Judging, Judgmnet juj'-ing, juj'-ment: Often in the Old Testament for "to act as a magistrate" (Exodus 18:13, Deuteronomy 1:16, Deuteronomy 16:18, etc.), justice being administered generally by "elders" (Exodus 18:13-27), or "kings" (1 Samuel 8:20) or "priests" (Deuteronomy 18:15); applied to God as the Supreme Judge (Psalms 9:7, Psalms 9:8, Psalms 10:18, Psalms 96:13, Micah 4:3, etc.; Psalms 7:8 "Yahweh ministereth judgment," vividly describes a court scene, with Yahweh as Judge).
Often in the New Testament, ethically, for
(1) "to decide," "give a verdict," "declare an opinion" (Greek krino);
(2) "to investigate," "scrutinize" (Greek anakrino);
(3) "to discriminate," "distinguish" (Greek diakrino).
For (1), see Luke 7:43, Acts 15:19;
for (2) see 1 Corinthians 2:15, 1 Corinthians 4:3;
for (3)see 1 Corinthians 11:31, 1 Corinthians 14:29 m.
Used also forensically in Luke 22:30, Acts 25:10; and applied to God in John 5:22, Hebrews 10:30. The judgments of God are the expression of His justice, the formal declarations of His judgments, whether embodied in words (Deuteronomy 5:1 the King James Version, the Revised Version (British and American) "statutes"), or deeds (Exodus 6:6, Revelation 16:7), or in decisions that are yet to be published (Psalms 36:6). Man's consciousness of guilt inevitably associates God's judgments as declarations of the Divine justice, with his own condemnation, i.e. he knows that a strict exercise of justice means his condemnation, and thus "judgment" and "condemnation" become in his mind synonymous (Romans 5:16); hence, the prayer of Psalms 143:2, "Enter not into judgment"; also, John 6:29, "the resurrection of judgment" (the King James Version "damnation"); 1 Corinthians 11:29, "eateth and drinketh judgment" (the King James Version "damnation").
H. E. Jacobs