Bible Strands
Luke 3:7
Then John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — John addresses crowds physically arriving for his baptism, confronting them before the ritual begins.
The words — Ἔλεγεν (Elegen) indicates continuous action, showing John was repeatedly speaking to the groups. ἐκπορευομένοις (ekporeuomenois) literally means "coming out," describing the movement of these crowds toward him.
The thread — The text records John's confrontation, which parallels Jesus' identical rebuke in Matthew 12:34 and Matthew 23:33. The warning about "coming wrath" directly aligns with the deliverance from that same judgment described in 1 Thessalonians 1:10.
Why it lands — The text states John's question and insult, establishing that external ritual cannot substitute for genuine moral change. It requires the reader to verify the source and sincerity of their own repentance before approaching religious practice.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
Cross-references
- Matthew 23:33 You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape the sentence of hell?
- Matthew 12:34 You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.
- 1 Thessalonians 1:10 and to await His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead—Jesus our deliverer from the coming wrath.
- Hebrews 6:18 Thus by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be strongly encouraged.
- 1 John 3:8 The one who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the very start. This is why the Son of God was revealed, to destroy the works of the devil.
- Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”
- Psalms 58:4 Their venom is like the venom of a snake, like a cobra that shuts its ears,
- Isaiah 59:5 They hatch the eggs of vipers and weave a spider’s web. Whoever eats their eggs will die; crack one open, and a viper is hatched.
- Matthew 3:7 But when John saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his place of baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?
- John 8:44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out his desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, refusing to uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, because he is a liar and the father of lies.