Matthew 7:17 Made Simple

KJV ORIGINAL

Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

Close to the original. Clear modern English.

✦ MADE SIMPLE

Here's how it works: healthy trees grow good fruit, but diseased trees produce bad fruit.

⚡ THE BOTTOM LINE

You can tell what something's really like by looking at what it produces.

📚 Historical Context

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is speaking to a crowd in first-century Galilee, delivering teachings on righteous living and discernment. He uses the everyday image of trees and their fruits to emphasize that a person's true character is revealed through their actions, much like how a tree's health is shown in its produce. This analogy drew from the agricultural culture of the time, where people were familiar with farming and the natural outcomes of good or bad trees.

Explore Similar Verses

Matthew 7:18

A healthy tree can't produce rotten fruit, and a diseased tree can't produce good fruit.

Luke 6:43

A healthy tree doesn't produce rotten fruit, and a diseased tree can't grow anything good.

Matthew 12:33

Here's the thing, either the tree is healthy and produces good fruit, or it's messed up and produces bad fruit. You can't have it both ways. You'll always know what kind of tree you're dealing with by looking at what it actually produces.

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