What Does 1 Corinthians 5:12 Mean?
For what is it to me to judge those outside? Do you not judge those inside?
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within?THE KEY
The verse gives discernment a boundary: the shared life within is accountable to you; those outside it are not yours to judge.
THE MEANING
This verse speaks to the limits of your responsibility: those within a shared community are accountable within it, while those outside it are not under that same judgment. The distinction keeps discernment tied to the life you share with others.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that responsibility for discernment gives you authority to judge everyone, whether inside or outside your community.
THE ROOT
κρίνω
krinō
GROWS FROM
κριν
krin
To distinguish, separate, or decide.
“judge” in this verse is krinō. The Greek root links the act of discerning with the judgment that follows from it. Here, the contrast between “without” and “within” sets a boundary around where that discernment is exercised.
ALSO GROWS
krisis: Judgment or decision.
κρίσις
This noun names the judgment that results from discernment, the action the verse assigns a scope to.
kritēs: A judge, one who decides.
κριτής
This branch names the person who makes a judgment, highlighting that the verse concerns who has responsibility to exercise it.
krima: A judgment or verdict.
κρῖμα
This branch names the outcome of deciding, showing how discernment can become a verdict within the community.
THE PATTERN
Human discernment has a bounded scope: examine the shared life within your care, while ultimate judgment belongs to God.
But those outside, God will judge. Lift out the wicked one from among yourselves.You actor, first throw the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see through to throw the splinter out of your brother's eye.Far be it from you to do according to this word, to put to death the aligned with the wicked, and the aligned be as the wicked. Far be it from you! Will not the judge of all the earth make judgment?THE THREAD
But those outside, God will judge. Lift out the wicked one from among yourselves.“Judged” comes from the same Greek root, κρίνω (krinō), as “judge” in this verse. The next verse makes the boundary explicit: the community addresses what is within, and God judges those outside.
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