Matius 7:15

A Tree and Its Fruit

7:15 “Watch out for false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are voracious wolves. ¹ 

Matius 10:17

10:17 Beware ²  of people, because they will hand you over to councils ³  and flog ⁴  you in their synagogues. ⁵ 

Matius 16:6

16:6 “Watch out,” Jesus said to them, “beware of the yeast of the Pharisees ⁶  and Sadducees.” ⁷ 

[7:15]  ¹ sn Sheep’s clothing…voracious wolves. Jesus uses a metaphor here to point out that these false prophets appear to be one thing, but in reality they are something quite different and dangerous.

[10:17]  ² tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[10:17]  ³ sn Councils in this context refers to local judicial bodies attached to the Jewish synagogue. This group would be responsible for meting out justice and discipline within the Jewish community.

[10:17]  ⁴ tn BDAG 620 s.v. μαστιγόω 1.a states, “of flogging as a punishment decreed by the synagogue (Dt 25:2f; s. the Mishna Tractate Sanhedrin-Makkoth, edited w. notes by SKrauss ’33) w. acc. of pers. Mt 10:17; 23:34.”

[10:17]  ⁵ sn See the note on synagogues in 4:23.

[16:6]  ⁶ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[16:6]  ⁷ sn See the note on Sadducees in 3:7.