Matthew 7 › verse
Matthew 7:15
"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.
Hypocrisy and sincere devotion
Original words
| English | Original word | Root | # |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beware | prosechete Προσέχετε | prosechō | 2 |
| of | apo ἀπὸ | apo | 12 |
| false prophets | pseudoprophētōn ψευδοπροφητῶν | pseudoprophētēs | 1 |
| which | hoitines οἵτινες | hostis | 6 |
| come | erchontai ἔρχονται | erchomai | 8 |
| to | pros πρὸς | pros | 2 |
| you | hymas ὑμᾶς | hymas | 11 |
| in | en ἐν | en | 40 |
| sheep's | probatōn προβάτων | probaton | 1 |
| clothing | endymasin ἐνδύμασιν | endyma | 3 |
| but | de δὲ | de | 32 |
| inwardly | esōthen ἔσωθεν | esōthen | 1 |
| they are | eisin εἰσιν | eisi | 3 |
| ravening | harpages ἅρπαγες | harpax | 1 |
| wolves | lykoi λύκοι | lykos | 1 |
Memory passages these point to
Cross-references 47
Beware of 8
- Matthew 10:17
17But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues.
- Matthew 16:6, 11
6Then Jesus said to them, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees."
11How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread?--but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees." - Mark 12:38
38Then He said to them in His teaching, "Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces,
- Luke 12:15
15And He said to them, "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses."
- Acts 13:40
40Beware therefore, lest what has been spoken in the prophets come upon you:
- Philippians 3:2
2Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation!
- Colossians 2:8
8Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.
- 2 Peter 3:17
17You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked;
false prophets 13
- Matthew 24:4-5, 11, 24-25
4And Jesus answered and said to them: "Take heed that no one deceives you. 5For many will come in My name, saying, "I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.
11Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.
24For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25See, I have told you beforehand. - Deuteronomy 13:1-3
1"If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, 2and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, "Let us go after other gods'--which you have not known--"and let us serve them,' 3you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the LORD your God is testing you to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
- Isaiah 9:15-16
15The elder and honorable, he is the head; The prophet who teaches lies, he is the tail. 16For the leaders of this people cause them to err, And those who are led by them are destroyed.
- Jeremiah 14:14-16
14And the LORD said to me, "The prophets prophesy lies in My name. I have not sent them, commanded them, nor spoken to them; they prophesy to you a false vision, divination, a worthless thing, and the deceit of their heart. 15Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the prophets who prophesy in My name, whom I did not send, and who say, "Sword and famine shall not be in this land'--"By sword and famine those prophets shall be consumed! 16And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; they will have no one to bury them--them nor their wives, their sons nor their daughters--for I will pour their wickedness on them.'
- Jeremiah 23:13-16
13"And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria: They prophesied by Baal And caused My people Israel to err. 14Also I have seen a horrible thing in the prophets of Jerusalem: They commit adultery and walk in lies; They also strengthen the hands of evildoers, So that no one turns back from his wickedness. All of them are like Sodom to Me, And her inhabitants like Gomorrah. 15"Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets: "Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, And make them drink the water of gall; For from the prophets of Jerusalem Profaneness has gone out into all the land."' 16Thus says the LORD of hosts: "Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They make you worthless; They speak a vision of their own heart, Not from the mouth of the LORD.
- Jeremiah 28:15-17
15Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, "Hear now, Hananiah, the LORD has not sent you, but you make this people trust in a lie. 16Therefore thus says the LORD: "Behold, I will cast you from the face of the earth. This year you shall die, because you have taught rebellion against the LORD."' 17So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month.
- Jeremiah 29:21, 32
21Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who prophesy a lie to you in My name: Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall slay them before your eyes.
32therefore thus says the LORD: Behold, I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his family: he shall not have anyone to dwell among this people, nor shall he see the good that I will do for My people, says the LORD, because he has taught rebellion against the LORD. - Ezekiel 13:16, 22
16that is, the prophets of Israel who prophesy concerning Jerusalem, and who see visions of peace for her when there is no peace,"' says the Lord GOD.
22"Because with lies you have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and you have strengthened the hands of the wicked, so that he does not turn from his wicked way to save his life. - Micah 3:5-7, 11
5Thus says the LORD concerning the prophets Who make my people stray; Who chant "Peace" While they chew with their teeth, But who prepare war against him Who puts nothing into their mouths: 6"Therefore you shall have night without vision, And you shall have darkness without divination; The sun shall go down on the prophets, And the day shall be dark for them. 7So the seers shall be ashamed, And the diviners abashed; Indeed they shall all cover their lips; For there is no answer from God."
11Her heads judge for a bribe, Her priests teach for pay, And her prophets divine for money. Yet they lean on the LORD, and say, "Is not the LORD among us? No harm can come upon us." - Mark 13:22-23
22For false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 23But take heed; see, I have told you all things beforehand.
- 2 Peter 2:1-3
1But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. 2And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.
- 1 John 4:1
1Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
- Revelation 19:20
20Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone.
which come to you in sheep's clothing 14
- Zechariah 13:4
4"And it shall be in that day that every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies; they will not wear a robe of coarse hair to deceive.
- Mark 12:38-40
38Then He said to them in His teaching, "Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, 39the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, 40who devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation."
- Romans 16:17-18
17Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. 18For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple.
- 2 Corinthians 11:13-15
13For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. 14And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. 15Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.
- Galatians 2:4 S-105 Galatians 2:1-9
4And this occurred because of false brethren secretly brought in (who came in by stealth to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage),
- Ephesians 4:14
14that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,
- Ephesians 5:6
6Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.
- Colossians 2:8
8Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.
- 1 Timothy 4:1-3
1Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, 2speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, 3forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.
- 2 Timothy 3:5-9, 13
5having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! 6For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, 7always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 8Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith; 9but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was.
13But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. - 2 Timothy 4:3
3For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;
- 2 Peter 2:1-3, 18-19
1But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. 2And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.
18For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error. 19While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage. - Jude 1:4
4For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.
- Revelation 13:11-17
11Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. 12And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. 13He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. 14And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. 15He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. 16He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, 17and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
are ravening wolves 6
- Isaiah 56:10-11
10His watchmen are blind, They are all ignorant; They are all dumb dogs, They cannot bark; Sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. 11Yes, they are greedy dogs Which never have enough. And they are shepherds Who cannot understand; They all look to their own way, Every one for his own gain, From his own territory.
- Ezekiel 22:25
25The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they have devoured people; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst.
- Micah 3:5
5Thus says the LORD concerning the prophets Who make my people stray; Who chant "Peace" While they chew with their teeth, But who prepare war against him Who puts nothing into their mouths:
- Zephaniah 3:3-4
3Her princes in her midst are roaring lions; Her judges are evening wolves That leave not a bone till morning. 4Her prophets are insolent, treacherous people; Her priests have polluted the sanctuary, They have done violence to the law.
- Acts 20:29-31
29For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. 30Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. 31Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears.
- Revelation 17:6
6I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement.