Matthew 7
The chapter in full, then the passages inside it that are worth stopping on — what each one claims, what the Greek or Hebrew shows, and how the reading is arrived at.
Matthew 7 WEB
- 1 "Don't judge, so that you won't be judged.
- 2 For with whatever judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with whatever measure you measure, it will be measured to you.
- 3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but don't consider the beam that is in your own eye?
- 4 Or how will you tell your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye,' and behold, the beam is in your own eye?
- 5 You hypocrite! First remove the beam out of your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck out of your brother's eye.
- 6 "Don't give that which is holy to the dogs, neither throw your pearls before the pigs, lest perhaps they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.
- 7 "Ask, and it will be given you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened for you.
- 8 For everyone who asks receives. He who seeks finds. To him who knocks it will be opened.
- 9 Or who is there among you who, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?
- 10 Or if he asks for a fish, who will give him a serpent?
- 11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
- 12 Therefore, whatever you desire for men to do to you, you shall also do to them; for this is the law and the prophets.
- 13 "Enter in by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter in by it.
- 14 How narrow is the gate and the way is restricted that leads to life! There are few who find it.
- 15 "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves.
- 16 By their fruits you will know them. Do you gather grapes from thorns or figs from thistles?
- 17 Even so, every good tree produces good fruit, but the corrupt tree produces evil fruit.
- 18 A good tree can't produce evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree produce good fruit.
- 19 Every tree that doesn't grow good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
- 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
- 21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
- 22 Many will tell me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, didn't we prophesy in your name, in your name cast out demons, and in your name do many mighty works?'
- 23 Then I will tell them, 'I never knew you. Depart from me, you who work iniquity.'
- 24 "Everyone therefore who hears these words of mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock.
- 25 The rain came down, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it didn't fall, for it was founded on the rock.
- 26 Everyone who hears these words of mine and doesn't do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.
- 27 The rain came down, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell—and its fall was great."
- 28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the multitudes were astonished at his teaching,
- 29 for he taught them with authority, and not like the scribes.
Matthew 7 closes the Sermon on the Mount, the block of teaching Jesus delivers from a hillside in Galilee to disciples and crowds alike (5:1–2). The sermon has moved from beatitude through the law's inward demands to true and false piety; this chapter turns to how disciples treat each other, how they seek God, and how they finally distinguish the real thing from its counterfeits. It ends with the crowd's verdict: astonishment, because this man taught with authority the scribes did not have (7:28–29).
7:1-5 Judge not, that ye be not judged
The opening line is quoted more than almost any other verse in the sermon, usually to end a conversation rather than continue one. The Greek κρίνετε (krinete) is broad — it covers everything from a legal verdict to an everyday assessment of someone's character or motives — and the imperative is present tense: stop the habitual practice of it, not "never form a judgment about anything." Jesus is not banning moral discernment; the same chapter tells hearers to recognize false prophets by their fruit (7:15–20), which is itself an act of judgment. What is forbidden is the stance of the self-appointed judge, the one measuring others by a standard he exempts himself from.
Verse 2 makes the logic explicit: κρίνετε and κριθήσεσθε are the same verb, present and future — the measure you use comes back on you. This is not a threat invented for the occasion; it echoes Obadiah's "as you have done, it will be done to you" (Obadiah 1:15) and anticipates James's warning that "judgment is without mercy to him who has shown no mercy" (James 2:13). Paul applies it with surgical precision in Romans 2:1: "in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself, for you who judge practice the same things."
The image in verses 3–5 is the sermon's driest joke: a man with a δοκός — a beam, a roof-timber — lodged in his own eye, offering to extract the κάρφος, a splinter or chaff-fleck, from his brother's. Jesus names him directly: ὑποκριτά, hypocrite, the same word used for stage actors who play a part not their own. The sequence matters — "first remove the beam... and then you can see clearly" (7:5) does not forbid ever helping a brother see his splinter; Luke's parallel (6:41–42) and Paul's counsel to restore a brother "in a spirit of gentleness, looking to yourself" (Galatians 6:1) assume correction still happens. What is ruled out is correction performed from a position of unexamined self-regard. John 8:7 supplies the sharpest version of the same principle outside this chapter: "He who is without sin among you, let him throw the first stone."
7:6 Don't cast your pearls before swine
This verse sits oddly next to the warmth of what surrounds it, and its logic is compressed enough that interpreters have never fully agreed on its reach. τὸ ἅγιον, "the holy thing," and pearls, are given to dogs and pigs — animals that in the ancient Near East were not household pets but scavengers, ritually unclean, and dangerous when cornered. The warning is not contempt for particular people but a caution about discernment: some rejection of what is holy is not humility to absorb but provocation to expect — "lest... they turn and tear you to pieces." Read against Proverbs' observation that "one who reproves a wicked man invites abuse" (Proverbs 23:9) and "one who corrects a mocker invites insult" (Proverbs 9:7), the verse belongs with wisdom literature's realism about when speech is wasted and when it is worse than wasted. It is a hard verse to apply without becoming the judge of 7:1–2, and the text offers no formula for telling dog from disciple — only the warning that such a distinction exists.
7:7-11 Ask, and it shall be given you
The three imperatives — αἰτεῖτε, ζητεῖτε, κρούετε, ask, seek, knock — are present tense, calling for a sustained posture rather than a single request. Verse 8 answers each with unqualified promise: everyone who asks receives. The chapter offers no fine print about conditions or timing, which is exactly why this passage gets stretched into promises it does not make; nothing here claims that every specific request is granted as asked, only that the Father who is asked is not stingy or capricious.
That is the point of the double question in verses 9–10: no father gives a stone for bread or a serpent for a fish — the false gift resembles the true one closely enough to be a cruel joke. The argument from verse 11 runs from lesser to greater (πόσῳ μᾶλλον, "how much more"): if flawed human fathers, being themselves πονηροί, know how to give good gifts, the Father in heaven — unflawed — gives good things all the more. The confidence rests not on the size of the request but on the character of the one asked.
7:12 Do to others as you would have them do to you
The Golden Rule closes the ethical section of the sermon and Jesus states its weight plainly: "this is the law and the prophets" — not a new sentiment layered onto Scripture but, in his reading, its summary. It is worth noting what makes it distinct from mere reciprocity: it does not say "do to others as they do to you," which is simple tit-for-tat, but works from one's own desires outward — an active rule, not a defensive one.
7:13-14 The narrow gate
Two ways, two crowds. The gate that is πλατεῖα (wide) and the road εὐρύχωρος (spacious, roomy) lead to ἀπώλεια, destruction; the gate is στενή (narrow) and the road τεθλιμμένη — literally "compressed, afflicted," the word used elsewhere for tribulation — and leads to ζωή, life. The arithmetic is blunt and unwelcome: πολλοί on the broad way, ὀλίγοι who find the narrow one. Nothing here specifies who ends up where; the image works against any assumption that the crowd's size is evidence of being right, and against any comfortable universalism that supposes both roads arrive at the same place.
7:15-20 By their fruits ye shall know them
False prophets come ἐν ἐνδύμασιν προβάτων — in sheep's clothing, the disguise assumed, since real sheep don't need one — while being λύκοι ἅρπαγες, ravening wolves, underneath. The test given is not credentials, eloquence, or claimed authority but καρπός, fruit: a tree's nature determines what it produces, and the two cannot be swapped by effort or pretense (7:18). This chapter will not let "fruit" mean mere charisma — verses 21–23 make that explicit by describing prophesying, exorcism, and "many mighty works" done in Jesus's name that turn out to prove nothing at all.
7:21-23 Lord, Lord
The most severe warning in the chapter. Not everyone who calls Jesus Κύριε enters the kingdom, but "he who does the will of my Father." The scene in verse 22 is startling because the claimed works are not fraudulent performances but the very things associated with genuine ministry — prophecy, exorcism, miracle. Jesus's reply, "I never knew you" (οὐδέποτε ἔγνων ὑμᾶς), is relational language, not a claim that the deeds didn't happen; ἀνομίαν, "iniquity" or "lawlessness," is what he names in them instead. The passage refuses to let spiritual activity substitute for obedience, and refuses just as firmly to let anyone read it as license to interrogate someone else's standing before God — it is Jesus speaking of that day, not a tool handed to hearers for auditing each other now.
7:24-27 The wise man built his house upon the rock
The sermon's closing parable turns everything preceding it into a test with only two outcomes. Both builders hear the same words — τοὺς λόγους τούτους, "these words of mine" — and the storm that hits both houses is identical: same rain, same rivers, same wind. The only variable is the foundation, and the only thing distinguishing the wise builder from the fool is not hearing but doing (ποιεῖ, ἀκούων... καὶ μὴ ποιῶν). The sermon has spent seven chapters on content; this closing image makes clear that agreement with the content was never the finish line.
What the chapter asks
Everything in Matthew 7 turns on a single demand: that hearing be finished by doing. The chapter will not let a hearer settle for correct judgment of others while excusing the self, for confidence in ritual language ("Lord, Lord") without obedience, or for admiration of the sermon without building on it. It promises a Father who gives generously to those who ask, and in the same breath insists the way to him is narrow and the wolves are real. What it presses, finally, is whether the words just heard become a foundation or remain merely heard — and that the storm, when it comes, will not ask which.
The verses this turns on
"Don't judge, so that you won't be judged.discussed above
Greek Nestle 1904
Μὴ κρίνετε, ἵνα μὴ κριθῆτε·
- Μὴ μή particle · nominative G3361
- κρίνετε, κρίνω verb · present active imperative, 2nd person plural G2919
- ἵνα ἵνα conjunction G2443
- μὴ μή particle · nominative G3361
- κριθῆτε· κρίνω verb · aorist passive subjunctive, 2nd person plural G2919
Punctuation is editorial — the manuscripts carry none.
See also 5
- Luke 6:37 Don't judge, and you won't be judged. Don't condemn, and you won't be condemned. Set free, and you will be set free.
- Romans 2:1 Therefore you are without excuse, O man, whoever you are who judge. For in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself. For you who judge practice the same things.
- James 4:11 Don't speak against one another, brothers. He who speaks against a brother and judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.
- Luke 6:41 Why do you see the speck of chaff that is in your brother's eye, but don't consider the beam that is in your own eye?
- Romans 14:10 But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
You hypocrite! First remove the beam out of your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck out of your brother's eye.discussed above
Greek Nestle 1904
ὑποκριτά, ἔκβαλε πρῶτον ἐκ τοῦ ὀφθαλμοῦ σοῦ τὴν δοκόν, καὶ τότε διαβλέψεις ἐκβαλεῖν τὸ κάρφος ἐκ τοῦ ὀφθαλμοῦ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ σου.
- ὑποκριτά, ὑποκριτής noun · vocative singular masculine G5273
- ἔκβαλε ἐκβάλλω verb · aorist active imperative, 2nd person singular G1544
- πρῶτον πρῶτος adverb G4412
- ἐκ ἐκ preposition G1537
- τοῦ ὁ article · genitive singular masculine G3588
- ὀφθαλμοῦ ὀφθαλμός noun · genitive singular masculine G3788
- σοῦ σύ personal pronoun G4771
- τὴν ὁ article · accusative singular feminine G3588
- δοκόν, δοκός noun · accusative singular feminine G1385
- καὶ καί conjunction G2532
- τότε τότε adverb G5119
- διαβλέψεις διαβλέπω verb · future active indicative, 2nd person singular G1227
Punctuation is editorial — the manuscripts carry none.
See also 5
- Luke 6:42 Or how can you tell your brother, 'Brother, let me remove the speck of chaff that is in your eye,' when you yourself don't see the beam that is in your own eye? You hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck of chaff that is in your brother's eye.
- Psalm 51:9 Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all of my iniquities.
- Matthew 23:13 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows' houses, and as a pretense you make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.
- Luke 13:15 Therefore the Lord answered him, "You hypocrites! Doesn't each one of you free his ox or his donkey from the stall on the Sabbath and lead him away to water?
- Luke 4:23 He said to them, "Doubtless you will tell me this proverb, 'Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done at Capernaum, do also here in your hometown.'"
"Don't give that which is holy to the dogs, neither throw your pearls before the pigs, lest perhaps they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.discussed above
Greek Nestle 1904
Μὴ δῶτε τὸ ἅγιον τοῖς κυσίν, μηδὲ βάλητε τοὺς μαργαρίτας ὑμῶν ἔμπροσθεν τῶν χοίρων, μή ποτε καταπατήσουσιν αὐτοὺς ἐν τοῖς ποσὶν αὐτῶν καὶ στραφέντες ῥήξωσιν ὑμᾶς.
- Μὴ μή particle · nominative G3361
- δῶτε δίδωμι verb · aorist active subjunctive, 2nd person plural G1325
- τὸ ὁ article · accusative singular neuter G3588
- ἅγιον ἅγιος adjective · accusative singular neuter G40
- τοῖς ὁ article · dative plural masculine G3588
- κυσίν, κύων noun · dative plural masculine G2965
- μηδὲ μηδέ conjunction · nominative G3366
- βάλητε βάλλω verb · aorist active subjunctive, 2nd person plural G906
- τοὺς ὁ article · accusative plural masculine G3588
- μαργαρίτας μαργαρίτης noun · accusative plural masculine G3135
- ὑμῶν σύ personal pronoun G4771
- ἔμπροσθεν ἔμπροσθεν preposition G1715
Punctuation is editorial — the manuscripts carry none.
See also 5
- Proverbs 9:7 One who corrects a mocker invites insult. One who reproves a wicked man invites abuse.
- Proverbs 23:9 Don't speak in the ears of a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words.
- Matthew 10:14 Whoever doesn't receive you or hear your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake the dust off your feet.
- Proverbs 26:11 As a dog that returns to his vomit, so is a fool who repeats his folly.
- Matthew 15:26 But he answered, "It is not appropriate to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs."
"Ask, and it will be given you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened for you.discussed above
Greek Nestle 1904
Αἰτεῖτε, καὶ δοθήσεται ὑμῖν· ζητεῖτε, καὶ εὑρήσετε· κρούετε, καὶ ἀνοιγήσεται ὑμῖν.
- Αἰτεῖτε, αἰτέω verb · present active imperative, 2nd person plural G154
- καὶ καί conjunction G2532
- δοθήσεται δίδωμι verb · future passive indicative, 3rd person singular G1325
- ὑμῖν· σύ personal pronoun G4771
- ζητεῖτε, ζητέω verb · present active imperative, 2nd person plural G2212
- καὶ καί conjunction G2532
- εὑρήσετε· εὑρίσκω verb · future active indicative, 2nd person plural G2147
- κρούετε, κρούω verb · present active imperative, 2nd person plural G2925
- καὶ καί conjunction G2532
- ἀνοιγήσεται ἀνοίγω verb · future passive indicative, 3rd person singular G455
- ὑμῖν. σύ personal pronoun G4771
Punctuation is editorial — the manuscripts carry none.
See also 5
- Matthew 21:22 All things, whatever you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive."
- 1 John 3:22 so whatever we ask, we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do the things that are pleasing in his sight.
- John 15:7 If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, you will ask whatever you desire, and it will be done for you.
- Mark 11:24 Therefore I tell you, all things whatever you pray and ask for, believe that you have received them, and you shall have them.
- Psalm 145:18 Yahweh is near to all those who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.
Therefore, whatever you desire for men to do to you, you shall also do to them; for this is the law and the prophets.discussed above
Greek Nestle 1904
Πάντα οὖν ὅσα ἐὰν θέλητε ἵνα ποιῶσιν ὑμῖν οἱ ἄνθρωποι, οὕτως καὶ ὑμεῖς ποιεῖτε αὐτοῖς· οὗτος γάρ ἐστιν ὁ νόμος καὶ οἱ προφῆται.
- Πάντα πᾶς adjective · accusative plural neuter G3956
- οὖν οὖν conjunction G3767
- ὅσα ὅσος correlative pronoun · accusative plural neuter G3745
- ἐὰν ἐάν conditional G1437
- θέλητε θέλω verb · present active subjunctive, 2nd person plural G2309
- ἵνα ἵνα conjunction G2443
- ποιῶσιν ποιέω verb · present active subjunctive, 3rd person plural G4160
- ὑμῖν σύ personal pronoun G4771
- οἱ ὁ article · nominative plural masculine G3588
- ἄνθρωποι, ἄνθρωπος noun · nominative plural masculine G444
- οὕτως οὕτω adverb G3779
- καὶ καί conjunction G2532
Punctuation is editorial — the manuscripts carry none.
See also 5
- Luke 6:31 "As you would like people to do to you, do exactly so to them.
- Romans 13:8 Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.
- Galatians 5:13 For you, brothers, were called for freedom. Only don't use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love be servants to one another.
- Leviticus 19:18 "'You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people; but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am Yahweh.
- Mark 12:29 Jesus answered, "The greatest is: 'Hear, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.
"Enter in by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter in by it.discussed above
Greek Nestle 1904
Εἰσέλθατε διὰ τῆς στενῆς πύλης· ὅτι πλατεῖα ἡ πύλη καὶ εὐρύχωρος ἡ ὁδὸς ἡ ἀπάγουσα εἰς τὴν ἀπώλειαν, καὶ πολλοί εἰσιν οἱ εἰσερχόμενοι δι’ αὐτῆς·
- Εἰσέλθατε εἰσέρχομαι verb · aorist active imperative, 2nd person plural G1525
- διὰ διά preposition G1223
- τῆς ὁ article · genitive singular feminine G3588
- στενῆς στενός adjective · genitive singular feminine G4728
- πύλης· πύλη noun · genitive singular feminine G4439
- ὅτι ὅτι conjunction G3754
- πλατεῖα πλατύς adjective · nominative singular feminine G4116
- ἡ ὁ article · nominative singular feminine G3588
- πύλη πύλη noun · nominative singular feminine G4439
- καὶ καί conjunction G2532
- εὐρύχωρος εὐρύχωρος adjective · nominative singular feminine G2149
- ἡ ὁ article · nominative singular feminine G3588
Punctuation is editorial — the manuscripts carry none.
See also 5
- Luke 13:24 "Strive to enter in by the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will seek to enter in and will not be able.
- Proverbs 16:25 There is a way which seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.
- John 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me.
- John 10:9 I am the door. If anyone enters in by me, he will be saved, and will go in and go out and will find pasture.
- Isaiah 55:7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let him return to Yahweh, and he will have mercy on him, to our God, for he will freely pardon.
"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves.discussed above
Greek Nestle 1904
Προσέχετε ἀπὸ τῶν ψευδοπροφητῶν, οἵτινες ἔρχονται πρὸς ὑμᾶς ἐν ἐνδύμασιν προβάτων ἔσωθεν δέ εἰσιν λύκοι ἅρπαγες.
- Προσέχετε προσέχω verb · present active imperative, 2nd person plural G4337
- ἀπὸ ἀπό preposition G575
- τῶν ὁ article · genitive plural masculine G3588
- ψευδοπροφητῶν, ψευδοπροφήτης noun · genitive plural masculine G5578
- οἵτινες ὅστις relative pronoun · nominative plural masculine G3748
- ἔρχονται ἔρχομαι verb · present middle or passive deponent indicative, 3rd person plural G2064
- πρὸς πρός preposition G4314
- ὑμᾶς σύ personal pronoun G4771
- ἐν ἐν preposition G1722
- ἐνδύμασιν ἔνδυμα noun · dative plural neuter G1742
- προβάτων πρόβατον noun · genitive plural neuter G4263
- ἔσωθεν ἔσωθεν adverb G2081
Punctuation is editorial — the manuscripts carry none.
See also 5
- 1 John 4:1 Beloved, don't believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
- 2 Peter 2:1 But false prophets also arose among the people, as false teachers will also be among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, denying even the Master who bought them, bringing on themselves swift destruction.
- Matthew 24:11 Many false prophets will arise and will lead many astray.
- Mark 13:22 For false christs and false prophets will arise and will show signs and wonders, that they may lead astray, if possible, even the chosen ones.
- Acts 20:29 For I know that after my departure, vicious wolves will enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
A good tree can't produce evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree produce good fruit.discussed above
Greek Nestle 1904
οὐ δύναται δένδρον ἀγαθὸν καρποὺς πονηροὺς ἐνεγκεῖν, οὐδὲ δένδρον σαπρὸν καρποὺς καλοὺς ἐνεγκεῖν.
- οὐ οὐ particle · nominative G3756
- δύναται δύναμαι verb · present middle or passive deponent indicative, 3rd person singular G1410
- δένδρον δένδρον noun · nominative singular neuter G1186
- ἀγαθὸν ἀγαθός adjective · nominative singular neuter G18
- καρποὺς καρπός noun · accusative plural masculine G2590
- πονηροὺς πονηρός adjective · accusative plural masculine G4190
- ἐνεγκεῖν, φέρω verb · aorist active infinitive G5342
- οὐδὲ οὐδέ conjunction · nominative G3761
- δένδρον δένδρον noun · nominative singular neuter G1186
- σαπρὸν σαπρός adjective · nominative singular neuter G4550
- καρποὺς καρπός noun · accusative plural masculine G2590
- καλοὺς καλός adjective · accusative plural masculine G2570
Punctuation is editorial — the manuscripts carry none.
See also 2
- Galatians 5:17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, that you may not do the things that you desire.
- 1 John 3:9 Whoever is born of God doesn't commit sin, because his seed remains in him, and he can't sin, because he is born of God.
From the interpretive tradition
The bread which you do not use is the bread of the hungry; the garment hanging in your wardrobe is the garment of him who is naked.
Be killing sin, or it will be killing you.