’s speck. When criticism becomes a cloak for pride, it violates the law of love (Galatians 5:14).
The standard we apply to others returns upon us.
• “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Luke 6:38).
• James 2:12-13: “Judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful.”
Paul’s wording eliminates loopholes: any moral criterion—religious tradition, conscience, or Scripture—condemns the one who applies it selectively (Romans 2:12).
Every pointed finger turns into a silent verdict against the pointer.
• Romans 2:15 speaks of consciences that “accuse or defend” us.
• In John 8:7-9, the accusers of the adulterous woman drift away “one by one,” condemned by their own consciences.
Self-condemnation is not arbitrary; it flows logically from the observer’s acknowledgment of God’s moral order.
Paul’s charge is sweeping yet accurate: the judging person “does the same things.”
• Romans 2:17-24 shows religious Jews preaching against theft yet robbing temples, abhorring idols yet dishonoring God.
• Ecclesiastes 7:20 affirms, “There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins.”
• Romans 3:23 clinches it: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Even if sins differ in form, the same rebellious roots—pride, lust, greed—run through every human heart (Mark 7:21-23). Recognizing this levels the ground at the cross and prepares listeners for Paul’s unveiling of the gospel’s righteousness apart from law (Romans 3:21-24).
Romans 2:1 turns the mirror toward anyone inclined to criticize others. The verse dismantles every hiding place—heritage, knowledge, morality—and shows that judging hearts share the same guilt they expose. God’s unchanging standard, applied without partiality, renders every mouth silent, driving all people to seek the grace found only in Christ.
(1) Therefore.--The description just given of the state of one section of the human race contains implicitly the condemnation of the other; for it is equally applicable to both.Wherein thou judgest another.--By the very act of sitting in judgment upon your fellow-man, you pass sentence upon yourself. You declare those acts to be criminal of which you are yourself guilty.
The words in the Greek, translated by "judge" and "condemn," are related to each other much the same as the summing up of a judge is related to his verdict. In the first, sentence is in process of being passed, but there is still a possibility of acquittal; in the second, sentence has been definitely given in a sense adverse to the accused. "Another," rather, strictly, the other, thy fellow, or neighbour.
Verses 1-29. - (b) Those who judge others, not excepting the Jews. Here a new stage of the argument, in proof of the position propounded in Romans 1:18, begins, and is continued to the end of the chapter. The position to be proved is that all mankind is guilty before God (see note on ver. 18). So far this has been shown with regard to the mass of the heathen world; its general moral corruption, prevalent and condoned, having been pointed out finally as a glaring proof; the main point of the argument having been to trace this state of things to man's own fault, in that he had refused to retain and act on a knowledge of God originally imparted to him through nature and through conscience. From such refusal had ensued idolatry; thence, as a judicial consequence, profligacy; thence a general prevalence of abominable practices; and at last (in many at least) the "reprobate mind," lost to moral restraint, and approving of vice as well as practising it. Thus it is sufficiently proved that the heathen world, regarded as a whole, is under sin, and liable to the wrath of God. But the required proof that the whole of mankind is guilty is not yet complete. It might be said that there are many still who disapprove of all this wickedness, and sit in judgment on it, and who are, therefore, not themselves implicated in the guilt. To such persons the apostle now turns, his purpose being to show that their judging others does not exempt themselves, unless they can show that they are themselves sinless. All, he argues, are tainted with sin, and therefore implicated in the guilt of the human race, while the very fact of their judging others condemns them all the more. It is usually said by commentators that, the sin of the heathen world having been established in the first chapter, the second has reference exclusively to the Jews. But this is surely not so. The expressions, ἄνθρωπε and πᾶς ὁ κρίνων (vers. 1, 3), seem evidently to include all who judge others; and it is not till ver. 9 that any distinction between Jew and Gentile comes in. Nor would the argument have been complete without refutation of Gentile as well as Jewish judgers of others. For the philosophical schools especially claimed superiority to the mass of mankind, and would be likely to resent their own inclusion in the general condemnation. Notably the Stoics, whose philosophy was at that time, as well as that of the Epicureans, extensively professed by educated Romans. Seneca was a contemporary of St. Paul. The Stoics might be suitably designated as οἱ κρίνοντες: for they affected to look down from a position of calm philosophical superiority on those who followed their mere natural impulses, professing to be themselves guided by right reason, and superior to the passions of ordinary humanity. It was a home-thrust at them to ask - Are you, who thus judge others, as exempt as you profess to be from the vices you condemn? If the accounts that have come down to us of Seneca's own life be true, he certainly was not a paragon of virtue. Now, be it observed that the sort of people now addressed are not concluded to be sunk into all the depths of sin spoken of above; their very affecting to judge others implies, at any rate, theoretic approval of the right. Nor does St. Paul anywhere suggest that there is no difference between man and man with regard to moral worth before God; nay, in this very chapter he forcibly declares the moral excellence of some, without the Law as well as with the Law, and eternal life as its reward (vers. 7, 10, 14, 15). All he implies of necessity is that none whatever are so exempt from sin as to be in a position to judge others; and it is the judgment of others that he here especially attacks, as increasing, rather than exempting from, condemnation. For it involves in itself the sin of presumption, unless those that judge are sinless. But it may be said that the universal sinfulness of mankind is still not proved. For(1) it is not actually demonstrated that all of those who judge "do the same things." The answer to this objection is, that this does not admit of rigid proof, and that therefore the apostle deems it enough to appeal to the consciences of the judgers themselves as to how the matter stands with them. But it may be said
(2) that the sinfulness of such persons as are spoken of in vers. 7, 10, 14, 15, 29-such, namely, as sincerely strive after good without setting themselves up as judges - is still unproved. So it is in this chapter; and, for logical completeness, the proof must be taken as implied. It was, we may suppose in the writer's mind, and afterwards, in ch. 7, where the inner consciousness of even the best is analyzed, the missing link of the argument is supplied. Verses 1, 2. - Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou doest (rather, dost practise; the word is πράσσεις, see Romans 1:32) the same things. But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit (or, practise, as before) such things. As has been observed above, the fact that πᾶς ὁ κρίνων "does the same things," is not proved; it is incapable of patent proof, and so the argument takes the form of an appeal to the consciences of such persons. "Porro quia ipsos interioris impuritatis insimulat, quae ut humanos oculos latet, redargui convincique nequeat humanis testimoniis, ad Dei judicium provocat, cui nec tenebrae ipsae sunt absconditae, et cujus sensu tangi peceatoribus, velint nolint, necesse est" (Calvin). On κατὰ ἀλήθειαν, in ver. 2, Calvin also remarks, "Veritas porro haec judicii in duobus consistit: quod sine personarum respectu delictum puniet, in quocunque deprehenderit homine; deinde quod externam speciem non moratur, nec opere ipso contentus est nisi a vera sinceri-tate animi prodeat."
Parallel Commentaries ...