Matthew 7:15

Matthew 7:15 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
• New International Version (NIV)“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.
• English Standard Version (ESV)"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
• New King James Version (NKJV)“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.

Context of Matthew 7:15

13‘Go in through the narrow gate to get true life with God. There is a wide gate that is easy to go through. The wide path is easy to travel on. Many people find that wide gate, but it is the way to hell. 14It is difficult to go through the small gate. And it is difficult to walk on the narrow road. But when you do go that way, you will get true life. Not many people find that narrow gate.’ ‘Some people say that they are prophets from God. But their words are false. They seem to be like sheep that are not dangerous. But they are really like hungry wild dogs. What they teach will hurt you. 16You will know these people by the way that they live. The things that they do are like their fruit. Grapes do not grow on thorn bushes. Figs do not grow on weeds. 17Good fruit grows on a tree that is good. Bad fruit grows on a tree that is not good.

Matthew 7:15 word by word

Προσέχετε ἀπὸ τῶν ψευδοπροφητῶν οἵτινες ἔρχονται πρὸς ὑμᾶς ἐν ἐνδύμασιν προβάτων, ἔσωθεν δέ εἰσιν λύκοι ἅρπαγες.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Bewareπροσέχωprosechō · to watch outG4337
• ·δέde · thenG1161
• ofἀπόapo · away fromG575
• false prophetsὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• false prophetsψευδοπροφήτηςpseudoprophētēs · false prophetG5578
• whichὅστιςhostis hētis ho6ti · who/whichG3748
• comeἔρχομαιerchomai · to come/goG2064
• toπρόςpros · to/withG4314
• youσύsu · youG4771
• inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• sheep’sπρόβατονprobaton · sheepG4263
• clothingἔνδυμαenduma · clothingG1742
• inwardlyἔσωθενesōthen · inwardlyG2081
• they areεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• raveningἅρπαξharpax · rapaciousG727
• wolvesλύκοςlukos · wolfG3074

Cross-references for Matthew 7:15

• Matthew 10:17Be careful! People will be against you. They will take you to stand in front of their leaders. They will punish you with whips in their meeting places.
• Matthew 16:6Jesus said to them, ‘Be careful! Do not accept the yeast of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.’
• Mark 12:38As Jesus was teaching the people, he said, ‘Be careful not to do the same as the teachers of God's Law. They want people to think that they are important. So they walk about in beautiful long clothes. They like people to praise them in the market place.
• Luke 12:15Then he said to all the people, ‘Be very careful! Do not want more things than you really need. A person's life is worth more than the things that he has, even if he is very rich.’
• Acts 13:40Be careful then! Remember what God's prophets spoke about long ago. Do not let that happen to you. This is what one of them wrote:
• Philippians 3:2Be very careful! Some people are teaching bad things. They say that you must cut your bodies. They are like dangerous dogs. Do not believe them!
• Colossians 2:8Be careful that you do not believe any false teachers. The ideas that they teach may seem clever. But they really want to deceive you. They are ideas that have come from the human minds of our ancestors. Or ideas that come from spirits that belong to this world. They are not the true message about Christ.
• 2 Peter 3:17My friends, you already know about these false teachers. So be very careful that you do not believe those bad people. Do not let them lead you away from God. You know what is true, so do not leave that safe place.
• Matthew 24:4Jesus said, ‘You must be careful! Some people will tell you things that are not true. Do not believe them.
• Deuteronomy 13:1One day, you may have a prophet among you who tells you what will happen in the future. He may have dreams about what will happen. He may promise to do miracles to show that he is right.
• Isaiah 9:15The head is their leaders and important people. The tail is the prophets who teach lies.
• Jeremiah 14:14The Lord said to me, ‘Those prophets say that they speak my messages, but they are telling lies. I did not send them. I did not give them my authority. I did not give them any messages. They are deceiving people with the visions that they talk about. When they prophesy about things, it means nothing. They only speak about their own foolish ideas.
• Jeremiah 23:13‘I saw the disgusting thing that the prophets in Samaria did. They used the name of Baal to prophesy. Their messages deceived my people, Israel.
• Jeremiah 28:15Then Jeremiah said to Hananiah, ‘Listen to me, Hananiah! The Lord has not sent you as his prophet. You have spoken lies to these people and they have believed you.
• Jeremiah 29:21The Lord Almighty, Israel's God, says this about Kolaiah's son Ahab and Maaseiah's son Zedekiah: ‘They are speaking to you in my name, but they are prophesying lies. So I will put them under the power of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. He will kill them while you watch.
• Ezekiel 13:16They were prophets of Israel who told lies. They promised that Jerusalem would have peace. But there was really no peace.’ That is what the Almighty Lord says.”

Commentaries on Matthew 7:15

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 15Beware of false prophets - By false prophets we are to understand teachers of erroneous doctrines, who come professing a commission from God, but whose aim is not to bring the heavenly treasure to the people, but rather to rob them of their earthly good. Teachers who preach for hire, having no motive to enter into the ministry but to get a living, as it is ominously called by some, however they may bear the garb and appearance of the innocent useful…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15False prophets - The word prophet originally means one who foretells future events. As prophets, however, were commonly regarded as public instructors on the subject of religion, the word came to denote all who were religious teachers. See the notes at Romans 12:6. In this sense it is probably used here. A false prophet is a teacher of incorrect doctrine, or one falsely and unjustly laying claims to divine inspiration. It probably had reference to the…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 15-20Verses 15-20 Nothing so much prevents men from entering the strait gate, and becoming true followers of Christ, as the carnal, soothing, flattering doctrines of those who oppose the truth. They may be known by the drift and effects of their doctrines. Some part of their temper and conduct is contrary to the mind of Christ. Those opinions come not from God that lead to sin.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 15-20False prophets tell people what they want to hear instead of calling them to obey God's will. Deuteronomy 13:1–5 and 18:21–22 provide guidelines to determine if someone is a true prophet. A prophet's words must match with God's word, and a prophet's prophecies must come true. Jesus explains the first rule. A prophet's actions must match his words to be trustworthy. So, a true prophet's actions will also match God's word. In the same way that fruit shows…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1515. Beware--But beware. of false prophets--that is, of teachers coming as authorized expounders of the mind of God and guides to heaven. (See Ac 20:29, 30; 2Pe 2:1, 2). which come to you in sheep's clothing--with a bland, gentle, plausible exterior; persuading you that the gate is not strait nor the way narrow, and that to teach so is illiberal and bigoted--precisely what the old prophets did (Eze 13:1-10, 22). but inwardly they are ravening wolves--bent…Read the comment

Topics related to Matthew 7:15

• Commandments
• Hypocrisy
• Minister, Christian
• Religion
• Teachers
• Wolf

In the dictionaries

• False Prophets
• Ask
• Descend
• Destruction
• Gather
• Judge
• Measure
• Mote
• None
• Profess

Commentaries on Matthew 7

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Catena Aurea
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• John Lightfoot Commentary
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings