New International Version
Matthew 3:9
9And 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.
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.
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones.
Context of Matthew 3:9
7But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. 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. 10The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. 11“I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. 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
Words taken from the KJV.
- ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- Andκαίkai · andG2532
- thinkδοκέωdokeō · to thinkG1380
- notμήmē · notG3361
- to sayλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
- withinἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
- yourselvesἑαυτοῦheautou · themselfG1438
- We haveἔχωechō · to have/beG2192
- AbrahamἈβραάμAbraam · AbrahamG11
- toπατήρpatēr · fatherG3962
- forγάρgar · forG1063
- unto youσύsu · youG4771
- thatὅτιhoti · that/since: thatG3754
- Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
- is ableδύναμαιdunamai · be ableG1410
- ofἐκek ex · out fromG1537
- theseοὗτοςhoutos houtoi hautē hautai · this/he/she/itG3778
- stonesλίθοςlithos · stoneG3037
- to raise upἐγείρωegeirō · to ariseG1453
- childrenτέκνονteknon · childG5043
Cross-references for Matthew 3:9
- Mark 7:21For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder,
- Luke 3:8Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.
- Luke 5:22Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts?
- Luke 7:39When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”
- Luke 12:17He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
- Ezekiel 33:24“Son of man, the people living in those ruins in the land of Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was only one man, yet he possessed the land. But we are many; surely the land has been given to us as our possession.’
- Luke 16:24So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’
- John 8:33They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”
- Acts 13:26“Fellow children of Abraham and you God-fearing Gentiles, it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent.
- Romans 4:1What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, discovered in this matter?
- Romans 9:7Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.”
- Galatians 4:22For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman.
- Matthew 8:11I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.
- Luke 19:40“I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”
- Acts 15:14Simon has described to us how God first intervened to choose a people for his name from the Gentiles.
- Romans 4:17As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.
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
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
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