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Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
Matthew 7:19 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Every tree that doesn’t grow good fruit is cut down, and thrown into the fire.
  • KJV Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
  • NKJV Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
  • NASB Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
  • NLT So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Every tree that fails to bear good fruit is cut down and burned. Fruitlessness ends in judgment.

Overview

Echoing John the Baptist's warning, Jesus declares the fate of the fruitless tree: it is cut down and thrown into the fire. The image solemnly applies the fruit-test to final judgment, where lives are assessed by their genuine fruit. It warns that mere profession without the fruit of true faith cannot escape God's judgment.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 10

  • Matt 3:10The axe lies ready at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
  • John 15:2–6He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit, and every branch that does bear fruit, He prunes to make it even more fruitful.
  • Heb 6:8But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless, and its curse is imminent. In the end it will be burned.
  • Luke 3:9The axe lies ready at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”
  • Jude 1:12These men are hidden reefs in your love feasts, shamelessly feasting with you but shepherding only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried along by the wind; fruitless trees in autumn, twice dead after being uprooted.
  • Luke 13:6–9Then Jesus told this parable: “A man had a fig tree that was planted in his vineyard. He went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any.
  • Isa 27:11When its limbs are dry, they are broken off. Women come and use them for kindling; for this is a people without understanding. Therefore their Maker has no compassion on them, and their Creator shows them no favor.
  • Isa 5:5–7Now I will tell you what I am about to do to My vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it will be consumed; I will tear down its wall, and it will be trampled.
  • Ezek 15:2–7“Son of man, how does the wood of the vine surpass any other branch among the trees in the forest?
  • Matt 21:19–20Seeing a fig tree by the road, He went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. “May you never bear fruit again!” He said. And immediately the tree withered.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Matthew videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Matthew 7:19YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on MatthewMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'

How Matthew 7:19 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.