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Trees and Their Fruit

33 “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad[a] and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is known by its fruit. 34 Offspring of vipers! How are you able to say anything good, since you are evil? For the mouth speaks from what fills the heart. 35 The good person[b] brings good things out of his[c] good treasury,[d] and the evil person brings evil things out of his evil treasury. 36 I[e] tell you that on the day of judgment, people will give an account for every worthless word they speak. 37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 12:33 tn Grk “rotten.” The word σαπρός, modifying both “tree” and “fruit,” can also mean “diseased” (L&N 65.28).
  2. Matthew 12:35 tn The Greek text reads here ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos). The term is generic referring to any person.
  3. Matthew 12:35 tn Grk “the”; the Greek article has been translated here and in the following clause (“his evil treasury”) as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).
  4. Matthew 12:35 sn The treasury here is a metaphorical reference to a person’s heart (cf. BDAG 456 s.v. θησαυρός 1.b and the parallel passage in Luke 6:45).
  5. Matthew 12:36 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree corrupt and its fruit corrupt; for the tree is known by its fruit. 34 You offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. 35 The good man out of his good treasure[a] brings out good things, and the evil man out of his evil treasure brings out evil things. 36 I tell you that every idle word that men speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. 37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

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Footnotes

  1. 12:35 TR adds “of the heart”