Matthew 3:10

3:10 Even now the ax is laid at ¹  the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

Matthew 21:19-20

21:19 After noticing a fig tree ²  by the road he went to it, but found nothing on it except leaves. He said to it, “Never again will there be fruit from you!” And the fig tree withered at once. 21:20 When the disciples saw it they were amazed, saying, “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?”

Isaiah 5:5-7

5:5 Now I will inform you

what I am about to do to my vineyard:

I will remove its hedge and turn it into pasture, ³ 

I will break its wall and allow animals to graze there. ⁴ 

5:6 I will make it a wasteland;

no one will prune its vines or hoe its ground, ⁵ 

and thorns and briers will grow there.

I will order the clouds

not to drop any rain on it.

5:7 Indeed ⁶  Israel ⁷  is the vineyard of the Lord who commands armies,

the people ⁸  of Judah are the cultivated place in which he took delight.

He waited for justice, but look what he got – disobedience! ⁹ 

He waited for fairness, but look what he got – cries for help! ¹⁰ 

Isaiah 27:11

27:11 When its branches get brittle, ¹¹  they break;

women come and use them for kindling. ¹² 

For these people lack understanding, ¹³ 

therefore the one who made them has no compassion on them;

the one who formed them has no mercy on them.

Ezekiel 15:2-7

15:2 “Son of man, of all the woody branches among the trees of the forest, what happens to the wood of the vine? ¹⁴  15:3 Can wood be taken from it to make anything useful? Or can anyone make a peg from it to hang things on? 15:4 No! ¹⁵  It is thrown in the fire for fuel; when the fire has burned up both ends of it and it is charred in the middle, will it be useful for anything? 15:5 Indeed! If it was not made into anything useful when it was whole, how much less can it be made into anything when the fire has burned it up and it is charred?

15:6 “Therefore, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Like the wood of the vine is among the trees of the forest which I have provided as fuel for the fire – so I will provide the residents of Jerusalem ¹⁶  as fuel. ¹⁷  15:7 I will set ¹⁸  my face against them – although they have escaped from the fire, ¹⁹  the fire will still consume them! Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I set my face against them.

Luke 3:9

3:9 Even now the ax is laid at the root of the trees, ²⁰  and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be ²¹  cut down and thrown into the fire.”

Luke 13:6-9

Warning to Israel to Bear Fruit

13:6 Then ²²  Jesus ²³  told this parable: “A man had a fig tree ²⁴  planted in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. 13:7 So ²⁵  he said to the worker who tended the vineyard, ‘For ²⁶  three years ²⁷  now, I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and each time I inspect it ²⁸  I find none. Cut ²⁹  it down! Why ³⁰  should it continue to deplete ³¹  the soil?’ 13:8 But the worker ³²  answered him, ‘Sir, leave it alone this year too, until I dig around it and put fertilizer ³³  on it. 13:9 Then if ³⁴  it bears fruit next year, ³⁵  very well, ³⁶  but if ³⁷  not, you can cut it down.’”

John 15:2-6

15:2 He takes away ³⁸  every branch that does not bear ³⁹  fruit in me. He ⁴⁰  prunes ⁴¹  every branch that bears ⁴²  fruit so that it will bear more fruit. 15:3 You are clean already ⁴³  because of the word that I have spoken to you. 15:4 Remain ⁴⁴  in me, and I will remain in you. ⁴⁵  Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, ⁴⁶  unless it remains ⁴⁷  in ⁴⁸  the vine, so neither can you unless you remain ⁴⁹  in me.

15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains ⁵⁰  in me – and I in him – bears ⁵¹  much fruit, ⁵²  because apart from me you can accomplish ⁵³  nothing. 15:6 If anyone does not remain ⁵⁴  in me, he is thrown out like a branch, and dries up; and such branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire, ⁵⁵  and are burned up. ⁵⁶ 

Hebrews 6:8

6:8 But if it produces thorns and thistles, it is useless and about to be cursed; ⁵⁷  its fate is to be burned.

Jude 1:12

1:12 These men are ⁵⁸  dangerous reefs ⁵⁹  at your love feasts, ⁶⁰  feasting without reverence, ⁶¹  feeding only themselves. ⁶²  They are ⁶³  waterless ⁶⁴  clouds, carried along by the winds; autumn trees without fruit ⁶⁵  – twice dead, ⁶⁶  uprooted;

[3:10]  ¹ sn Laid at the root. That is, placed and aimed, ready to begin cutting.

[21:19]  ² tn Grk “one fig tree.”

[5:5]  ³ tn Heb “and it will become [a place for] grazing.” בָּעַר (ba’ar, “grazing”) is a homonym of the more often used verb “to burn.”

[5:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “and it will become a trampled place” (NASB “trampled ground”).

[5:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “it will not be pruned or hoed” (so NASB); ASV and NRSV both similar.

[5:7]  ⁵ tn Or “For” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).

[5:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “the house of Israel” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[5:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “men,” but in a generic sense.

[5:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “but, look, disobedience.” The precise meaning of מִשְׂפָּח (mishpakh), which occurs only here in the OT, is uncertain. Some have suggested a meaning “bloodshed.” The term is obviously chosen for its wordplay value; it sounds very much like מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat, “justice”). The sound play draws attention to the point being made; the people have not met the Lord’s expectations.

[5:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “but, look, a cry for help.” The verb (“he waited”) does double duty in the parallelism. צְעָקָה (tsa’qah) refers to the cries for help made by the oppressed. It sounds very much like צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah, “fairness”). The sound play draws attention to the point being made; the people have not met the Lord’s expectations.

[27:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “are dry” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[27:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “women come [and] light it.” The city is likened to a dead tree with dried up branches that is only good for firewood.

[27:11]  ⁸ tn Heb “for not a people of understanding [is] he.”

[15:2]  ⁷ tn Most modern translations take the statement as a comparison (“how is vine wood better than any forest wood?”) based on the preposition מִן (min). But a comparison should have a word as an adjective or stative verb designating a quality, i.e., a word for “good/better” is lacking. The preposition is translated above in its partitive sense.

[15:4]  ⁸ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) draws one’s attention to something. Sometimes it may be translated as a verb of perception; here it is treated as a particle that fits the context (so also in v. 5, but with a different English word).

[15:6]  ⁹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[15:6]  ¹⁰ tn The words “as fuel” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.

[15:7]  ¹⁰ tn The word translated “set” is the same Hebrew word translated as “provide” in the previous verse.

[15:7]  ¹¹ sn This escape refers to the exile of Ezekiel and others in 597 b.c. (Ezek 1:2; 2 Kgs 24:10-16).

[3:9]  ¹¹ sn Even now the ax is laid at the root of the trees. The imagery of an “ax already laid at the root of the trees” is vivid, connoting sudden and catastrophic judgment for the unrepentant and unfruitful. The image of “fire” serves to further heighten the intensity of the judgment referred to. It is John’s way of summoning all people to return to God with all their heart and avoid his unquenchable wrath soon to be poured out. John’s language and imagery is probably ultimately drawn from the OT where Israel is referred to as a fruitless vine (Hos 10:1-2; Jer 2:21-22) and the image of an “ax” is used to indicate God’s judgment (Ps 74:5-6; Jer 46:22).

[3:9]  ¹² tn Grk “is”; the present tense (ἐκκόπτεται, ekkoptetai) has futuristic force here.

[13:6]  ¹² tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[13:6]  ¹³ tn Grk “he”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:6]  ¹⁴ sn The fig tree is a variation on the picture of a vine as representing the nation; see Isa 5:1-7.

[13:7]  ¹³ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the man’s response as a result of the lack of figs in the preceding clause.

[13:7]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “Behold, for.”

[13:7]  ¹⁵ sn The elapsed time could be six years total since planting, since often a fig was given three years before one even started to look for fruit. The point in any case is that enough time had been given to expect fruit.

[13:7]  ¹⁶ tn The phrase “each time I inspect it” is not in the Greek text but has been supplied to indicate the customary nature of the man’s search for fruit.

[13:7]  ¹⁷ tc ‡ Several witnesses (Ì⁷⁵ A L Θ Ψ 070 ˹³ 33 579 892 al lat co) have “therefore” (οὖν, oun) here. This conjunction has the effect of strengthening the logical connection with the preceding statement but also of reducing the rhetorical power and urgency of the imperative. In light of the slightly greater internal probability of adding a conjunction to an otherwise asyndetic sentence, as well as significant external support for the omission (א B D W ˹ Ï), the shorter reading appears to be more likely as the original wording here. NA²⁷ puts the conjunction in brackets, indicating some doubts as to its authenticity.

[13:7]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “Why indeed.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[13:7]  ¹⁹ sn Such fig trees would deplete the soil, robbing it of nutrients needed by other trees and plants.

[13:8]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the worker who tended the vineyard) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:8]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “toss manure [on it].” This is a reference to manure used as fertilizer.

[13:9]  ¹⁵ tn This is a third class condition in the Greek text. The conjunction καί (kai, a component of κάν [kan]) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[13:9]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “the coming [season].”

[13:9]  ¹⁷ tn The phrase “very well” is supplied in the translation to complete the elided idea, but its absence is telling.

[13:9]  ¹⁸ tn This is a first class condition in the Greek text, showing which of the options is assumed.

[15:2]  ¹⁶ tn Or “He cuts off.”

[15:2]  ¹⁷ tn Or “does not yield.”

[15:2]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “And he”; the conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has been omitted in the translation in keeping with the tendency in contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.

[15:2]  ¹⁹ tn Or “trims”; Grk “cleanses” (a wordplay with “clean” in v. 3). Καθαίρει (kaqairei) is not the word one would have expected here, but it provides the transition from the vine imagery to the disciples – there is a wordplay (not reproducible in English) between αἴρει (airei) and καθαίρει in this verse. While the purpose of the Father in cleansing his people is clear, the precise means by which he does so is not immediately obvious. This will become clearer, however, in the following verse.

[15:2]  ²⁰ tn Or “that yields.”

[15:3]  ¹⁷ sn The phrase you are clean already occurs elsewhere in the Gospel of John only at the washing of the disciples’ feet in 13:10, where Jesus had used it of the disciples being cleansed from sin. This further confirms the proposed understanding of John 15:2 and 15:6 since Judas was specifically excluded from this statement (but not all of you).

[15:4]  ¹⁸ tn Or “Reside.”

[15:4]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “and I in you.” The verb has been repeated for clarity and to conform to contemporary English style, which typically allows fewer ellipses (omitted or understood words) than Greek.

[15:4]  ²⁰ sn The branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it remains connected to the vine, from which its life and sustenance flows. As far as the disciples were concerned, they would produce no fruit from themselves if they did not remain in their relationship to Jesus, because the eternal life which a disciple must possess in order to bear fruit originates with Jesus; he is the source of all life and productivity for the disciple.

[15:4]  ²¹ tn Or “resides.”

[15:4]  ²² tn While it would be more natural to say “on the vine” (so NAB), the English preposition “in” has been retained here to emphasize the parallelism with the following clause “unless you remain in me.” To speak of remaining “in” a person is not natural English either, but is nevertheless a biblical concept (cf. “in Christ” in Eph 1:3, 4, 6, 7, 11).

[15:4]  ²³ tn Or “you reside.”

[15:5]  ¹⁹ tn Or “resides.”

[15:5]  ²⁰ tn Or “yields.”

[15:5]  ²¹ tn Grk “in him, this one bears much fruit.” The pronoun “this one” has been omitted from the translation because it is redundant according to contemporary English style.

[15:5]  ²² tn Or “do.”

[15:6]  ²⁰ tn Or “reside.”

[15:6]  ²¹ sn Such branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire. The author does not tell who it is who does the gathering and throwing into the fire. Although some claim that realized eschatology is so prevalent in the Fourth Gospel that no references to final eschatology appear at all, the fate of these branches seems to point to the opposite. The imagery is almost certainly that of eschatological judgment, and recalls some of the OT vine imagery which involves divine rejection and judgment of disobedient Israel (Ezek 15:4-6, 19:12).

[15:6]  ²² tn Grk “they gather them up and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.”

[6:8]  ²¹ tn Grk “near to a curse.”

[1:12]  ²² tn Grk “these are the men who are.”

[1:12]  ²³ 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]  ²⁴ 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]  ²⁵ 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]  ²⁶ 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]  ²⁷ 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]  ²⁸ tn Cf. 2 Pet 2:17. Jude’s emphasis is slightly different (instead of waterless springs, they are waterless clouds).

[1:12]  ²⁹ 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]  ³⁰ tn Grk “having died twice.”