11 translations · Greek
Matthew 12:34
You offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.
Matthew 12:34 in 11 translations
- WEB World English Bible
- You offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.
- KJV King James Version
- O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
- BSB Berean Standard Bible
- You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.
- ASV American Standard Version
- Ye offspring of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
- LSV Literal Standard Version
- Brood of vipers! How are you able to speak good things—being evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
- FBV Free Bible Version
- You viper's brood, how can you who are evil say anything good? For your mouth simply says what your mind is busy thinking about.
- YLT Young’s Literal Translation
- 'Brood of vipers! how are ye able to speak good things — being evil? for out of the abundance of the heart doth the mouth speak.
- DBY Darby Translation
- Offspring of vipers! how can ye speak good things, being wicked? For of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
- WBT Webster’s Bible
- O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh.
- WEBC World English Bible (Catholic)
- You offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.
- DRA Douay-Rheims 1899
- O generation of vipers, how can you speak good things, whereas you are evil? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
The Greek words
Each word of the Greek text in order, with its transliteration, the Berean Standard Bible’s English for it, and its Strong’s number and short definition.
| Word | Transliteration | English (BSB) | Strong’s |
|---|---|---|---|
| γεννήματα | gennēmata | You brood | G1081 γέννημα offspring |
| ἐχιδνῶν | echidnōn | of vipers | G2191 ἔχιδνα snake |
| πῶς | pōs | how | G4459 πῶς how?! |
| δύνασθε | dynasthe | can you | G1410 δύναμαι be able |
| ἀγαθὰ | agatha | anything good | G18 ἀγαθός good |
| λαλεῖν | lalein | say | G2980 λαλέω to speak |
| πονηροὶ | ponēroi | evil | G4190 πονηρός evil/bad |
| ὄντες | ontes | who are | G1510 εἰμί to be |
| ἐκ | ek | out of | G1537 ἐκ out from |
| γὰρ | gar | For | G1063 γάρ for |
| τοῦ | tou | the | G3588 ὁ the/this/who |
| περισσεύματος | perisseumatos | overflow | G4051 περίσσευμα overflow |
| τῆς | tēs | of the | G3588 ὁ the/this/who |
| καρδίας | kardias | heart | G2588 καρδία heart |
| τὸ | to | the | G3588 ὁ the/this/who |
| στόμα | stoma | mouth | G4750 στόμα mouth |
| λαλεῖ | lalei | speaks | G2980 λαλέω to speak |
Related verses
- Luke 6:45
The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings out that which is good, and the evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings out that which is evil, for out of the abundance of the heart, his mouth speaks.
- Matthew 15:18
But the things which proceed out of the mouth come out of the heart, and they defile the man.
- Ephesians 4:29
Let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth, but only what is good for building others up as the need may be, that it may give grace to those who hear.
- 1 Samuel 24:13
As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘Out of the wicked comes wickedness;’ but my hand will not be on you.
- James 3:5–8
So the tongue is also a little member, and boasts great things. See how a small fire can spread to a large forest! And the tongue is a fire. The world of iniquity among our members is the tongue, which defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature, and is set on fire by Gehenna. For every kind of animal, bird, creeping thing, and sea creature, is tamed, and has been tamed by mankind; …
- Psalm 140:2–3
those who devise mischief in their hearts. They continually gather themselves together for war. They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent. Viper’s poison is under their lips. Selah.
- Isaiah 32:6
For the fool will speak folly, and his heart will work iniquity, to practice profanity, and to utter error against Yahweh, To make empty the soul of the hungry, and to cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.
- Matthew 12:35
The good man out of his good treasure brings out good things, and the evil man out of his evil treasure brings out evil things.
- 1 John 3:10
In this the children of God are revealed, and the children of the devil. Whoever doesn’t do righteousness is not of God, neither is he who doesn’t love his brother.
- John 8:44
You are of your father, the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and doesn’t stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks on his own; for he is a liar, and the father of lies.
Cross references from OpenBible.info, CC BY 4.0, most-voted first; text from the World English Bible.
In context
32 Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, neither in this age, nor in that which is to come.
33 “Either make the tree good, and its fruit good, or make the tree corrupt, and its fruit corrupt; for the tree is known by its fruit.
34 You offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.
35 The good man out of his good treasure brings out good things, and the evil man out of his evil treasure brings out evil things.
36 I tell you that every idle word that men speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.
Read all of Matthew 12 in the World English Bible.
Edition and source notes
Each translation is shown as its source prints it, in its own verse numbering; where an edition numbers this verse differently, its own reference is given. The World English Bible, King James Version and Berean Standard Bible link to their chapter pages. Edition notes.
Literal Standard Version (2020) © Covenant Press and the Covenant Christian Coalition, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0. Imported from the checksum-pinned eBible.org USFX source; the extracted verse text is an adaptation shared under the same license. Free Bible Version (2018) © Dr. Jonathan Gallagher, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0. Imported from the checksum-pinned eBible.org USFX source; the extracted verse text is an adaptation shared under the same license.
The original words and their English come from the Berean Standard Bible translation tables (public domain); lemmas and short definitions from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0), with Greek definitions based on Abbott-Smith.
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