New American Standard Bible 1995
Matthew 3:9
9and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘1We have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham.
Matthew 3:9 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
- New International Version (NIV)And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father,' for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.
- New King James Version (NKJV)and do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.
Context of Matthew 3:9
7But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance; and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. 10The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 11“As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
Read all of Matthew 3Matthew 3:9 word by word
καὶ μὴ δόξητε λέγειν ἐν ἑαυτοῖς· πατέρα ἔχομεν τὸν Ἀβραάμ· λέγω γὰρ ὑμῖν ὅτι δύναται ὁ θεὸς ἐκ τῶν λίθων τούτων ἐγεῖραι τέκνα τῷ Ἀβραάμ.¶Read the interlinear
- and do not supposeδοκέωdokeō · to thinkG1380
- that you can sayλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
- to yourselvesἑαυτοῦheautou · themselfG1438
- We haveἔχωechō · to have/beG2192
- AbrahamἈβραάμAbraam · AbrahamG11
- for our fatherπατήρpatēr · fatherG3962
- to you that from theseοὗτοςhoutos houtoi hautē hautai · this/he/she/itG3778
- stonesλίθοςlithos · stoneG3037
- Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
- is ableδύναμαιdunamai · be ableG1410
- to raiseἐγείρωegeirō · to ariseG1453
- up childrenτέκνονteknon · childG5043
Cross-references for Matthew 3:9
- Mark 7:21For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries,
- Luke 3:8Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father,’ for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham.
- Luke 5:22But Jesus, aware of their reasonings, answered and said to them, “Why are you reasoning in your hearts?
- Luke 7:39Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet He would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching Him, that she is a sinner.”
- Luke 12:17And he began reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’
- Ezekiel 33:24“Son of man, they who live in these waste places in the land of Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was only one, yet he possessed the land; so to us who are many the land has been given as a possession.’
- Luke 16:24And he cried out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.’
- John 8:33They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You will become free’?”
- Acts 13:26“Brethren, sons of Abraham’s family, and those among you who fear God, to us the message of this salvation has been sent.
- Romans 4:1What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found?
- Romans 9:7nor are they all children because they are Abraham’s descendants, but: “through Isaac your descendants will be named.”
- Galatians 4:22For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the bondwoman and one by the free woman.
- Matthew 8:11I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven;
- Luke 19:40But Jesus answered, “I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!”
- Acts 15:14Simeon has related how God first concerned Himself about taking from among the Gentiles a people for His name.
- Romans 4:17(as it is written, “A father of many nations have I made you”) in the presence of Him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist.
Commentaries on Matthew 3:9
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 9And think not to say - They regarded it as sufficient righteousness that they were descended from so holy a man as Abraham. Compare John 8:33-37, John 8:53. John assured them that this was a matter of small consequence in the sight of God. Of the very stones of the Jordan he could raise up children to Abraham. The meaning seems to be this: God, from these stones, could more easily raise up those who should be worthy children of Abraham, or be like him…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-12Verses 7-12 To make application to the souls of the hearers, is the life of preaching; so it was of John's preaching. The Pharisees laid their chief stress on outward observances, neglecting the weightier matters of the moral law, and the spiritual meaning of their legal ceremonies. Others of them were detestable hypocrites, making their pretences to holiness a cloak for iniquity. The Sadducees ran into the opposite extreme, denying the existence of…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 9Do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father’: Some people had wrong assumptions. They thought that being descendants of Abraham meant they were free from God's judgment. A key theme in Matthew is that God will create new children of Abraham. He will include non-Jews (Gentiles) in God's people. He will remove Jews who reject the Messiah (see 8:11–12; 21:43; 22:1–14; 28:16–20; Romans 4:9–25; Galatians 3:6–14, 29).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 99. And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father--that pillow on which the nation so fatally reposed, that rock on which at length it split. for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham--that is, "Flatter not yourselves with the fond delusion that God stands in need of you, to make good His promise of a seed to Abraham; for I tell you that, though you were all to perish, God is as able to…Read the comment
Topics related to Matthew 3:9
In the dictionaries
Notes
Commentaries on Matthew 3
- 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
New American Standard Bible 1995 — © 1960–1995 The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
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