Bible Strands
Matthew 7:19
Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jesus addresses the crowds in the Sermon on the Mount, speaking immediately after warning them about false prophets and establishing the tree-and-fruit analogy.
The words — ἐκκόπτεται (ekkoptetai) translates literally to "is cut down," and καρπὸν (karpon) means "fruit," specifying the tree's fate and the standard of evaluation.
The thread — The same agricultural judgment imagery appears in Matthew 3:10, John 15:2, and Hebrews 6:8.
Why it lands — The text states that unproductive trees face immediate destruction, requiring readers to assess their actual spiritual output rather than their external claims, with the clear expectation that failure yields decisive judgment.
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
Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Cross-references
- 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.
- 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.
- Hebrews 6:8 But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless, and its curse is imminent. In the end it will be 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.”
- 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.
- Jude 1:12 These men are hidden reefs in your love feasts, shamelessly feasting with you but shepherding only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried along by the wind; fruitless trees in autumn, twice dead after being uprooted.
- Isaiah 27:11 When its limbs are dry, they are broken off. Women come and use them for kindling; for this is a people without understanding. Therefore their Maker has no compassion on them, and their Creator shows them no favor.
- Isaiah 5:5 Now I will tell you what I am about to do to My vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it will be consumed; I will tear down its wall, and it will be trampled.
- Ezekiel 15:2 “Son of man, how does the wood of the vine surpass any other branch among the trees in the forest?
- Matthew 21:19 Seeing a fig tree by the road, He went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. “May you never bear fruit again!” He said. And immediately the tree withered.