Matthew 7:15

A Tree and Its Fruit

7:15 “Watch out for false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are voracious wolves. ¹ 

Matthew 7:1

Do Not Judge

7:1 “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. ² 

Matthew 2:13-16

The Escape to Egypt

2:13 After they had gone, an ³  angel of the Lord ⁴  appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, for Herod ⁵  is going to look for the child to kill him.” 2:14 Then he got up, took the child and his mother during ⁶  the night, and went to Egypt. 2:15 He stayed there until Herod ⁷  died. In this way what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet was fulfilled: “I called my Son out of Egypt.” ⁸ 

2:16 When Herod ⁹  saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he became enraged. He sent men ¹⁰  to kill all the children in Bethlehem ¹¹  and throughout the surrounding region from the age of two and under, according to the time he had learned from the wise men.

Matthew 2:1

The Visit of the Wise Men

2:1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem ¹²  in Judea, in the time ¹³  of King Herod, ¹⁴  wise men ¹⁵  from the East came to Jerusalem ¹⁶ 

Isaiah 56:12

56:12 Each one says, ¹⁷ 

‘Come on, I’ll get some wine!

Let’s guzzle some beer!

Tomorrow will be just like today!

We’ll have everything we want!’ ¹⁸ 

Ezekiel 34:3

34:3 You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the choice animals, but you do not feed the sheep!

Micah 3:5

3:5 This is what the Lord says: “The prophets who mislead my people

are as good as dead. ¹⁹ 

If someone gives them enough to eat,

they offer an oracle of peace. ²⁰ 

But if someone does not give them food,

they are ready to declare war on him. ²¹ 

Romans 16:18

16:18 For these are the kind who do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By their smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds ²²  of the naive.

Philippians 3:19

3:19 Their end is destruction, their god is the belly, they exult in their shame, and they think about earthly things. ²³ 

Titus 1:11-12

1:11 who must be silenced because they mislead whole families by teaching for dishonest gain what ought not to be taught. 1:12 A certain one of them, in fact, one of their own prophets, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” ²⁴ 

Titus 1:2

1:2 in hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the ages began. ²⁵ 

Titus 2:13-14

2:13 as we wait for the happy fulfillment of our hope in the glorious appearing ²⁶  of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. ²⁷  2:14 He ²⁸  gave himself for us to set us free from every kind of lawlessness and to purify for himself a people who are truly his, ²⁹  who are eager to do good. ³⁰ 

Jude 1:12

1:12 These men are ³¹  dangerous reefs ³²  at your love feasts, ³³  feasting without reverence, ³⁴  feeding only themselves. ³⁵  They are ³⁶  waterless ³⁷  clouds, carried along by the winds; autumn trees without fruit ³⁸  – twice dead, ³⁹  uprooted;

[7:15]  ¹ sn Sheep’s clothing…voracious wolves. Jesus uses a metaphor here to point out that these false prophets appear to be one thing, but in reality they are something quite different and dangerous.

[7:1]  ² sn The point of the statement do not judge so that you will not be judged is that the standards we apply to others God applies to us. The passive verbs in this verse look to God’s action.

[2:13]  ³ tn Grk “behold, an angel.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[2:13]  ⁴ tn Or “the angel of the Lord.” See the note on the word “Lord” in 1:20.

[2:13]  ⁵ sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1. Herod the Great was particularly ruthless regarding the succession to his throne.

[2:14]  ⁶ tn The feminine singular genitive noun νυκτός (nuktos, “night”) indicates the time during which the action of the main verb takes place (ExSyn 124).

[2:15]  ⁷ sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1.

[2:15]  ⁸ sn A quotation from Hos 11:1.

[2:16]  ⁹ sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1. Note the fulfillment of the prophecy given by the angel in 2:13.

[2:16]  ¹⁰ tn Or “soldiers.”

[2:16]  ¹¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[2:1]  ¹² map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[2:1]  ¹³ tn Grk “in the days.”

[2:1]  ¹⁴ sn King Herod was Herod the Great, who ruled Palestine from 37 b.c. until he died in 4 b.c. He was known for his extensive building projects (including the temple in Jerusalem) and for his cruelty.

[2:1]  ¹⁵ sn The Greek term magi here describes a class of wise men and priests who were astrologers (L&N 32.40).

[2:1]  ¹⁶ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[56:12]  ¹⁷ tn The words “each one says” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[56:12]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “great, [in] abundance, very much,” i.e., “very great indeed.” See HALOT 452 s.v. יֶתֶר.

[3:5]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “concerning the prophets, those who mislead my people.” The first person pronominal suffix is awkward in a quotation formula that introduces the words of the Lord. For this reason some prefer to begin the quotation after “the Lord says” (cf. NIV), but this leaves “concerning the prophets” hanging very awkwardly at the beginning of the quotation. It is preferable to add הוֹי (hoy, “woe, ah”) at the beginning of the quotation, right after the graphically similar יְהוָה (yÿhvah; see D. R. Hillers, Micah [Hermeneia], 44). The phrase הוֹי עַל (hoy ’al, “woe upon”) occurs in Jer 50:27 and Ezek 13:3 (with “the prophets” following the preposition in the latter instance).

[3:5]  ²⁰ tn Heb “those who bite with their teeth and cry out, ‘peace.’” The phrase “bite with the teeth” is taken here as idiomatic for eating. Apparently these prophets were driven by mercenary motives. If they were paid well, they gave positive oracles to their clients, but if someone could not afford to pay them, they were hostile and delivered oracles of doom.

[3:5]  ²¹ tn Heb “but [as for the one] who does not place [food] in their mouths, they prepare for war against him.”

[16:18]  ²² tn Grk “hearts.”

[3:19]  ²³ tn Grk “whose end is destruction, whose god is the belly and glory is their shame, these who think of earthly things.”

[1:12]  ²⁴ sn A saying attributed to the poet Epimenides of Crete (6th century b.c.).

[1:2]  ²⁵ tn Grk “before eternal ages.”

[2:13]  ²⁶ tn Grk “the blessed hope and glorious appearing.”

[2:13]  ²⁷ tn The terms “God and Savior” both refer to the same person, Jesus Christ. This is one of the clearest statements in the NT concerning the deity of Christ. The construction in Greek is known as the Granville Sharp rule, named after the English philanthropist-linguist who first clearly articulated the rule in 1798. Sharp pointed out that in the construction article-noun-καί-noun (where καί [kai] = “and”), when two nouns are singular, personal, and common (i.e., not proper names), they always had the same referent. Illustrations such as “the friend and brother,” “the God and Father,” etc. abound in the NT to prove Sharp’s point. The only issue is whether terms such as “God” and “Savior” could be considered common nouns as opposed to proper names. Sharp and others who followed (such as T. F. Middleton in his masterful The Doctrine of the Greek Article) demonstrated that a proper name in Greek was one that could not be pluralized. Since both “God” (θεός, qeos) and “savior” (σωτήρ, swthr) were occasionally found in the plural, they did not constitute proper names, and hence, do fit Sharp’s rule. Although there have been 200 years of attempts to dislodge Sharp’s rule, all attempts have been futile. Sharp’s rule stands vindicated after all the dust has settled. For more information on Sharp’s rule see ExSyn 270-78, esp. 276. See also 2 Pet 1:1 and Jude 4.

[2:14]  ²⁸ tn Grk “who” (as a continuation of the previous clause).

[2:14]  ²⁹ tn Or “a people who are his very own.”

[2:14]  ³⁰ tn Grk “for good works.”

[1:12]  ³¹ tn Grk “these are the men who are.”

[1:12]  ³² tn Though σπιλάδες (spilades) is frequently translated “blemishes” or “stains,” such is actually a translation of the Greek word σπίλοι (spiloi). The two words are quite similar, especially in their root or lexical forms (σπιλάς [spila"] and σπίλος [spilos] respectively). Some scholars have suggested that σπιλάδες in this context means the same thing as σπίλοι. But such could be the case only by a stretch of the imagination (see BDAG 938 s.v. σπιλάς for discussion). Others suggest that Jude’s spelling was in error (which also is doubtful). One reason for the tension is that in the parallel passage, 2 Pet 2:13, the term used is indeed σπίλος. And if either Jude used 2 Peter or 2 Peter used Jude, one would expect to see the same word. Jude, however, may have changed the wording for the sake of a subtle wordplay. The word σπιλάς was often used of a mere rock, though it normally was associated with a rock along the shore or one jutting out in the water. Thus, the false teachers would appear as “rocks” – as pillars in the community (cf. Matt 16:18; Gal 2:9), when in reality if a believer got too close to them his faith would get shipwrecked. Some suggest that σπιλάδες here means “hidden rocks.” Though this meaning is attested for the word, it is inappropriate in this context, since these false teachers are anything but hidden. They are dangerous because undiscerning folks get close to them, thinking they are rocks and pillars, when they are really dangerous reefs.

[1:12]  ³³ tc Several witnesses (A C^vid 1243 1846 al), influenced by the parallel in 2 Pet 2:13, read ἀπάταις (apatai", “deceptions”) for ἀγάπαις (agapai", “love-feasts”) in v. 12. However, ἀγάπαις has much stronger and earlier support and should therefore be considered original.

[1:12]  ³⁴ tn Or “fearlessly.” The term in this context, however, is decidedly negative. The implication is that these false teachers ate the Lord’s Supper without regarding the sanctity of the meal. Cf. 1 Cor 11:17-22.

[1:12]  ³⁵ tn Grk “shepherding themselves.” The verb ποιμαίνω (poimainw) means “shepherd, nurture [the flock].” But these men, rather than tending to the flock of God, nurture only themselves. They thus fall under the condemnation Paul uttered when writing to the Corinthians: “For when it comes time to eat [the Lord’s Supper,] each one goes ahead with his own meal” (1 Cor 11:21). Above all, the love-feast was intended to be a shared meal in which all ate and all felt welcome.

[1:12]  ³⁶ tn “They are” is not in Greek, but resumes the thought begun at the front of v. 12. There is no period before “They are.” English usage requires breaking this into more than one sentence.

[1:12]  ³⁷ tn Cf. 2 Pet 2:17. Jude’s emphasis is slightly different (instead of waterless springs, they are waterless clouds).

[1:12]  ³⁸ sn The imagery portraying the false teachers as autumn trees without fruit has to do with their lack of productivity. Recall the statement to the same effect by Jesus in Matt 7:16-20, in which false prophets will be known by their fruits. Like waterless clouds full of false hope, these trees do not yield any harvest even though it is expected.

[1:12]  ³⁹ tn Grk “having died twice.”