Matthew 3:7

Bible in Basic English (1941)

But when he saw a number of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, Offspring of snakes, at whose word are you going in flight from the wrath to come?

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

¶Ἰδὼν δὲ πολλοὺς τῶν Φαρισαίων καὶ Σαδδουκαίων ἐρχομένους ἐπὶ τὸ βάπτισμα αὐτοῦ, εἶπεν αὐτοῖς, Γεννήματα ἐχιδνῶν, τίς ὑπέδειξεν ὑμῖν φυγεῖν ἀπὸ τῆς μελλούσης ὀργῆς;

Transliteration

¶Idōn de many of the Pharisaiōn and Saddoukaiōn erchomenous to the baptisma of him, eipen to them, Gennēmata echidnōn, who hypedeixen to you to phygein from the mellousēs orgēs?

Grammar Details

• *Idōn*: aorist active participle, nominative, masculine, singular - seeing/having seen
• *de*: postpositive conjunction - but/and
• *Pharisaiōn*: genitive, masculine, plural - of Pharisees
• *Saddoukaiōn*: genitive, masculine, plural - of Sadducees
• *erchomenous*: present middle/passive participle, accusative, masculine, plural - coming
• *baptisma*: accusative, neuter, singular - baptism
• *eipen*: aorist active indicative, 3rd singular - said
• *Gennēmata*: vocative, neuter, plural - offspring/brood
• *echidnōn*: genitive, feminine, plural - of vipers
• *hypedeixen*: aorist active indicative, 3rd singular - showed/warned
• *phygein*: aorist active infinitive - to flee
• *mellousēs*: present active participle, genitive, feminine, singular - coming/about to come
• *orgēs*: genitive, feminine, singular - of wrath/anger

Word Meanings

• *Idōn*: seeing/having seen/when he saw
• *erchomenous*: coming/approaching/arriving
• *eipen*: said/spoke/declared
• *Gennēmata*: offspring/brood/generation
• *hypedeixen*: showed/warned/instructed
• *phygein*: to flee/to escape/to run away from
• *mellousēs*: coming/about to come/imminent
• *orgēs*: wrath/anger/indignation

Referenced Verses

• Matt 23:33 : 33 You snakes, offspring of snakes, how will you be kept from the punishment of hell?
• Matt 12:34 : 34 You offspring of snakes, how are you, being evil, able to say good things? because out of the heart's store come the words of the mouth.
• 1 Thess 1:10 : 10 Waiting for his Son from heaven, who came back from the dead, even Jesus, our Saviour from the wrath to come.
• Matt 22:23 : 23 On the same day there came to him the Sadducees, who say that there is no coming back from the dead: and they put a question to him, saying,
• Acts 5:17 : 17 But the high priest and those who were with him (the Sadducees) were full of envy,
• Matt 16:6 : 6 And Jesus said to them, Take care to have nothing to do with the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
• Matt 16:11-12 : 11 How is it that you do not see that I was not talking to you about bread, but about keeping away from the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees? 12 Then they saw that it was not the leaven of bread which he had in mind, but the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
• Acts 23:6-9 : 6 But when Paul saw that half of them were Sadducees and the rest Pharisees, he said in the Sanhedrin, Brothers, I am a Pharisee, and the son of Pharisees: I am here to be judged on the question of the hope of the coming back from the dead. 7 And when he had said this, there was an argument between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and a division in the meeting. 8 For the Sadducees say that there is no coming back from the dead, and no angels or spirits: but the Pharisees have belief in all these. 9 And there was a great outcry: and some of the scribes on the side of the Pharisees got up and took part in the discussion, saying, We see no evil in this man: what if he has had a revelation from an angel or a spirit?
• Rom 1:18 : 18 For there is a revelation of the wrath of God from heaven against all the wrongdoing and evil thoughts of men who keep down what is true by wrongdoing;
• Rom 5:9 : 9 Much more, if we now have righteousness by his blood, will salvation from the wrath of God come to us through him.
• Jer 6:10 : 10 To whom am I to give word, witnessing so that they may take note? see, their ears are stopped, and they are not able to give attention: see, the word of the Lord has been a cause of shame to them, they have no delight in it.
• Jer 51:6 : 6 Go in flight out of Babylon, so that every man may keep his life; do not be cut off in her evil-doing: for it is the time of the Lord's punishment; he will give her her reward.
• Ezek 3:18-21 : 18 When I say to the evil-doer, Death will certainly be your fate; and you give him no word of it and say nothing to make clear to the evil-doer the danger of his evil way, so that he may be safe; that same evil man will come to death in his evil-doing; but I will make you responsible for his blood. 19 But if you give the evil-doer word of his danger, and he is not turned from his sin or from his evil way, death will overtake him in his evil-doing; but your life will be safe. 20 Again, when an upright man, turning away from his righteousness, does evil, and I put a cause of falling in his way, death will overtake him: because you have given him no word of his danger, death will overtake him in his evil-doing, and there will be no memory of the upright acts which he has done; but I will make you responsible for his blood. 21 But if you say to the upright man that he is not to do evil, he will certainly keep his life because he took note of your word; and your life will be safe.
• Ezek 33:3-7 : 3 If, when he sees the sword coming on the land, by sounding the horn he gives the people news of their danger; 4 Then anyone who, hearing the sound of the horn, does not take note of it, will himself be responsible for his death, if the sword comes and takes him away. 5 On hearing the sound of the horn, he did not take note; his blood will be on him; for if he had taken note his life would have been safe. 6 But if the watchman sees the sword coming, and does not give a note on the horn, and the people have no word of the danger, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them; he will be taken away in his sin, but I will make the watchman responsible for his blood. 7 So you, son of man, I have made you a watchman for the children of Israel; and you are to give ear to the word of my mouth and give them news from me of their danger.
• Matt 5:20 : 20 For I say to you, If your righteousness is not greater than the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never go into the kingdom of heaven.
• Matt 12:24 : 24 But the Pharisees, hearing of it, said, This man only sends evil spirits out of men by Beelzebub, the ruler of evil spirits.
• Gen 3:15 : 15 And there will be war between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed: by him will your head be crushed and by you his foot will be wounded.
• Ps 58:3-6 : 3 The evil-doers are strange from the first; from the hour of their birth they go out of the true way, saying false words. 4 Their poison is like the poison of a snake; they are like the adder, whose ears are shut; 5 Who will not be moved by the voice of the wonder-worker, however great are his powers. 6 O God, let their teeth be broken in their mouths; let the great teeth of the young lions be pulled out, O Lord.
• Isa 57:3-4 : 3 But come near, you sons of her who is wise in secret arts, the seed of her who is false to her husband, and of the loose woman. 4 Of whom do you make sport? against whom is your mouth open wide and your tongue put out? are you not uncontrolled children, a false seed,
• Isa 59:5 : 5 They give birth to snake's eggs, and make spider's threads: whoever takes their eggs for food comes to his death, and the egg which is crushed becomes a poison-snake.
• Mark 7:3-5 : 3 Now the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not take food without washing their hands with care, keeping the old rule which has been handed down to them: 4 And when they come from the market-place, they take no food till their hands are washed; and a number of other orders there are, which have been handed down to them to keep--washings of cups and pots and brass vessels. 5 And the Pharisees and the scribes put the question to him, Why do your disciples not keep the rules of the fathers, but take their bread with unwashed hands?
• Mark 8:15 : 15 And he said to them, Take care to be on the watch against the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.
• Mark 12:13 : 13 Then they sent to him certain of the Pharisees and the Herodians, so that they might make use of his words to take him by a trick.
• Mark 12:18 : 18 And there came to him Sadducees, who say there is no coming back from the dead; and they put a question to him, saying,
• Luke 3:7-9 : 7 So he said to the people who went out to him for baptism: You offspring of snakes, at whose word are you going in flight from the wrath to come? 8 Make clear by your acts that your hearts have been changed; and do not say to yourselves, We have Abraham for our father: for I say to you that God is able from these stones to make children of Abraham. 9 And even now the axe is put to the root of the trees; and every tree which does not have good fruit will be cut down and put into the fire.
• Luke 7:30 : 30 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were against the purpose of God for themselves, not having had his baptism.)
• Luke 11:39-44 : 39 And the Lord said to him, You Pharisees make the outside of the cup and the plate clean; but inside you are thieves and full of evil. 40 O you foolish ones! did not he who made the outside in the same way make the inside? 41 But if you give to the poor such things as you are able, then all things are clean to you. 42 But a curse is on you, Pharisees! for you make men give a tenth of every sort of plant, and give no thought to right and the love of God; but it is right for you to do these things, and not let the others be undone. 43 A curse is on you, Pharisees! for your desires are for the most important seats in the Synagogues and for words of respect said to you in the market-place. 44 A curse is on you! for you are like the resting-places of dead men, which are not seen, and men go walking over them without knowledge of it.
• Luke 16:14 : 14 And the Pharisees, who had a great love of money, hearing these things, were making sport of him.
• Luke 18:11 : 11 The Pharisee, taking up his position, said to himself these words: God, I give you praise because I am not like other men, who take more than their right, who are evil-doers, who are untrue to their wives, or even like this tax-farmer.
• John 1:24 : 24 Those who had been sent came from the Pharisees.
• John 7:45-49 : 45 Then the servants went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, Why have you not got him with you? 46 The servants made answer, No man ever said things like this man. 47 Then the Pharisees said to them, Have you, like the others, been given false ideas? 48 Have any of the rulers belief in him, or any one of the Pharisees? 49 But these people who have no knowledge of the law are cursed.
• John 8:44 : 44 You are the children of your father the Evil One and it is your pleasure to do his desires. From the first he was a taker of life; and he did not go in the true way because there is no true thing in him. When he says what is false, it is natural to him, for he is false and the father of what is false.
• John 9:40 : 40 These words came to the ears of the Pharisees who were with him and they said to him, Are we, then, blind?
• Acts 4:1-2 : 1 And while they were talking to the people, the priests and the captain of the Temple and the Sadducees came up to them, 2 Being greatly troubled because they were teaching the people and preaching Jesus as an example of the coming back from the dead.
• Acts 26:5 : 5 And they are able to say, if they would give witness, that I was living as a Pharisee, in that division of our religion which is most regular in the keeping of the law.
• Heb 11:7 : 7 By faith Noah, being moved by the fear of God, made ready an ark for the salvation of his family, because God had given him news of things which were not seen at the time; and through it the world was judged by him, and he got for his heritage the righteousness which is by faith.
• 1 John 3:10 : 10 In this way it is clear who are the children of God and who are the children of the Evil One; anyone who does not do righteousness or who has no love for his brother, is not a child of God.
• Rev 6:16-17 : 16 And they say to the mountains and to the rocks, Come down on us, covering us from the face of him who is seated on the high seat, and from the wrath of the Lamb: 17 For the great day of their wrath is come, and who may keep his place?
• Rev 12:9-9 : 9 And the great dragon was forced down, the old snake, who is named the Evil One and Satan, by whom all the earth is turned from the right way; he was forced down to the earth, and his angels were forced down with him. 10 And a great voice in heaven came to my ears, saying, Now is come the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ: because he who says evil against our brothers before our God day and night is forced down.
• Matt 22:15 : 15 Then the Pharisees went and had a meeting to see how they might make use of his words to take him.
• Matt 15:12 : 12 Then the disciples came and said to him, Did you see that the Pharisees were troubled when these words came to their ears?
• Acts 15:5 : 5 But some of the Pharisees, who were of the faith, got up and said, It is necessary for these to have circumcision and to keep the law of Moses.
• Acts 20:31 : 31 So keep watch, having in mind that for three years without resting I was teaching every one of you, day and night, with weeping.
• Matt 22:34 : 34 But the Pharisees, hearing how the mouths of the Sadducees had been stopped, came together;
• Matt 23:13-28 : 13 But a curse is on you, scribes and Pharisees, false ones! because you are shutting the kingdom of heaven against men: for you do not go in yourselves, and those who are going in, you keep back. 14 [] 15 A curse is on you, scribes and Pharisees, false ones! for you go about land and sea to get one disciple and, having him, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves. 16 A curse is on you, blind guides, who say, Whoever takes an oath by the Temple, it is nothing; but whoever takes an oath by the gold of the Temple, he is responsible. 17 You foolish ones and blind: which is greater, the gold, or the Temple which makes the gold holy? 18 And, Whoever takes an oath by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever takes an oath by the offering which is on it, he is responsible. 19 You blind ones: which is greater, the offering, or the altar which makes the offering holy? 20 He, then, who takes an oath by the altar, takes it by the altar and by all things on it. 21 And he who takes an oath by the Temple, takes it by the Temple and by him whose house it is. 22 And he who takes an oath by heaven, takes it by the seat of God, and by him who is seated on it. 23 A curse is on you, scribes and Pharisees, false ones! for you make men give a tenth of all sorts of sweet-smelling plants, but you give no thought to the more important things of the law, righteousness, and mercy, and faith; but it is right for you to do these, and not to let the others be undone. 24 You blind guides, who take out a fly from your drink, but make no trouble over a camel. 25 A curse is on you, scribes and Pharisees, false ones! for you make clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of violent behaviour and uncontrolled desire. 26 You blind Pharisee, first make clean the inside of the cup and of the plate, so that the outside may become equally clean. 27 A curse is on you, scribes and Pharisees, false ones! for you are like the resting-places of the dead, which are made white, and seem beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men's bones and of all unclean things. 28 Even so you seem to men to be full of righteousness, but inside you are all false and full of wrongdoing.
• 2 Thess 1:9-9 : 9 Whose reward will be eternal destruction from the face of the Lord and from the glory of his strength, 10 At his coming, when he will have glory in his saints, and will be a cause of wonder in all those who had faith (because our witness among you had effect) in that day.
• Heb 6:18 : 18 So that we, who have gone in flight from danger to the hope which has been put before us, may have a strong comfort in two unchanging things, in which it is not possible for God to be false;