The English word "idyllic" (happy, peaceful, picturesque) is a form of the English word "idyll" which comes from the Latin word "idyllium" ≈ "idyl" which comes from the ancient Greek word "εἰδύλλιον" ≈ "idyll" which is a diminutive form of the ancient Greek word "εἶδος" ≈ "form, shape" from the PIE (Proto Indo-European) root "*WEYD" ≈ "see"and is related to words such as "video".

As an acronym for "idle", the Python programming IDLE (Integrated Development and Learning Environment) is a simple programming development environment.

Many have seen the sign that says, "No idling. Turn engine off!".

This is in areas where the excess car exhaust (hot air) may not be good to those around.

Many think of "idle talk" in the same way. "No idle talk. Turn mouth off!".

This is in areas where the excess mouth exhaust (hot air) may not be good to those around.

A related English expression is "engage brain before shifting mouth into gear".

Meaningless words are not good - they can be used to distract attention and use up time.

Omitted words are not good - they can be used to deceive.

Let us try to narrow down the idea of an "idle word". It is assumed that the plural "idle words" is more of the same.

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A fool-proof method for sculpting an elephant: first, get a huge block of marble; then you chip away everything that doesn't look like an elephant. David Gries (Computer scientist)

More: David Gries

Often, "idle words" are described as viscous, negative, bad, not true, disparaging, dirty, etc. That is, they are not good words to say.
Let us investigate what the GNT (Greek New Testament) might say.

In case of fire take the stairs!

This discourse by Jesus appears to be in a top-down backward-chaining sequence from the goal in verse 30 to the starting point in verse 37. Reading the verses in order in a bottom-up forward-chaining way makes the meaning (for most people) hard to discern.

Bottom-up forward-chaining: 30 then 31 then 32 ... (how most people understand)


Top-down backward-chaining: 30 if 31 if 32 ... (as spoken and written)


Studying the verses in reverse order provides a way to better understand the meaning in a bottom-up forward-chaining manner that is more familiar to most people. The setup verse in a top-down backward-chaining view is that of the last verse.

The ancient Greek word "λόγος" ≈ "rational explanation" but is often translated as "word" in the KJV. The Greek word used here is that of a "logical explanation" and not a "spoken word". Logical explanations come in various forms.

• Valid logic.
• Invalid logic which can be from ignorance, deliberate deception, etc. (strife)

Aristotle discuses both valid and invalid logic at length.

More: Aristotle

Explanations are important.

• By one's "words" one is "justified" as in "righteous" (same word root in Greek) which is an "opinion" - God's opinion or man's opinion.
• By one's "words" one is "condemned". This is not the Greek word for "judge" as in "separate" but the Greek word for "judged" as in "condemned" as in the verdict being carried out.

Those "spoken words" may "fly" but, according to Jesus, some of those words may need to be accounted for in the day of judgment.

The KJV translates as "word" the ancient Greek word"ῥῆμα" ≈ "spoken word" and which is the source of the English word "rhetoric". These are not utterances, swear words, empty words, weasel words, etc.

The KJV translates as "account" the ancient Greek word "λόγος" ≈ "rational explanation" used in words ending in"ology" such as "geology".

The word "judgment" in Old English is "doom", so "judgment day" is "doomsday".

More: Something to say about words

Note that both Greek words for "word" are used in this verse. The first often (but not always) refers to spoken words. The second often (but not always) refers to written words and is here translated by the KJV as "account" as in having a "purpose" that needs to be determined.

The "day of judgment" is in Middle English "day of doom" and in Old English "dooms day". This day may be part of the parable of the sheep and goats.

The use of more prepositions in Middle English led to "day" of "doom" rather than the Old English "dooms" "day".

An English idiom is that one may have to "eat one's words". That is, admit that they were wrong about something in the past. In Revelation 10:10 John has to "eat words" in the form of a "little bock".

Perhaps those words relate to false teaching. Would "idle words" need some seasoning? How about the season of the day of judgment.

Might that be related to the way that my "salad jokes" need addressing? Let us (lettuce) leave that as a future topic.

More: The taste of false teaching

There are many English idioms using "word".

• One gives "their word" as in a "word of honor".
• A man of "few words", a "kind word".
• A "buzzword", "wordplay".
• A "word to the wise",to "eat your words".
• To "exchange words", to "have a word with"
• To "get the word out", by "word of mouth".
• To "get a word in edgewise", to "have the last word".
• A "picture is worth a thousand words".

In simple terms, the business field of "accounting" has to do with keeping track of all debits and credits and making sure that they match exactly.
In this verse, one appears to need to keep track of "idle words" such that they match, say, "for Christ" or "against Christ" with some way to keep track of any "idle words" in the middle.

These "idle words" have meaning and are not just "utterances" that may have limited meaning.

Aside: In "managerial accounting" one just needs to get close as it may take a lot more work to get everything exact than the difference in the debits and credits.

This is, in part, the difference between logic (all or nothing, true or false) and reality (prudent trade-offs are needed).

Details are left as a future topic.

In a business programming course there were some business accounting majors in the class.

I made the claim that "accounting is easy".

One of them got upset and blurted out, "What do you mean easy! Have you ever taken an accounting course?". I then coolly replied, "accounting is easy". Just go "a-one", "a-two", "a-three". That is how you "a-count". They were not amused at the humor. Let us move on.

Might it be that jokes fall under the rubric of "idle words" for which an "accounting" is needed? Let us account for the jokes, "a-one", "a-two", "a-three". Not funny! That joke was just used.

When Jesus speaks, he often uses code words where nouns or nouns with their adjectives are used to represent other ideas. Often the coded form has a meaning somewhat like the decoded form, but not always.

More: Parables and secret codes used and explained by Jesus

More: Matthew 13:51-53 Eighth kingdom parable: treasure of new and old codes

Here "idle words" may be a code word that represents something else in addition to the literal meaning.

Let us first look at the literal meaning of "idle words".

If a tree falls in a forest, and there is no one there to hear it, does it make a sound?

Without defining "idle word", the following question is asked.

If an idle word is spoken, and there is no one else there to hear it, does it require one to account for it in the day of judgment?

Any such "idle word" spoken comes from the heart and is already present in the heart. Only words that impact others and the decisions they make from those words appear to be relevant.

What about "idle words" that are not spoken?

The concluding part of the Confession of Sin finishes as follows.

Almighty God have mercy on you,
forgive you all your sins
through our Lord Jesus Christ,
strengthen you in all goodness
and by the power of the Holy Spirit
keep you in eternal life. Amen.

Might omitted words used to deceive be "idle words"? Lies and deception can be very subtle.
Half a truth is often a great lie. Benjamin Franklin (American scientist, inventor, philosopher, statesman)

More: Benjamin Franklin

There are a terrible lot of lies going about the world, and the worst of it is that half of them are true. Winston Churchill (British statesman)

So how does one determine what is true and what is not true?

More: Winston Churchill

More: Lies and falsehoods

Religious leaders will always avail themselves of public ignorance for their own purpose. Thomas Jefferson (American statesman, diplomat, scientist and 3rd President of the United States from 1801-1809) .

More: Thomas Jefferson

What is not said can be as important as what is said. Which of the following is worse?

• One can waste time if one says things that are meaningless in a given context (e.g., a sermon).
• One can be deceptive if one omits important parts of a message (e.g., the Bible).
• One can be deceptive by taking advantage of the ignorance of the listeners. Salespeople often do this.

It would appear that an "idle word" is not decidable in the above sense and only words heard by and impacting others are relevant. Such words need to be accounted for in the day of judgment.

If the accounting resolves the issue of whether the words were "for Christ" or "against Christ" the matter is (logically) resolved - for good or bad result for that individual.

Might this accounting need to account for words not said? That is, omitted words used to deceive.

Counter-factual logic has to do with reasoning about what might have happened.

More: Profitable and expedient counterfactual logic

“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act. Dietrich Bonhoeffer (German Lutheran pastor, theologian and anti-Nazi dissident)

More: Dietrich Bonhoeffer

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Should the penalty be the same or worse for deceiving by omission than deceiving by delaying or avoiding the issue?

Should the penalty be the same or worse for deceiving by omission than deceiving by delaying or avoiding the issue?

Asking which is greater is a logical question to ask. Jesus often uses comparisons. Jesus used such a comparison both earlier in the chapter 12 and twice later in chapter 12 using another Greek word for "greater".

Let us repeat the question. Which of the following is worse?

☐ One can waste time if one says things that are meaningless in a given context (e.g., a sermon).
☐ One can be deceptive if one omits important parts of a message (e.g., the Bible).
☐ One can be deceptive if one changes important parts of a message (e.g., the Bible).

Should the penalty by the same or worse for deceiving by omission than deceiving by delaying or avoiding the issue?

Jesus (and others) on many occasions makes use of comparisons as to one entity being greater or less than another entity. One can be "weighed in the balance".

More: Nothing has been found more effective than this

More: Matthew 25:40,45 The least of these

More: Greater than the greatest

The "judgment" is the separation process such as the parable of the sheep and the goats in Matthew 22 or the "judge that ye be not judged" in Matthew 7..

More: Matthew 25: 31-46 Parable of the sheep and goats

More: Matthew 7:1-2 Here comes the judge, but just barley

There appears to be a translation issue here.

The ancient Greek lexicons provide the meaning translated as "evil" as "oppressed by toils" which fits the context of what Jesus is here (and elsewhere) saying.

The Strongs concordance and theologians have translated "evil" from the Greek (changing a consonant pair) as "hurtful", "evil".

Let us try a comparison of both meanings.

• An evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.
• A burdensome man out of the burdensome treasure bringeth forth burdensome things.
• A burdened man out of the burdened treasure bringeth forth burdened things.

How does this change the meaning of the verse? Which meaning fits better in the context of these verses?

One can think of the "evil" resulting from being "burdened" with other requirements.

• Burdensome things can weigh down someone such that they do not get the required work (fruit) done.
• Omitted things can get lost in the burdensome work that deception is easier.

Burdensome things can distract one from the goal.
A common Scott Adams Dilbert cartoon theme is the following. The project gets behind schedule so the manager starts requiring more status reports, each of which take burdensome and toilsome work to complete as the project gets more behind schedule.

People bear fruit but are usually not referred to as a tree in the Bible. Instead, they are "branches".
Jesus is the "vine" and we are the "branches" (of the vine, not the tree).

In the Bible,a tree usually represents a human hierarchy and not an individual persons. Usually, the ruler, such as Nebuchadnezzar, is the root of the tree. The common person or worker is a leaf of the tree.

More: Exodus 18: Hierarchy as a man-made tree structure

Discuss: Jesus in this chapter is addressing the religious establishment and shortcomings of that establishment. Does this verse refer primarily to trees as religious hierarchical establishments (including the church) or to trees as human individuals (or both)?

The amazing thing about Mikhail Gorbachev (Михаил Горбачёв), the final leader of the Soviet Union, in the 1990's was that he had to hold his tongue and play the party game from bottom to top and only when he got to the top did he open up and start to make changes.

Another example would be a military organization - pick almost any one throughout history. The military (usually) only promotes from within. The only way to make needed changes is from the top. The only ones promoted to the top (except during war after some extended time of disasters) is to agree with the status quo.

Discuss:

• In the Middle Ages, how well did the Catholic Church adapt to needed changes? Was it for good or for bad, Biblically speaking?
• In recent centuries, how well has the Protestant Church adapted to needed changes? Has it been for good or for bad, Biblically speaking?

A sin against the Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven.

What is a "word" or sin "against" the Holy Spirit? Perhaps it is based on what has been discussed in the above verses. The word translated "against" can mean "into" as might be the case with "idle" "words" as a deception as a "false Christ".

The only "idle words" that appear to be relevant are those during the "seek" stage of the "ask", "seek" and "knock" sequence.
A talk was given by a volunteer to a country in eastern Europe about his experiences handing out Bibles. He told how he had converted someone having told him that he could be forgiven of any sin no matter what. One reason for the above verses would be so that people do not go around saying such things. One must be more careful.

The English word "pardon" is interesting in that it comes through French from Latin but came into Latin from a Germanic language.

The same idea is repeated in verse 31 such that it provides a definition of "blasphemy" as defined by Jesus and not by the religious hierarchy. The "against" is inferred as it would be redundant.

Using the previous verses, might the "blasphemy" against the Holy Spirit be "idle words" used to deceive and make a "bad tree" and "rotten fruit" appear as good in such a way as to "oppress" and mislead followers trying to do the right thing?

More: Speaking evil in a famous way

Blasphemy is speaking evil of something in a way that may not be appropriate.

If one clearly blasphemes Christ, everyone knows what is happening. If one deceptively omits details and emphasizes other details and, in some cases, changes details, the resulting blaspheme against the Holy Spirit is not obvious to those listening.

More: Speaking evil in a famous way

That same person lambasted worshipers in the Eastern Orthodox church there as idol worshipers as they had icons displayed - in many instances to remind them of parts of the Bible.

Such a witness is of dubious value in many respects. One can and should do better. It would be very useful to learn about the language, culture and churches in that area before doing such activities.

One model of "idle words" that appears to fit this passage is that "idle words" are deceptive words or omitted words (to help the deception) that serve to allow the person saying the "idle words" to impersonate Christ as in a MITM (Man in the Middle) attack.

More: Matthew 24: False Christs and all of it

More: The taste of false teaching

It appears that these are the "idle words" that need to be accounted for in the day of judgment as either "for Christ" or "against Christ". If it cannot be determined as to the intent and/or meaning of those "idle words", a decision
procedure is needed to determine on which side the "idle words" fall.

That is the purpose of the Greek word for "judge" used here - a separation process. Jesus provides a decision procedure, or tie-breaker, in the next verse.

• Fruit is either good or rotten.
• One is either with Christ entirely or not with Him.
• Words, at stated at the start of this verse sequence, are important.

Discuss: Can omitted words serve the same purpose or end as spoken words?

If the "idle words" cannot be accounted for as to whether they are "for Christ" or "against Christ", the tie-breaker is that "he that is not with me is against me". The word for "scatter" in Greek is the verb form of the noun "scorpion". The Greek for "gathereth" is the word for "synagogue" or "bringing together"

Do "idle" words (non-working words or omitted words) have the result of "scattering" against what Jesus represents?

In a manner similar to Hebrew poetry that can rhyme by repeated meaning, "he that gathereth not with me scatterth abroad".

More: A scatter-brained approach to the sting of a scorpion

An analogy can be made to computational science.

• Foundations of computation: Program cannot look at another program (and data) and (fully) determine what it will do.
• Goal/assumption of modern psychology: Person can look at another person and determine what that person will do.
• A person is more complex than a computer (machine).

The analogy of the "idle word" problem to the "halting problem" is as follows.

• Some "idle words" are "decidable" as "for Christ" or "against Christ".
• Some "idle words" are "undecidable" as whether they are "for Christ" or "against Christ".

The determination of "undecidable idle words" may need some "accounting" outside of the system due to casual or intentional deception, etc.

Some "undecidable idle words" may still be undecidable and some tie-breaker rule is needed for decision purposes. This verse appears to provide that tie-breaker rule.

(bottom-up, forward-chaining)

(top-down backward-chaining)

The next verse (in reverse order) is the "strong man" verse.
Jesus will bind the strong man and snatch (rapture) his goods (vessels as believers) - those with a good heart and good fruit and, if needed, have accounted for any "idle words".

More: Matthew 12:26-29 Snatching the raptured goods from the strong man

Many pastors, teachers, etc., will intentionally be vague as not to offend anyone or, in some cases, to deceive others. Some will try to "play both sides" of the table. Accountability is important.

One reason for speaking up is to make someone trying to be vague or to deceive "show their cards" which is an idiom from card games where someone might "bluff" to make others think they have a good hand (of cards).

Another idiom for this is to "force the issue".

In Matthew 12, Jesus is speaking to the religious establishment. They have constrained the people from being able to do good with rules, regulations, etc., and a lot of meaningless talk or "idle talk".

It is interesting that today the same thing appears to have happened.

The religious leadership uses a lot of "idle talk" in sermons, etc., to distract the people from the real truth and ignore parts of the Bible they prefer not to present.

The meaning of "idle talk" (of distracting from the truth by the leadership) has been shifted to the people and the idea redefined to by any talk that is "sinful" in some way. And those same pastors may try to define sin as they see it.

If so, has this constrained the people in a manner similar to that of the religious establishment in the days of Jesus?

Discuss the following.

• When a pastor says "idle" words in a sermon, using up time, distracting from real issues, etc., does that fall under the above description of the unpardonable sin? What if the pastor is doing it on purpose?
• When a pastor says "idle" words by omitting important words from scripture, does that fall under the above description of the unpardonable sin? What if the pastor is doing it on purpose?
• When a pastor says "idle" words by changing important words from scripture, does that fall under the above description of the unpardonable sin? What if the pastor is doing it on purpose?
• If people follow a false teacher, will they suffer the same fate as the false teacher?

In the GNT, "little ones" can refer to "children" but in addition, usually refers to "believers".

More: Matthew 11:6: Idiomatic misinterpretations that offend

More: Russian and Greek roots of the term Gulag Archipelago

You may be thinking that focusing on the pastor or leadership is not appropriate. Keep in mind that the entire context of Matthew 12 is that of Jesus speaking to the religious establishment who has accused him of doing miracles by the power of Satan.

Discuss:

• Is it satisfactory to generalize what Jesus is saying to the religious establishment to everyone in general?
• Is it satisfactory to change the meaning of what is said from "idle word" as meaningless word to "idle word" as something bad as in a lie, swear word, word said in anger, etc.?

(top-down backward-chaining)

A top-down backward-chaining view of these verses take "idle words" to the "unpardonable sin" and a decision procedure.