Bible Strands
Matthew 3:10
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.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — John the Baptist addresses crowds who have just claimed Abrahamic descent as a credential (v. 9). The warning is immediate, not eschatological speculation.
The words — ἤδη (ēdē), "already," places the judgment in the present tense of readiness. ῥίζα (rhiza), "root," means the entire tree stands condemned, not merely a failing branch.
The thread — Luke 3:9 is a direct parallel; Matthew 7:19 repeats the tree-cut-and-burn image in Jesus' own teaching; John 15:6 extends the image to branches that wither and are gathered for burning.
Why it lands — It strips away the comfort of inherited identity and substitutes a single, measurable standard: fruit. The word "already" removes the option of waiting.
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
And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Cross-references
- John 15:6 If anyone does not remain in Me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers. Such branches are gathered up, thrown into the fire, and burned.
- 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.”
- Matthew 7:19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
- John 15:2 He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit, and every branch that does bear fruit, He prunes to make it even more fruitful.
- Luke 13:6 Then Jesus told this parable: “A man had a fig tree that was planted in his vineyard. He went to look for fruit on it but did not find any.
- Jeremiah 17:8 He is like a tree planted by the waters that sends out its roots toward the stream. It does not fear when the heat comes, and its leaves are always green. It does not worry in a year of drought, nor does it cease to produce fruit.
- Ezekiel 15:2 “Son of man, how does the wood of the vine surpass any other branch among the trees in the forest?
- Malachi 3:1 “Behold, I will send My messenger, who will prepare the way before Me. Then the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple—the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight—see, He is coming,” says the LORD of Hosts.
- Psalms 92:13 Planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God.
- Malachi 4:1 “For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace, when all the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble; the day is coming when I will set them ablaze,” says the LORD of Hosts. “Not a root or branch will be left to them.”