Matthew 7:19-20

7:19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 7:20 So then, you will recognize them by their fruit.

Luke 6:45

6:45 The good person out of the good treasury of his ¹  heart ²  produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasury ³  produces evil, for his mouth speaks ⁴  from what fills ⁵  his heart.

Luke 6:1

Lord of the Sabbath

6:1 Jesus ⁶  was going through the grain fields on ⁷  a Sabbath, ⁸  and his disciples picked some heads of wheat, ⁹  rubbed them in their hands, and ate them. ¹⁰ 

Colossians 1:13

1:13 He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves, ¹¹ 

Colossians 2:21-22

2:21 “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!” 2:22 These are all destined to perish with use, founded as they are ¹²  on human commands and teachings. ¹³ 

James 3:6

3:6 And the tongue is a fire! The tongue represents ¹⁴  the world of wrongdoing among the parts of our bodies. It ¹⁵  pollutes the entire body and sets fire to the course of human existence – and is set on fire by hell. ¹⁶ 

¹ tn Grk “the”; the Greek article has been translated here and in the following clause (“out of the evil”) as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

² sn Mention of the heart shows that Jesus is not interested in what is done, but why. Motives are more important than actions for him.

³ tn The word “treasury” is not repeated in the Greek text at this point, but is implied.

⁴ sn What one utters from one’s mouth is especially singled out as the example of this principle. James seems to have known this teaching (Jas 1:26; 3:1-12).

⁵ tn Grk “for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”

⁶ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁷ tn Grk “Now it happened that on.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

⁸ tc Most later mss (A C D Θ Ψ [˹³] Ï lat) read ἐν σαββάτῳ δευτεροπρώτῳ (en sabbatw deuteroprwtw, “a second-first Sabbath”), while the earlier and better witnesses have simply ἐν σαββάτῳ (Ì⁴ א B L W ˹ 33 579 1241 2542 it sa). The longer reading is most likely secondary, though various explanations may account for it (for discussion, see TCGNT 116).

⁹ tn Or “heads of grain.” While the generic term στάχυς (stacus) can refer to the cluster of seeds at the top of grain such as barley or wheat, in the NT the term is restricted to wheat (L&N 3.40; BDAG 941 s.v. 1).

¹⁰ tn Grk “picked and ate some heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands.” The participle ψώχοντες (ywconte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style, and the order of the clauses has been transposed to reflect the logical order, which sounds more natural in English.

¹¹ tn Here αὐτοῦ (autou) has been translated as a subjective genitive (“he loves”).

¹² tn The expression “founded as they are” brings out the force of the Greek preposition κατά (kata).

¹³ tn Grk “The commands and teachings of men.”

¹⁴ tn Grk “makes itself,” “is made.”

¹⁵ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

¹⁶ sn The word translated hell is “Gehenna” (γέεννα, geenna), a Greek transliteration of the Hebrew words ge hinnom (“Valley of Hinnom”). This was the valley along the south side of Jerusalem. In OT times it was used for human sacrifices to the pagan god Molech (cf. Jer 7:31; 19:5-6; 32:35), and it came to be used as a place where human excrement and rubbish were disposed of and burned. In the intertestamental period, it came to be used symbolically as the place of divine punishment (cf. 1 En. 27:2, 90:26; 4 Ezra 7:36).