Matthew 12:33

Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is known by its fruit.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Jesus addresses the Pharisees and scribes, immediately after warning that blasphemy against the Spirit is unforgivable (v.32) and immediately before calling them "brood of vipers" (v.34). The tree-and-fruit argument is the logical hinge between those two statements.

The words — ποιῆσατε (poiēsate), aorist imperative, "make" or "do make." It is a command directed at the listeners, not a neutral observation: the tree is something they are to make good or bad, placing responsibility on the root rather than excusing the fruit.

The thread — Luke 6:43 states the same principle in negative form ("No good tree bears bad fruit"); Matthew 7:16 reverses the direction of inference ("By their fruit you will recognize them"). James 4:8 supplies the implied remedy: cleanse hands and purify hearts.

Why it lands — The verse refuses to let a reader settle for behavioral curation. If the fruit is known by the tree, then the question is not "what can I produce that looks right?" but "what is the root, and am I willing to let it be examined?"

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

Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.

Cross-references

Luke 6:43 No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.
Matthew 7:16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
James 4:8 Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Matthew 3:8 Produce fruit, then, in keeping with repentance.
John 15:4 Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. Just as no branch can bear fruit by itself unless it remains in the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me.
Amos 5:15 Hate evil and love good; establish justice in the gate. Perhaps the LORD, the God of Hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.”
Luke 3:9 The axe lies ready at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”
Luke 11:39 Then the Lord said, “Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.
Ezekiel 18:31 Cast away from yourselves all the transgressions you have committed, and fashion for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Why should you die, O house of Israel?
James 3:12 My brothers, can a fig tree grow olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.