Bible Strands
Matthew 7:15
Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Jesus addresses his disciples within the Sermon on the Mount, pivoting from the narrow gate (7:14) to the fruit test (7:16). The warning is direct and present-tense: these figures are already among you.
The words — Pseudoprophētōn (ψευδοπροφητῶν) compounds ψεῦδος (falsehood) with προφήτης (prophet), marking them not as prophets who err but as impostors wearing the title.
The thread — The same warning recurs in 1 John 4:1, Matthew 24:11, and 2 Peter 2:1, spanning both Testaments and both apostolic eras. The threat is not a one-time event but a standing condition of the community.
Why it lands — The verse demands that a reader stop equating outward appearance with genuine authority. It asks for active vigilance, not passive trust in credentials.
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
Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
Cross-references
- 1 John 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. For many false prophets have gone out into the world.
- Matthew 24:11 and many false prophets will arise and deceive many.
- 2 Peter 2:1 Now there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.
- Mark 13:22 For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders to deceive even the elect, if that were possible.
- Acts 20:29 I know that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock.
- Deuteronomy 13:1 If a prophet or dreamer of dreams arises among you and proclaims a sign or wonder to you,
- Colossians 2:8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, which are based on human tradition and the spiritual forces of the world rather than on Christ.
- 2 Corinthians 11:13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ.
- Jude 1:4 For certain men have crept in among you unnoticed—ungodly ones who were designated long ago for condemnation. They turn the grace of our God into a license for immorality, and they deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
- Revelation 19:20 But the beast was captured along with the false prophet, who on its behalf had performed signs deceiving those who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. Both the beast and the false prophet were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.