Matthew 7:16 kjv
Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
Matthew 7:16 nkjv
You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?
Matthew 7:16 niv
By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
Matthew 7:16 esv
You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
Matthew 7:16 nlt
You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
Matthew 7 16 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Deut 13:3-5 | ...for the LORD your God is testing you... if he has spoken from the LORD... then that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death. | Discernment of false prophets |
| Deut 18:20-22 | But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak... | Testing true and false prophets |
| Jer 23:16-17 | Do not listen to the words of the prophets... they speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD. | Warning against false prophets |
| Matt 3:8 | Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. | John the Baptist on true repentance |
| Matt 12:33 | "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit." | Tree known by its fruit |
| Matt 7:20 | Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. | Reinforces the main point |
| Matt 7:21 | "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father..." | Action over mere profession |
| Matt 7:22-23 | "Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name...?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'" | Claims of power, but without true fruit |
| Luke 6:43-45 | "For no good tree bears bad fruit... Each tree is known by its own fruit." | Parallel passage, same teaching |
| John 15:2 | "Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away..." | Abiding and fruit-bearing |
| John 15:5 | "Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit..." | Abiding and much fruit |
| Gal 5:22-23 | But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. | Defining true spiritual fruit |
| Eph 5:9 | (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true) | The fruit of living in light |
| Col 1:10 | ...so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work... | Living worthy, bearing good fruit |
| 2 Pet 2:1-3 | But false prophets also arose among the people... exploiting you with false words. | Description of false teachers |
| 1 John 4:1-3 | Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God... | Testing the spirits |
| Jude 1:12 | These are hidden reefs at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, shepherds feeding themselves; waterless clouds, autumn trees without fruit... | Description of unfruitful false teachers |
| Jas 2:17 | So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. | Faith revealed by works/fruit |
| Jas 3:12 | Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? | Parallel metaphor about fruit |
| Rom 16:17-18 | I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. | Identifying those contrary to doctrine |
| Titus 1:16 | They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work. | Professing faith but lacking works |
Matthew 7 verses
Matthew 7 16 Meaning
Matthew 7:16 establishes a fundamental principle for discerning true prophets and teachers from false ones: their identity is revealed by their actions, character, and the genuine spiritual results they produce. Just as one cannot gather good fruit from bad plants, a person's inner nature and authenticity will ultimately be manifest in their "fruit"—their life, teachings, and the effects they have on others.
Matthew 7 16 Context
Matthew 7:16 is an integral part of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, specifically within the section (vv. 15-23) concerning the discernment of false prophets. This segment follows teachings on judging others, the Golden Rule, and the choice between the narrow and wide gates, emphasizing the crucial need for wisdom and discernment in Christian life. Jesus warns against "false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves" (v.15). Verse 16 then provides the practical diagnostic test for identifying such individuals. It roots itself in the everyday agricultural understanding of the listeners, contrasting a superficial appearance (sheep's clothing) with true character, which is revealed by persistent and observable actions—the "fruit."
Matthew 7 16 Word analysis
You (ὑμεῖς - hymeis): This second-person plural pronoun indicates the universal application of this truth. Jesus is addressing all His listeners, empowering them with a critical tool for spiritual discernment, not just religious leaders. It signifies personal responsibility to evaluate.
will recognize (ἐπιγνώσεσθε - epignōsesdhe): This Greek verb is stronger than simply "to know." It implies gaining a full, thorough, and experiential knowledge, a deep and accurate discernment based on clear evidence. It's a predictive future tense, signifying certainty; such recognition will happen.
them (αὐτοῦς - autous): Refers directly to the "false prophets" mentioned in the preceding verse (Matt 7:15). This immediately identifies the specific target of this discernment principle.
by their fruits (ἀπὸ τῶν καρπῶν αὐτῶν - apo tōn karpōn autōn): This is the core metaphor and the primary means of discernment.
- fruits (καρπῶν - karpōn): In biblical context, "fruits" consistently refer to actions, conduct, character, the results produced by a person's life or teaching. It encompasses moral behavior, ethical outcomes, adherence to sound doctrine, and the effects their ministry has on followers. It is not about eloquence or apparent spiritual power, but consistent, observable spiritual and ethical reality.
- thornbushes (ἀκανθῶν - akanthōn): These are wild, useless, and often harmful plants. They symbolize barrenness or the production of only negative, undesirable "fruit" in the spiritual sense.
- grapes (σταφυλάς - staphylas): A universally desired and valuable crop, symbolizing good, wholesome, and beneficial spiritual produce.
- thistles (τριβόλων - tribolōn): Similar to thornbushes, these are prickly weeds, signifying uselessness, pain, or a negative spiritual source.
- figs (σύκα - syka): Another highly prized and beneficial fruit, parallel to grapes, symbolizing positive and life-giving spiritual produce.
Words-group by words-group analysis:
- "You will recognize them by their fruits": This phrase directly gives the diagnostic test. The ultimate way to identify true spiritual character, especially of a teacher claiming divine authority, is not by their claims or external appearances but by the observable output of their lives. This "fruit" encompasses their personal conduct, their character as reflected in their relationships, the impact of their teachings on others (do people become more Christlike?), and whether their doctrine consistently aligns with God's revealed will.
- "Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?": These are rhetorical questions expecting an obvious "no." They illustrate the natural law that the nature of the plant determines the nature of its fruit. This natural law is then analogously applied to human character and spiritual outcomes. A harmful, false, or ungodly nature (thornbushes, thistles) cannot produce true, life-giving, and godly results (grapes, figs). This emphasizes that hypocrisy is ultimately unsustainable and true identity will reveal itself.
Matthew 7 16 Bonus section
The agricultural metaphor used in Matthew 7:16, common in Jewish teaching and wisdom literature, makes the spiritual truth deeply relatable and easily understandable for all, regardless of literacy. The immediate implication is that everyone is capable of this discernment; it's not reserved for an elite few. The challenge lies in patiently observing over time, as fruit doesn't ripen overnight. This verse forms part of a broader call throughout the Sermon on the Mount for a radical inner transformation, contrasting it sharply with mere outward religiosity. It implies that true teaching produces lives of genuine righteousness, while false teaching leads to spiritual barrenness or destructive behavior, reflecting the source from which it springs.
Matthew 7 16 Commentary
Matthew 7:16 is a critical instruction in discerning spiritual authenticity, particularly concerning those who claim to speak for God. Jesus presents a common-sense agricultural metaphor: just as a gardener identifies a plant by its fruit, so too can believers identify true and false prophets/teachers by the "fruit" they bear. This "fruit" is not primarily miracles or charismatic display, but consistent moral character, adherence to biblical truth in their teaching, and the Christ-like transformation seen in the lives of those they influence. False prophets, despite outward appearances ("sheep's clothing"), cannot produce genuine spiritual fruit because their inner nature ("ravenous wolves") is corrupt. Conversely, genuine disciples of Christ will manifest "fruit of the Spirit" (Gal 5:22-23). This principle encourages active, discerning evaluation based on tangible evidence, providing believers with a clear and practical standard to safeguard themselves from spiritual deception. For instance, if a teacher preaches about love but consistently acts selfishly, or teaches one thing but lives another, their "fruit" reveals their true nature.