Matthew 7:10

Study note

Setting — Jesus addresses a crowd in the Sermon on the Mount, extending a rhetorical sequence about prayer and divine provision. He speaks to listeners about the character of a heavenly Father in response to human requests.

The words — The Greek phrase ἰχθὺν αἰτήσει (ichthun aitēsei) literally means "he will ask for a fish." The negative particle μὴ (mē) frames the rhetorical question as "surely not a serpent," establishing the expected contrast.

The thread — This verse functions as the second item in a three-part rhetorical triad within Matthew 7:9–11, directly paralleling the bread/stone exchange in verse 9 and the good gifts conclusion in verse 11. The same fish-to-serpent contrast is preserved in the parallel passage of Luke 11:11.

Why it lands — The text demands recognition that a flawed earthly father would not exchange a requested good for a harmful substitute. The reader must accept that the logical baseline of human parenting establishes a lower bound for heavenly provision.

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.