Matthew 3:7

Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, 'You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

📖 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

Other Translations

• King James Version 1769 (Standard Version)

  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?

• KJV1611 – Modern English

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

• King James Version 1611 (Original)

  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?

• American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

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

• King James Version with Strong's Numbers

  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?

• Tyndale Bible (1526/1534)

  When he sawe many of ye Pharises and of ye Saduces come to hys baptim he sayde vnto the: O generacio of vipers who hath taught you to fle fro the vengeauce to come?

• Coverdale Bible (1535)

  Now when he sawe many of the Pharises and of ye Saduces come to hys baptim, he sayde vnto them: ye generacio of vipers, who hath certified you, that ye shal escape ye vengeaunce to come?

• Geneva Bible (1560)

  Now when he sawe many of the Pharises, and of the Sadduces come to his baptisme, he said vnto them, O generations of vipers, who hath forewarned you to flee from the anger to come?

• Bishops' Bible (1568)

  But when he sawe many of the Pharisees, and Saducees come to his baptisme, he sayde vnto them. O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the anger to come?

• Authorized King James Version (1611)

  ¶ 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?

• Webster's Bible (1833)

  But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for his baptism, he said to them, "You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

• Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898)

  And having seen many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming about his baptism, he said to them, `Brood of vipers! who did shew you to flee from the coming wrath?

• American Standard Version (1901)

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

• American Standard Version (1901)

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

• 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?

• World English Bible (2000)

  But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for his baptism, he said to them, "You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

• NET Bible® (New English Translation)

  But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them,“You offspring of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

Referenced Verses

• Matt 23:33 : 33 You serpents, you brood of vipers! How can you escape being sentenced to hell?
• Matt 12:34 : 34 You brood of vipers! How can you speak good things when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
• 1 Thess 1:10 : 10 And to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.
• Matt 22:23 : 23 That same day, the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him and questioned him,
• Acts 5:17 : 17 Then the high priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees, rose up and were filled with jealousy.
• Matt 16:6 : 6 Jesus said to them, "Be careful and watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees."
• Matt 16:11-12 : 11 How is it that you do not understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees." 12 Then they understood that He was not telling them to beware of the yeast used in bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
• Acts 23:6-9 : 6 Aware that one group was Sadducees and the other Pharisees, Paul called out in the council, 'Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees! I am on trial concerning the hope of the resurrection of the dead.' 7 When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 8 For the Sadducees say there is no resurrection, nor angels, nor spirits, but the Pharisees affirm them all. 9 A loud outcry arose, and some of the scribes of the Pharisees’ party stood up and argued vehemently, saying, 'We find nothing wrong with this man! What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?'
• Rom 1:18 : 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth by their unrighteousness.
• Rom 5:9 : 9 Much more then, since we have now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.
• Jer 6:10 : 10 To whom can I speak and give warning so they will listen? Their ears are closed, and they cannot pay attention. The word of the Lord is offensive to them; they take no pleasure in it.
• Jer 51:6 : 6 Flee from Babylon! Save your lives! Do not perish in her punishment, for it is the time of the Lord's vengeance; He will repay her what she has done.
• Ezek 3:18-21 : 18 If I say to a wicked person, 'You will surely die,' and you do not warn him or speak out to warn him to turn from his wicked ways to save his life, that wicked person will die in his sin, but I will hold you accountable for his blood. 19 But if you warn the wicked person and he does not turn from his wickedness or his wicked way, he will die in his sin, but you will have saved yourself. 20 Again, if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and does wrong, and I put a stumbling block before him, he will die. Since you did not warn him, he will die in his sin. His righteous acts will not be remembered, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. 21 But if you warn a righteous person not to sin and he does not sin, he will surely live because he heeded the warning, and you will have saved yourself.
• Ezek 33:3-7 : 3 and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet to warn the people, 4 then if anyone hears the sound of the trumpet but does not take warning, and the sword comes and takes them away, their blood will be on their own head. 5 Since they heard the sound of the trumpet but did not take warning, their blood will be on themselves. If they had taken warning, they would have saved their lives. 6 But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes someone’s life, that person will die for their sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for their blood. 7 Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. So hear the word I speak and give them warning from me.
• Matt 5:20 : 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
• Matt 12:24 : 24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, 'This man drives out demons only by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.'
• Gen 3:15 : 15 'And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.'
• Ps 58:3-6 : 3 No, in your hearts you devise injustice; your hands mete out violence on the earth. 4 Even from birth, the wicked are estranged; from the womb, they go astray, speaking lies. 5 Their venom is like the venom of a serpent, like that of a deaf cobra that stops its ears. 6 It does not heed the voice of charmers, however skillful the enchanter may be.
• Isa 57:3-4 : 3 But as for you, come here, you offspring of sorceresses, you children of adulterers and prostitutes! 4 Whom are you mocking? Against whom do you open wide your mouth and stick out your tongue? Are you not children of rebellion, offspring of deceit?
• Isa 59:5 : 5 They hatch the eggs of vipers and spin spider webs. Whoever eats their eggs dies, and when one is crushed, a viper hatches.
• Mark 7:3-5 : 3 For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands carefully, holding to the tradition of the elders. 4 And when they return from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. They also observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers, copper vessels, and dining couches. 5 So the Pharisees and the scribes questioned Him, "Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with unwashed hands?"
• Mark 8:15 : 15 Jesus warned them, 'Watch out! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.'
• Mark 12:13 : 13 Later, they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to trap him in his words.
• Mark 12:18 : 18 Some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him and questioned him.
• Luke 3:7-9 : 7 John said to the crowds coming to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?" 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones. 9 The axe is already laid at the root of the trees, so every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
• Luke 7:30 : 30 But the Pharisees and the experts in the law rejected God's plan for themselves, because they had not been baptized by him.
• Luke 11:39-44 : 39 Then the Lord said to him, 'Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. 40 You fools! Did not the one who made the outside also make the inside? 41 But now as for what is inside you—be generous to the poor, and everything will be clean for you.' 42 But woe to you Pharisees! For you give a tenth of mint, rue, and every herb, but you neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done without neglecting the others. 43 Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the seats of honor in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. 44 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like unmarked graves that people walk over without knowing.
• Luke 16:14 : 14 The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and sneered at him.
• Luke 18:11 : 11 'The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed, 'God, I thank you that I am not like other people: robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.'
• John 1:24 : 24 Now those who had been sent were from the Pharisees.
• John 7:45-49 : 45 Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, 'Why didn’t you bring Him?' 46 The officers answered, 'Never has anyone spoken like this man!' 47 The Pharisees replied to them, 'Have you also been deceived?' 48 Have any of the rulers or Pharisees believed in Him? 49 But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.
• John 8:44 : 44 You are from your father, the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
• John 9:40 : 40 Some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard this and asked, 'Are we also blind?'
• Acts 4:1-2 : 1 While they were speaking to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them. 2 They were greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.
• Acts 26:5 : 5 They have known me for a long time, and if they are willing, they can testify that I lived according to the strictest sect of our religion as a Pharisee.
• Heb 11:7 : 7 By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverent fear prepared an ark for the salvation of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
• 1 John 3:10 : 10 By this the children of God and the children of the devil are distinguished: Anyone who does not practice righteousness and does not love their brother or sister is not of God.
• Rev 6:16-17 : 16 And they said to the mountains and the rocks, 'Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!' 17 For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can withstand it?
• Rev 12:9-9 : 9 The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. 10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: 'Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Messiah. For the accuser of our siblings, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.'
• Matt 22:15 : 15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might trap him in his words.
• Matt 15:12 : 12 Then the disciples came to him and told him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?”
• Acts 15:5 : 5 But some believers from the sect of the Pharisees stood up and declared, "It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses."
• Acts 20:31 : 31 Therefore, be watchful, remembering that for three years I never stopped admonishing each one of you with tears, night and day.
• Matt 22:34 : 34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together.
• Matt 23:13-28 : 13 But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor do you allow those entering to go in. 14 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore, you will receive a greater condemnation. 15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a child of hell as you are. 16 Woe to you, blind guides! You say, 'If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is obligated.' 17 You fools and blind! Which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold? 18 And you say, 'If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is obligated.' 19 You fools and blind! Which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift? 20 Therefore, whoever swears by the altar swears by it and everything on it. 21 And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and by the One who dwells in it. 22 And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it. 23 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You tithe mint, dill, and cumin but have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy, and faithfulness. These you ought to have done without neglecting the others. 24 Blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. 25 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the dish, so that the outside may also become clean. 27 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside but inside are full of the bones of the dead and all impurity. 28 So too, on the outside you appear righteous to people, but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
• 2 Thess 1:9-9 : 9 They will be punished with eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His might. 10 On that day, when He comes to be glorified among His saints and marveled at by all who have believed—because our testimony to you was believed.
• Heb 6:18 : 18 So that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.