But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall render an account for it in the day of judgment.

But I say unto you, that every idle word which men shall say, they shall render an account of it in judgment-day:

But I tell you that for every careless word that men shall speak they will be held accountable on the day of Judgement.

And I say to you that in the day when they are judged, men will have to give an account of every foolish word they have said.

I tell you that for every careless thing that people say, they must answer on the 'day of judgment.'

Of every idle word This is an argument from the less to the greater; for if every idle word is to be called in question, how would God spare the open blasphemies and sacrilegious insolence of those who bark against his glory? [1] An idle word means one that is useless, or that yields no edification or advantage. Many look upon this as too severe; [2] but if we consider the purpose for which our tongues were made, we will acknowledge, that those men are justly held guilty who unthinkingly devote them to trifling fooleries, and prostitute them to such a purpose. It is no light fault to abuse, for frivolous purposes, the time, which Paul enjoins us to be careful to redeem, (Ephesians 5:16; Colossians 4:5.) Now since no man is so cautious in speech, or maintains such a wise restraint upon himself, as never to allow some idle words to escape him, there remains for all of us absolute despair, if the Lord should treat us with rigor. But as the confident hope of our salvation rests on the assurance that God will not enter into judgment with us, (Psalm 143:2,) but will bury in gracious forgetfulness the sins which deserve innumerable deaths, [3] we entertain no doubt that, when he removes the condemnation of our whole life, he will likewise pardon the guilt of idle talking. When the judgment of God is mentioned in Scripture, it does not in any way set aside the forgiveness of sins. And yet let no man indulge himself, but let every man earnestly endeavor to bridle his tongue, (James 1:26.) First, let us speak of the sacred mysteries of God with the utmost reverence and sobriety; secondly, let us abstain from talkativeness, buffoonery, and vain jests, and much more from slanderous attacks; and, lastly, let us endeavor to have our speech seasoned with salt, (Colossians 4:6.)

Footnotes

1 - "Qui abbayent contre sa gloire, comme chiens mastins;" -- "who bark against his glory, like mastiff-dogs."

2 - "Ceci semble a plusieurs estre trop extreme et rigoureux;"-- "this appears to many to be too extreme and rigorous."

3 - "Qui meritent dix mille morts;" -- "which deserve ten thousand deaths."

But I say unto you - Christ closes this address to his malignant and wicked hearers by a solemn declaration that for these things God would bring them into judgment. Therefore. They who had spoken so malignantly against him, could not escape.
Idle word - This literally means a vain, thoughtless, useless word; a word that accomplishes no good. Here it means, evidently, "wicked, injurious, false, malicious, for such" were the words which they had spoken.

Every idle word - Ρημα αργον, a word that does nothing, that neither ministers grace nor instruction to them who hear it. The word αργον corresponds to the Hebrew שוא shave, which signifies not only vain or empty, but also wicked and injurious, such as a false testimony against a neighbor, compare Deuteronomy 5:11, Deuteronomy 5:20. Add to this, that Symmachus translates פגול piggul, polluted, Leviticus 19:7, by the very Greek word in the text. It was to explain this ambiguous meaning of the word, that ten MSS. have changed αργον into πονηρον, evil. Our Lord must be understood here as condemning all false and injurious words: the scope of the place necessarily requires this meaning.

But I say unto you, That every (e) idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
(e) Vain and unprofitable trifles, which for the most part, men spend their lives in search of.

But I say unto you,.... This form of speaking is used, the more strongly to asseverate the truth of what is after said; and the rather, because men are apt to indulge a liberty with their tongues; fancying no great crime is committed, when only words are spoken, and no facts done;
that every idle word that a man shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. By an "idle word" is meant, what the Jews call, , "light conversation", and , "vain discourse", as the Hebrew Gospel of Munster reads it here; frothy language, unprofitable talk, which, though it does not directly hurt God or man, yet is of no use to speaker or hearer; and yet even this, in the last general and awful judgment, if not forgiven, and repented of, must be accounted for; and much more such horrid blasphemies the Pharisees had vented against Christ, and the Spirit of Christ. The Jews (d) have a saying pretty much like this,
"That even , "for any light conversation", which passes between a man and his wife, he shall "be brought to judgment".''
(d) R. Jonah apud L. Capell. in loc.

But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment--They might say, "It was nothing: we meant no evil; we merely threw out a supposition, as one way of accounting for the miracle we witnessed; if it will not stand, let it go; why make so much of it, and bear down with such severity for it?" Jesus replies, "It was not nothing, and at the great day will not be treated as nothing: Words, as the index of the heart, however idle they may seem, will be taken account of, whether good or bad, in estimating character in the day of judgment."

Every idle word. If we shall be called on to give account for every idle, rash, inconsiderate word, how much more for such blasphemy as the Pharisees had uttered? How careful, too, should we be to see that our speech is pure!

Ye may perhaps think, God does not so much regard your words. But I say to you - That not for blasphemous and profane words only, but for every idle word which men shall speak - For want of seriousness or caution; for every discourse which is not conducive to the glory of God, they shall give account in the day of judgment.