Matthew Chapter 7 verse 16 Holy Bible

ASV Matthew 7:16

By their fruits ye shall know them. Do `men' gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
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BBE Matthew 7:16

By their fruits you will get knowledge of them. Do men get grapes from thorns or figs from thistles?
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DARBY Matthew 7:16

By their fruits ye shall know them. Do [men] gather a bunch of grapes from thorns, or from thistles figs?
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KJV Matthew 7:16

Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
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WBT Matthew 7:16


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WEB Matthew 7:16

By their fruits you will know them. Do you gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles?
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YLT Matthew 7:16

From their fruits ye shall know them; do `men' gather from thorns grapes? or from thistles figs?
read chapter 7 in YLT

Pulpit Commentary

Pulpit CommentaryVerse 16. - Parallel passage: Luke 6:44. (For the first clause, cf also ver. 20 and Matthew 12:33.) Ye shall know them by their fruits. Their appearance and their claims are no proof of their true character. It may seem difficult to recognize this, yet there is a sure way of doing so, by their life. The emphasis of the sentence is on "by their fruits." Ye shall know. Ye shall come to know them to the full (ἐπιγνώσεσθε). (On the greater strength of the compound, vide Ellicott, 1 Corinthians 13:12.) Fruits. All considered separately (cf. vers. 17, 18, 20), but in ver. 19 as one whole (cf. Matthew 3:8, note). It is, however, just possible that here and in ver. 20 the plural points to fruit growing on different trees. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? The visible outgrowth reveals the nature of that which is within. Those who "profess to combine fellowship with God with the choice of darkness as their sphere of life "(Bishop Westcott, on the suggestive parallel 1 John 1:6) only show that within they are destitute of fellowship with God. Observe, Christ does not say, "Do thorns produce grapes," etc.? (cf. James 3:12), but "Do men gather?" i.e. he desires to bring out the way in which men ordinarily deal with productions external to themselves. You, my followers, ought to use that common sense in spiritual matters which men show in matters of everyday life. Thistles; apparently Centaurea calcitrapa, the common thistle of Palestine; in the plains the only fuel.

Ellicott's Commentary

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(16) Ye shall know them by their fruits.--The question, What are the fruits? is not directly answered. Those who attach most importance to the ethical side of religion, see in them the practical outcome of doctrine in life, character, and deeds. Others, who live in a constant dread of heresy, dwell on doctrines rather than acts as the "fruits" by which we are to discern the false teachers and the true. Good works, they say, may be but the sheep's clothing that hides the heretic wolf. The analogy of Scriptural language, and even of that of most theologians, the familiar phrases which speak of good works as the fruits of faith and the like, are, it is believed, entirely in favour of the former view. Still more decisive are the "fruits meet for repentance" of Matthew 3:8. We are to judge of the teaching of those who claim authority by the test of the measure in which, in the long-run, it promotes purity, peace, and holiness.