“He shall judge the world with righteousness, And the peoples with His truth.” – Psalm 96:13, NKJV

I’ve served as a Luganda/English interpreter for as long as I have been a Christian. 

But over the years, there is one English word that I’ve dreaded – the word ‘judge.’

I don’t know about the other local languages but my thinking is that even the translators of the Luganda Bible struggled to find the appropriate Luganda term for the verb, ‘to judge’ and the noun, ‘justice.’ 

The Luganda Bible translates the verb ‘to judge’ as ‘akusalira omusango.’

It is the same term used to describe the idea of condemning or convicting and consequently punishing someone for doing wrong.

However, as well know, that is not entirely accurate.

Technically, ‘to judge’ is to administer justice or to make legal decisions.

In the Old Testament, ‘judges’ were leaders whose role was to provide guidance or help to resolve disputes.

For example, Judges 4:4 says; “And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, judged Israel at that time…and the children of Israel would come up to her for judgment.”

In Psalm 7:8 (NKJV), the psalmist prays; “The LORD shall judge the peoples; Judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness, and according to my integrity within me.”

Clearly, what the psalmist is praying for is not that he should be condemned by God; rather, he is praying for justice or to be absolved from blame.

The New International Version makes this clear by correctly using “vindicate me” instead of “judge me.”

In simple terms, ‘to vindicate’ is to exonerate or clear someone of blame and may involve defending, avenging or restoring someone’s reputation after they have been wronged, misjudged or wrongly accused.

The just, truthful and righteous God will restore your honor and reputation; He will vindicate you and render all the enemy’s condemnation and accusations powerless!

So, when the Bible says that “God shall judge His people,” it means that God shall vindicate His people – He will clear His people of any false accusations by their adversaries, and He will justify their righteousness and prove their innocence.

In relation to our meditation verse today, it means that our Lord Jesus Christ will show up and ensure that any injustices that His Church and His saints have suffered throughout the generations are righted, and that their integrity and righteousness or right standing with Him are acknowledged by the nations.

Indeed, for the nation of Israel, Jehovah God has historically always vindicated His people by consistently delivering them from their adversaries or oppressors.

Today’s word is specifically for someone who has been a victim of character assassination or false accusations or unjust persecution or treatment.

The just, truthful and righteous God will restore your honor and reputation; He will vindicate you and render all the enemy’s condemnation and accusations against you powerless!

 Oh yes; He will, like He has always done, so take heart my dear sister.

From an eschatological perspective, some Bible scholars insist that God will ‘judge’ His Church at the Final Judgment.

Whereas this worldview may be biblical, the focus of God’s judgement will be on rewards rather than condemnation (see 2 Corinthians 5:10).

There’s some controversy on what Jesus meant when He said, “Judge not that you may not be judged” (Matthew 7:1).

The Greek word ‘krino’ (to judge) when used  in a legal setting, connotes the idea of condemning or passing sentence on someone or something.

It’s the root for ‘krisis,’ the Greek word for ‘judgement’ and from which we derive the English word ‘crisis.’

In a forensic setting such as tribunals or juries (which were common during Roman rule), it refers to the action of condemning, passing sentence upon or convicting someone basing on one’s faults or mistakes.

So, what Jesus’ admonition means is that we should avoid putting others in ‘crisis’ or else we shall also be put in ‘crisis’ (given that all of us have our different faults).