Matthew 7:17–18

Matthew 7:17 and Matthew 7:18 are the seventeenth and eighteenth verses of the seventh chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament and is part of the Sermon on the Mount. These verses continue the section warning against false prophets.

Content

In the King James Version of the Bible the text reads:

17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good

fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither

can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

The World English Bible translates the passage as:

17 Even so, every good tree produces good fruit;

but the corrupt tree produces evil fruit.

18 A good tree can’t produce evil fruit, neither

can a corrupt tree produce good fruit.

The Novum Testamentum Graece text is:

17 οὕτως πᾶν δένδρον ἀγαθὸν καρποὺς καλοὺς ποιεῖ,

τὸ δὲ σαπρὸν δένδρον καρποὺς πονηροὺς ποιεῖ

18 οὐ δύναται δένδρον ἀγαθὸν καρποὺς πονηροὺς ἐνεγκεῖν,

οὐδὲ δένδρον σαπρὸν καρποὺς καλοὺς ἐνεγκεῖν.

For a collection of other versions see BibleHub Matthew 7:17-18

Analysis

These two verses closely match each other. Hill notes that the structure here is a classic Semitic way of emphasizing a point: first a statement is said positively and then repeated negatively. The first half of the statement is taken directly from John the Baptist words at Matthew 3:10.