Matthew 3:10
Encyclopedia
Matthew 3:10 is the tenth verse of the third chapter of the Gospel of Matthew
in the New Testament
. The verse occurs in where John the Baptist
is berating the Pharisees
and Sadducees
. He has previously called them a brood of vipers and warned them of the wrath to come and has urged them to repent. This verse returns to the fruit metaphor of Matthew 3:8
adding a promise of eventual punishment.
In the King James Version of the Bible the text reads:
The World English Bible
translates the passage as:
For a collection of other versions see BibRef Matthew 3:10
In Matthew 3:8 John tells the Pharisees and Sadducees that they must manifest the fruit of repentance
if they are to avoid the wrath of God. This verse threatens that every tree that does not bear fruit will be destroyed, i.e. that people who do not repent will face divine punishment. As in Matthew 3:2
this punishment is said to be in the very near future. Most scholars feel that this verse originally referred to the last judgement. When the last judgement failed to occur the verse was reinterpreted to refer to individual damnation.
The imagery is of God as a lumberjack
cutting down trees and then burning them. Specifically it refers to an axe being placed at the base of a tree just above the roots, which would be the final action before beginning to chop down the tree.
Similar imagery is used in Isaiah 10:34 and in Jeremiah 46:22, which France feels may be the inspiration for this verse. France also notes that in Aramaic the word for root is ikkar while the word for cut down is kar thus this verse may be another example of wordplay.
This verse is almost identical to Luke 3:9, but is not found anywhere in Mark. Thus supporters of the two source hypothesis feel that it was likely part of Q, as with the preceding verses.
Gospel of Matthew
The Gospel According to Matthew is one of the four canonical gospels, one of the three synoptic gospels, and the first book of the New Testament. It tells of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth...
in the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
. The verse occurs in where John the Baptist
John the Baptist
John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...
is berating the Pharisees
Pharisees
The Pharisees were at various times a political party, a social movement, and a school of thought among Jews during the Second Temple period beginning under the Hasmonean dynasty in the wake of...
and Sadducees
Sadducees
The Sadducees were a sect or group of Jews that were active in Ancient Israel during the Second Temple period, starting from the second century BC through the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD. The sect was identified by Josephus with the upper social and economic echelon of Judean society...
. He has previously called them a brood of vipers and warned them of the wrath to come and has urged them to repent. This verse returns to the fruit metaphor of Matthew 3:8
Matthew 3:8
Matthew 3:8 is the eighth verse of the third chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. The verse occurs in where John the Baptist is berating the Pharisees and Sadducees...
adding a promise of eventual punishment.
In the King James Version of the Bible the text reads:
- And now also the axe is laid
- unto the root of the trees:
- therefore every tree which
- bringeth not forth good fruit is
- hewn down, and cast into the fire.
The World English Bible
World English Bible
The World English Bible is a public domain translation of the Bible that is currently in draft form. Work on the World English Bible began in 1997 and was known as the American Standard Version 1997...
translates the passage as:
- "Even now the axe lies at the
- root of the trees. Therefore,
- every tree that doesn't bring
- forth good fruit is cut down,
- and cast into the fire.
For a collection of other versions see BibRef Matthew 3:10
In Matthew 3:8 John tells the Pharisees and Sadducees that they must manifest the fruit of repentance
Repentance
Repentance is a change of thought to correct a wrong and gain forgiveness from a person who is wronged. In religious contexts it usually refers to confession to God, ceasing sin against God, and resolving to live according to religious law...
if they are to avoid the wrath of God. This verse threatens that every tree that does not bear fruit will be destroyed, i.e. that people who do not repent will face divine punishment. As in Matthew 3:2
Matthew 3:2
Matthew 3:2 is the second verse of the third chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. John the Baptist has just been introduced and this verse describes the message that he is preaching....
this punishment is said to be in the very near future. Most scholars feel that this verse originally referred to the last judgement. When the last judgement failed to occur the verse was reinterpreted to refer to individual damnation.
The imagery is of God as a lumberjack
Lumberjack
A lumberjack is a worker in the logging industry who performs the initial harvesting and transport of trees for ultimate processing into forest products. The term usually refers to a bygone era when hand tools were used in harvesting trees principally from virgin forest...
cutting down trees and then burning them. Specifically it refers to an axe being placed at the base of a tree just above the roots, which would be the final action before beginning to chop down the tree.
Similar imagery is used in Isaiah 10:34 and in Jeremiah 46:22, which France feels may be the inspiration for this verse. France also notes that in Aramaic the word for root is ikkar while the word for cut down is kar thus this verse may be another example of wordplay.
This verse is almost identical to Luke 3:9, but is not found anywhere in Mark. Thus supporters of the two source hypothesis feel that it was likely part of Q, as with the preceding verses.