Matthew 3:7

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
But	δὲ de	G1161	but · conjunction
saw	Ἰδὼν Idōn	G1492	used only in certain past tenses · verb — second aorist active participle, nominative singular masculine
many	πολλοὺς pollous	G4183	(singular) much (in any respect) or (plural) many · adjective — accusative plural masculine
Pharisees	Φαρισαίων Pharisaiōn	G5330	a separatist · noun — genitive plural masculine, a title
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
Sadducees	Σαδδουκαίων Saddoukaiōn	G4523	a Sadducæan (i.e. Tsadokian) · noun — genitive plural masculine, a title
come	ἐρχομένους erchomenous	G2064	to come or go (in a great variety of applications · verb — present middle or passive deponent participle, accusative plural masculine
to	ἐπὶ epi	G1909	properly · preposition
his	αὐτοῦ autou	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive singular masculine
baptism	βάπτισμα baptisma	G908	baptism (technically or figuratively) · noun — accusative singular neuter
said	εἶπεν eipen	G2036	to speak or say (by word or writing) · verb — second aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular
them	αὐτοῖς· autois	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — dative plural masculine
generation	γεννήματα gennēmata	G1081	offspring · noun — vocative plural neuter
vipers	ἐχιδνῶν, echidnōn	G2191	an adder or other poisonous snake (literally or figurat… · noun — genitive plural feminine
who	τίς tis	G5101	an interrogative pronoun · interrogative pronoun — nominative singular masculine
warned	ὑπέδειξεν hupedeixen	G5263	to exhibit under the eyes · verb — aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular
you	ὑμῖν hymîn	G5213	to (with or by) you
flee	φυγεῖν phugein	G5343	to run away (literally or figuratively) · verb — second aorist active infinitive
from	ἀπὸ apo	G575	"off · preposition
wrath	ὀργῆς; orgēs	G3709	properly · noun — genitive singular feminine
come	μελλούσης mellousēs	G3195	to intend · verb — present active participle, genitive singular feminine

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Matthew 12:34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
Matthew 22:23 The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him,
Matthew 23:33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
Romans 5:9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
1 Thessalonians 1:10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.
Matthew 16:6 Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
Matthew 23:13-28 But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neit…
Romans 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Matthew 3:7-12

The doctrine John preached was that of repentance, in consideration of the kingdom of heaven being at hand; now here we have the use of that doctrine. Application is the life of preaching, so it was of John's preaching. Observe, 1. To whom he applied it; to the Pharisees and Sadducees that came to his baptism, Mat 3:7. To others he thought it enough to say, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand; but when he saw these Pharisees and Sadducees come about him, he found it necessary to explain himself, and deal more closely. These were two of the three noted sects among the Jews at that time, the third was that of the Essenes, whom we never read of in the gospels, for they affected retirem…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Matthew 3:7

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them--astonished at such a spectacle. O generation of vipers--"Viper brood," expressing the deadly influence of both sects alike upon the community. Mutually and entirely antagonistic as were their religious principles and spirit, the stem prophet charges both alike with being the poisoners of the nation's religious principles. In Mat 12:34; Mat 23:33, this strong language of the Baptist is anew applied by the faithful and true Witness to the Pharisees specifically--the only party that had zeal enough actively to diffuse this poison. who hath warned you--given you the hint, as the idea is. to flee fro…

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John Gill on Matthew 3:7

But when he saw many of the Pharisees,.... This being the first place in which mention is made of the Pharisees and Sadducees, it may not be amiss to give some account of them once for all, and to begin with the Pharisees, and first with their name. Some derive this word from pharatz to "divide", to "make a breach", from whence Phares had his name Genesis 38:29 so Jerom (u), who observes, that "the Pharisees, who separated themselves from the people as righteous persons, were called "divisi, the divided."'' And in (w) another place, "because the Pharisees were "divided" from the Jews on account of some superfluous observations, they also took their name from their disagreement.'' Origen…

The Church Fathers

(De Cur. Past. iii. in prol.) The words of the teachers should be fitted to the quality of the hearers, that in each particular it should agree with itself and yet never depart from the fortress of general edification.
— Gregory the Dialogist ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

(De Civ. Dei, ix. 5.) God is described in Scripture, from some likeness of effects, not from being subject to such weakness, as being angry, and yet is He never moved by any passion. The word 'wrath' is applied to the effects of his vengeance, not that God suffers any disturbing affection.
— Augustine of Hippo ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

In fact, the doctors of the law and the Pharisees, who were unwilling to "believe," did not "repent" either. But if repentance is a thing human, its baptism must necessarily be of the same nature: else, if it had been celestial, it would have given both the Holy Spirit and remission of sins.
— Tertullian, On Baptism

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Generation — Gen. 2:4, “These are the generations,” means the “history.” 5:1, “The book of the generations,” means a family register, or history of Adam. 37:2, “The generations of Jacob” = the history of Jacob…
John the Baptist — The “forerunner of our Lord.” We have but fragmentary and imperfect accounts of him in the Gospels. He was of priestly descent. His father, Zacharias, was a priest of the course of Abia (1 Chr.…
Pharisees — Separatists (Heb. persahin, from parash, “to separate”). They were probably the successors of the Assideans (i.e., the “pious”), a party that originated in the time of Antiochus Epiphanes in revolt…
Sadducees — The origin of this Jewish sect cannot definitely be traced. It was probably the outcome of the influence of Grecian customs and philosophy during the period of Greek domination. The first time they…
Viper — In Job 20:16, Isa. 30:6; 59:5, the Heb. word eph’eh is thus rendered. The Hebrew word, however, probably denotes a species of poisonous serpents known by the Arabic name of ‘el ephah. Tristram has…
Baptism · General references — General references
Hypocrisy · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Pharisees · .By — .By
Pharisees, The · Some came to John for baptism — Some came to John for baptism
Reproof · Exemplified: John the Baptist — Exemplified: John the Baptist
Sadducees · Rebuked by — Rebuked by
Sadducees, The

Matthew 3:7

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Matthew 3:7-12

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Matthew 3:7

John Gill on Matthew 3:7

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Matthew 3:7

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Matthew 3:7-12

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Matthew 3:7

John Gill on Matthew 3:7

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Matthew 3:7-10

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Matthew 3:7