Matthew 12:34

34 You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.

Matthew 12:34 in Other Translations

KJV
34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
ESV
34 You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
NLT
34 You brood of snakes! How could evil men like you speak what is good and right? For whatever is in your heart determines what you say.
MSG
34 "You have minds like a snake pit! How do you suppose what you say is worth anything when you are so foul-minded? It's your heart, not the dictionary, that gives meaning to your words.
CSB
34 Brood of vipers! How can you speak good things when you are evil? For the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart.

Matthew 12:34 In-Context

32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.
33 “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.
34 You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.
35 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.
36 But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken.

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Cross References 2

  • 1. Matthew 3:7; Matthew 23:33
  • 2. Matthew 15:18; Luke 6:45
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