Charles Ellicott Commentary Matthew 12:36

"And I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment." — Matthew 12:36 (ASV)

Every idle word that people shall speak — The teaching, though general in form, still looks back to the hard, bitter words of the Pharisees that were the starting point of the discourse. Our Lord does not speak, as we might have expected, of “every evil word,” but of “every idle—that is, useless and purposeless—word.” These are the random utterances that, being more spontaneous, betray character more than deliberate speech. Such an “idle word” was the passing taunt, “He casts out demons by Beelzebub.”

It is not said, however, that for every such random speech a person will be condemned, but that they will give an account for it. That word will enter into the great total that determines the divine estimate of their character and, therefore, the outcomes of the great “day of judgment.”