Matthew 3:7

3:7 But when he saw many Pharisees ¹  and Sadducees ²  coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You offspring of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

Matthew 12:34

12:34 Offspring of vipers! How are you able to say anything good, since you are evil? For the mouth speaks from what fills the heart.

Matthew 21:34-35

21:34 When the harvest time was near, he sent his slaves ³  to the tenants to collect his portion of the crop. ⁴  21:35 But the tenants seized his slaves, beat one, ⁵  killed another, and stoned another.

Genesis 3:15

3:15 And I will put hostility ⁶  between you and the woman

and between your offspring and her offspring; ⁷ 

her offspring will attack ⁸  your head,

and ⁹  you ¹⁰  will attack her offspring’s heel.” ¹¹ 

Psalms 58:3-5

58:3 The wicked turn aside from birth; ¹² 

liars go astray as soon as they are born. ¹³ 

58:4 Their venom is like that of a snake, ¹⁴ 

like a deaf serpent ¹⁵  that does not hear, ¹⁶ 

58:5 that does not respond to ¹⁷  the magicians,

or to a skilled snake-charmer.

Isaiah 57:3-4

57:3 But approach, you sons of omen readers,

you offspring of adulteresses and prostitutes! ¹⁸ 

57:4 At whom are you laughing?

At whom are you opening your mouth

and sticking out your tongue?

You are the children of rebels,

the offspring of liars, ¹⁹ 

Luke 3:7

3:7 So John ²⁰  said to the crowds ²¹  that came out to be baptized by him, “You offspring of vipers! ²²  Who warned you to flee ²³  from the coming wrath?

John 8:44

8:44 You people ²⁴  are from ²⁵  your father the devil, and you want to do what your father desires. ²⁶  He ²⁷  was a murderer from the beginning, and does not uphold the truth, ²⁸  because there is no truth in him. Whenever he lies, ²⁹  he speaks according to his own nature, ³⁰  because he is a liar and the father of lies. ³¹ 

John 8:2

8:2 Early in the morning he came to the temple courts again. All the people came to him, and he sat down and began to teach ³²  them.

Colossians 1:3

Paul’s Thanksgiving and Prayer for the Church

1:3 We always ³³  give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,

Revelation 12:9

12:9 So ³⁴  that huge dragon – the ancient serpent, the one called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world – was thrown down to the earth, and his angels along with him.

[3:7]  ¹ sn Pharisees were members of one of the most important and influential religious and political parties of Judaism in the time of Jesus. There were more Pharisees than Sadducees (according to Josephus, Ant. 17.2.4 [17.42] there were more than 6,000 Pharisees at about this time). Pharisees differed with Sadducees on certain doctrines and patterns of behavior. The Pharisees were strict and zealous adherents to the laws of the OT and to numerous additional traditions such as angels and bodily resurrection.

[3:7]  ² sn The Sadducees controlled the official political structures of Judaism at this time, being the majority members of the Sanhedrin. They were known as extremely strict on law and order issues (Josephus, J. W. 2.8.2 [2.119], 2.8.14 [2.164-166]; Ant. 13.5.9 [13.171-173], 13.10.6 [13.293-298], 18.1.2 [18.11], 18.1.4 [18.16-17], 20.9.1 [20.199]; Life 2 [10-11]). See also Matt 16:1-12; 22:23-34; Mark 12:18-27; Luke 20:27-38; Acts 5:17; 23:6-8.

[21:34]  ³ tn See the note on the word “slave” in 8:9.

[21:34]  ⁴ tn Grk “to collect his fruits.”

[21:35]  ⁵ sn The image of the tenants mistreating the owner’s slaves pictures the nation’s rejection of the prophets and their message.

[3:15]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew word translated “hostility” is derived from the root אֵיב (’ev, “to be hostile, to be an adversary [or enemy]”). The curse announces that there will be continuing hostility between the serpent and the woman. The serpent will now live in a “battle zone,” as it were.

[3:15]  ⁸ sn The Hebrew word translated “offspring” is a collective singular. The text anticipates the ongoing struggle between human beings (the woman’s offspring) and deadly poisonous snakes (the serpent’s offspring). An ancient Jewish interpretation of the passage states: “He made the serpent, cause of the deceit, press the earth with belly and flank, having bitterly driven him out. He aroused a dire enmity between them. The one guards his head to save it, the other his heel, for death is at hand in the proximity of men and malignant poisonous snakes.” See Sib. Or. 1:59-64. For a similar interpretation see Josephus, Ant. 1.1.4 (1.50-51).

[3:15]  ⁹ tn Heb “he will attack [or “bruise”] you [on] the head.” The singular pronoun and verb agree grammatically with the collective singular noun “offspring.” For other examples of singular verb and pronominal forms being used with the collective singular “offspring,” see Gen 16:10; 22:17; 24:60. The word “head” is an adverbial accusative, locating the blow. A crushing blow to the head would be potentially fatal.

[3:15]  ¹⁰ tn Or “but you will…”; or “as they attack your head, you will attack their heel.” The disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + verb) is understood as contrastive. Both clauses place the subject before the verb, a construction that is sometimes used to indicate synchronic action (see Judg 15:14).

[3:15]  ¹¹ sn You will attack her offspring’s heel. Though the conflict will actually involve the serpent’s offspring (snakes) and the woman’s offspring (human beings), v. 15b for rhetorical effect depicts the conflict as being between the serpent and the woman’s offspring, as if the serpent will outlive the woman. The statement is personalized for the sake of the addressee (the serpent) and reflects the ancient Semitic concept of corporate solidarity, which emphasizes the close relationship between a progenitor and his offspring. Note Gen 28:14, where the Lord says to Jacob, “Your offspring will be like the dust of the earth, and you [second masculine singular] will spread out in all directions.” Jacob will “spread out” in all directions through his offspring, but the text states the matter as if this will happen to him personally.

[3:15]  ¹² tn Heb “you will attack him [on] the heel.” The verb (translated “attack”) is repeated here, a fact that is obscured by some translations (e.g., NIV “crush…strike”). The singular pronoun agrees grammatically with the collective singular noun “offspring.” For other examples of singular verb and pronominal forms being used with the collective singular “offspring,” see Gen 16:10; 22:17; 24:60. The word “heel” is an adverbial accusative, locating the blow. A bite on the heel from a poisonous serpent is potentially fatal.

[58:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “from the womb.”

[58:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “speakers of a lie go astray from the womb.”

[58:4]  ¹¹ tn Heb “[there is] venom to them according to the likeness of venom of a snake.”

[58:4]  ¹² tn Or perhaps “cobra” (cf. NASB, NIV). Other suggested species of snakes are “asp” (NEB) and “adder” (NRSV).

[58:4]  ¹³ tn Heb “[that] stops up its ear.” The apparent Hiphil jussive verbal form should be understood as a Qal imperfect with “i” theme vowel (see GKC 168 §63.n).

[58:5]  ¹³ tn Heb “does not listen to the voice of.”

[57:3]  ¹⁵ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “offspring of an adulterer [masculine] and [one who] has committed adultery.” Perhaps the text has suffered from transposition of vav (ו) and tav (ת) and מְנָאֵף וַתִּזְנֶה (mÿna’ef vattizneh) should be emended to מְנָאֶפֶת וְזֹנָה (mÿna’efet vÿzonah, “an adulteress and a prostitute”). Both singular nouns would be understood in a collective sense. Most modern English versions render both forms as nouns.

[57:4]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Are you not children of rebellion, offspring of a lie?” The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “Of course you are!”

[3:7]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (John) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:7]  ²⁰ sn The crowds. It is interesting to trace references to “the crowd” in Luke. It is sometimes noted favorably, other times less so. The singular appears 25 times in Luke while the plural occurs 16 times. Matt 3:7 singles out the Sadducees and Pharisees here.

[3:7]  ²¹ tn Or “snakes.”

[3:7]  ²² sn The rebuke “Who warned you to flee…?” compares the crowd to snakes who flee their desert holes when the heat of a fire drives them out.

[8:44]  ²¹ tn The word “people” is supplied in the translation to clarify that the Greek pronoun and verb are plural.

[8:44]  ²² tn Many translations read “You are of your father the devil” (KJV, ASV, RSV, NASB) or “You belong to your father, the devil” (NIV), but the Greek preposition ἐκ (ek) emphasizes the idea of source or origin. Jesus said his opponents were the devil’s very offspring (a statement which would certainly infuriate them).

[8:44]  ²³ tn Grk “the desires of your father you want to do.”

[8:44]  ²⁴ tn Grk “That one” (referring to the devil).

[8:44]  ²⁵ tn Grk “he does not stand in the truth” (in the sense of maintaining, upholding, or accepting the validity of it).

[8:44]  ²⁶ tn Grk “Whenever he speaks the lie.”

[8:44]  ²⁷ tn Grk “he speaks from his own.”

[8:44]  ²⁸ tn Grk “because he is a liar and the father of it.”

[8:2]  ²³ tn An ingressive sense for the imperfect fits well here following the aorist participle.

[1:3]  ²⁵ tn The adverb πάντοτε (pantote) is understood to modify the indicative εὐχαριστοῦμεν (eucaristoumen) because it precedes περὶ ὑμῶν (peri Jumwn) which probably modifies the indicative and not the participle προσευχόμενοι (proseucomenoi). But see 1:9 where the same expression occurs and περὶ ὑμῶν modifies the participle “praying” (προσευχόμενοι).

[12:9]  ²⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of the war in heaven.