Matthew 7:15-20

The Voice

¹⁵ Along the way, watch out for false prophets. They will come to you in sheep’s clothing, but underneath that quaint and innocent wool, they are hungry wolves. ¹⁶ But you will recognize them by their fruits. You don’t find sweet, delicious grapes growing on thorny bushes, do you? You don’t find delectable figs growing in the midst of prickly thistles. ¹⁷ People and their lives are like trees. Good trees bear beautiful, tasty fruit, but bad trees bear ugly, bitter fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot bear ugly, bitter fruit; nor can a bad tree bear fruit that is beautiful and tasty. ¹⁹ And what happens to the rotten trees? They are cut down. They are used for firewood. ²⁰ When a prophet comes to you and preaches this or that, look for his fruits: sweet or sour? rotten or ripe?