A Tree and Its Fruit: True Character Revealed
Luke 6:43-45
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Luke.6.43 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- Ου: PART,neg
- γαρ: PART
- εστιν: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,sg
- δενδρον: NOUN,nom,sg,n
- καλον: ADJ,nom/acc,sg,neut
- ποιουν: VERB,pres,act,ptc,nom,sg,n
- καρπον: NOUN,acc,sg,m
- σαπρον: ADJ,acc,sg,m
- ουδε: CONJ,neg
- παλιν: ADV
- δενδρον: NOUN,nom,sg,n
- σαπρον: ADJ,nom,sg,n
- ποιουν: VERB,pres,act,ptc,nom,sg,n
- καρπον: NOUN,acc,sg,m
- καλον: ADJ,nom/acc,sg,neut
Parallels
- Matthew 7:17-18 (verbal): Nearly identical saying: a good tree does not bear bad fruit nor a bad tree good fruit; same teaching in the Sermon on the Mount paralleling Luke's saying.
- Luke 6:44 (structural): Immediate parallel in Luke: expands the tree/fruit image with the examples of figs and grapes to show a tree is known by its fruit.
- Matthew 12:33 (verbal): Closely related formulation: 'Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad,' using the same tree/fruit logic to judge moral character.
- John 15:2-8 (thematic): Vine-and-branches discourse about bearing fruit through abiding in Christ; uses agricultural fruit imagery to link inner life and outward results, thematically echoing Luke's point.
Alternative generated candidates
- For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.
- No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a corrupt tree bear good fruit.
Luke.6.44 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- εκαστον: ADJ,nom,sg,n
- γαρ: PART
- δενδρον: NOUN,nom,sg,n
- εκ: PREP
- του: ART,gen,sg,n
- ιδιου: ADJ,gen,sg,m
- καρπου: NOUN,gen,sg,m
- γινωσκεται·ου: VERB,pres,pass,ind,3,sg
- γαρ: PART
- εξ: PREP
- ακανθων: NOUN,gen,pl,f
- συλλεγουσιν: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,pl
- συκα: NOUN,acc,pl,n
- ουδε: CONJ,neg
- εκ: PREP
- βατου: NOUN,gen,sg,m
- σταφυλην: NOUN,acc,sg,f
- τρυγωσιν: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,pl
Parallels
- Matthew 7:16-20 (verbal): Near-verbatim parallel teaching: 'You will know them by their fruits' and the criterion of fruit to judge trees/people; same imagery of grapes and thorns in the context of recognizing false prophets/people.
- Luke 6:43 (structural): Immediate literary parallel in Luke: 'No good tree bears bad fruit...' — the surrounding unit develops the same proverb and moral point about inner goodness shown by outward fruit.
- James 3:12 (thematic): Rhetorical use of arboreal imagery: 'Can a fig tree bear olives?' — uses the incompatibility of different fruits to make a moral point similar to Luke's 'each tree is known by its own fruit.'
- John 15:2 (thematic): Vine/branch metaphor: Jesus teaches that branches are known by whether they bear fruit and are pruned or cut off accordingly; thematically echoes the link between source (tree/vine) and visible fruit.
Alternative generated candidates
- From its fruit the tree is known. People do not gather figs from thornbushes, nor do they pick grapes from brambles.
- For every tree is known by its own fruit. Figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble.
Luke.6.45 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ο: ART,nom,sg,m
- αγαθος: ADJ,nom,sg,m
- ανθρωπος: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- εκ: PREP
- του: ART,gen,sg,n
- αγαθου: ADJ,gen,sg,m
- θησαυρου: NOUN,gen,sg,m
- της: ART,gen,sg,f
- καρδιας: NOUN,gen,sg,f
- αυτου: PRON,gen,sg,m
- προφερει: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,sg
- το: ART,acc,sg,n
- αγαθον: ADJ,acc,sg,m
- και: CONJ
- ο: ART,nom,sg,m
- πονηρος: ADJ,nom,sg,m
- εκ: PREP
- του: ART,gen,sg,n
- πονηρου: ADJ,gen,sg,m
- προφερει: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,sg
- το: ART,acc,sg,n
- πονηρον·εκ: ADJ,acc,sg,n
- γαρ: PART
- περισσευματος: NOUN,gen,sg,n
- καρδιας: NOUN,gen,sg,f
- λαλει: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,sg
- το: ART,acc,sg,n
- στομα: NOUN,nom,sg,n
- αυτου: PRON,gen,sg,m
Parallels
- Matthew 12:34-35 (verbal): Near-verbatim parallel: Jesus contrasts good/evil hearts producing good/evil words (’out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks’), same train of thought and wording as Luke 6:45.
- Matthew 15:18-19 (verbal): Explicit teaching that what proceeds from the mouth originates in the heart (inner source of defilement), closely matching Luke’s link between heart-treasure and spoken output.
- Matthew 7:17-18 (thematic): The good/bad tree and its fruit imagery parallels Luke’s idea that a person’s inner character (heart) determines the goodness or badness of what they produce.
- James 3:11-12 (allusion): James uses spring/well imagery (can fresh and bitter water come from the same spring?) to make the same point about the source determining the stream—echoing Luke’s ‘out of the abundance of the heart’ motif.
- Proverbs 4:23 (thematic): Wisdom tradition emphasizing guardianship of the heart because it is the source of life’s outflow resonates with Luke’s assertion that the heart’s treasure yields speech and action.
Alternative generated candidates
- A good person, from the good treasure of the heart, brings forth good; and an evil person, from the evil treasure, brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
- A good person brings forth what is good from the good treasure of the heart; an evil person brings forth what is evil from the evil treasure. For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.
For each tree is known by its own fruit. People do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a bramble.
A good person brings forth good from the good treasure of the heart, and an evil person brings forth evil from the evil treasure; for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.