Matthew 7:10
in Matthew 7Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
or if he shall ask for a fish, will give him a serpent?
KJV
Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?
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This verse in Matthew 7
Commentary
10 notes on this verseOr if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? Which is somewhat like a fish, especially an eel. Fish and bread are mentioned, because these were common food; see Mar 6:41 Joh 21:13 and particularly in Galilee, a fish country, where Christ now was, and from whence he had called his disciples, who were fishermen.
This site's exposition
will he give him a stone
on Matthew 7:9-10
A stone resembles the round loaves common in that day's baking closely enough to make the cruelty of the substitution vivid, and a serpent could resemble a Nile fish or eel closely enough for the same effect. Both illustrations picture an evil that no ordinary father would commit against his own child, setting up the argument from the lesser to the greater that verse 11 completes. The two pairs, bread and stone, fish and serpent, cover the two staple foods of a Galilean table.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
By the fish we may understand the word concerning Christ, by the serpent the Devil himself. Or by the loaf may be understood spiritual doctrine; by the stone ignorance; by the fish the water of Holy Baptism; by the serpent the wiles of the Devil, or unbelief. The sense therefore is; we need not fear that should we ask of God our Father bread, that is doctrine or love, He will give us a stone; that is, that He will suffer our heart to be contracted either by the frost of hatred or by hardness of soul; or that when we ask for faith, He will suffer us to die of the poison of unbelief. Thence it follows, If then ye being evil.
A commentator
John ChrysostomHomily on the Gospel of Matthew 23 · Written in the 5th century.
proposed
And if thou doubt my affirmation, at any rate believe His example. "For what man is there of you," saith He, "whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?" Because, as among men, if thou keep on doing so, thou art even accounted troublesome, and disgusting: so with God, when thou doest not so, then thou dost more entirely provoke Him. And if thou continue asking, though thou receive not at once, thou surely wilt receive. For to this end was the door shut, that He may induce thee to knock: to this end He doth not straightway assent, that thou mayest ask. Continue then to do these things, and thou wilt surely receive. For that thou mightest not say, "What then if I should ask and not receive?" He hath blocked up thy approach with that similitude, again framing arguments, and by those human things urging us to be confident on these matters; implying by them that we must not only ask, but ask what we ought. "For which of you is there, a father, of whom if his son shall ask bread, will he give him a stone?" So that if thou receive not, thy asking a stone is the cause of thy not receiving. For though thou be a son, this suffices not for thy receiving: rather this very thing even hinders thy receiving, that being a son, thou askest what is not profitable. Do thou also therefore ask nothing worldly, but all things spiritual, and thou wilt surely receive. For so Solomon, because he asked what he ought, behold how quickly he received. […]
The Medieval Church3 voices
Or; bread which is the common food signifies charity, without which the other virtues are of no avail. The fish signifies faith, which is born of the water of baptism, is tossed in the midst of the waves of this life and yet lives. Luke adds a third thing, an egg, (Luke 11:12.) which signifies hope; for an egg is the hope of the animal. To charity, He opposes a stone, that is, the hardness of hatred; to faith, a serpent, that is, the venom of treachery; to hope, a scorpion, that is, despair, which stings backward, as the scorpion.
"Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?" Here He teaches us that we must not only ask in a fervent manner, …
Similarly, if a fish. The fish lives in water and signifies understanding of dogmas: "He that drinks of this water will not thirst again" (Jn 4:13); and in v. 14: "It will be a fountain of water springing up into life everlasting." Again, by water, …
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Our Saviour, in the foregoing chapter, had spoken of prayer as a commanded duty, by which God is honoured, and which, if done aright, shall be rewarded; here he speaks of it as the appointed means of obtaining what we need, especially grace to obey the precepts he had given, some of which are so displeasing to flesh and blood.
Anchor repaired 2026-08-10: was 7:6; content is Henry's introduction to the ask/seek/knock prayer teaching (7:7-11), confirmed against his chapter-7 commentary text.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
The first portion of these verses is one of those passages of Scripture which we must be careful not to strain beyond its proper meaning. It is frequently abused and misapplied by the enemies of true religion. It is possible to press the words of the Bible so far that they yield not medicine, but poison. When our Lord says, “Judge not”he does not mean that it is wrong, under any circumstances, to pass an unfavorable judgment on the conduct and opinions of others.
The first portion of these verses is one of those passages of Scripture which we must be careful not to strain beyond its proper meaning. It is frequently abused and misapplied by the enemies of true religion. It is possible to press the words of the Bible so far that they yield not medicine, but poison. When our Lord says, “Judge not”he does not mean that it is wrong, under any circumstances, to pass an unfavorable judgment on the conduct and opinions of others. We ought to have decided opinions: we are to “prove all things,” we are to “try the spirits” (1 Thess.5:21 1 John 4:1 ). Nor yet does he mean that it is wrong to reprove the sins and faults of others until we are perfect and faultless ourselves. Such an interpretation would contradict other parts of Scripture. It would make it impossible to condemn error and false doctrine; it would debar anyone from attempting the office of a minister or a judge. The earth would be given “into the hands of the wicked” ( Job 9:24 ). Heresy would flourish; wrong-doing would abound. What our Lord means to condemn is a censorious and fault-finding spirit. A readiness to blame others for trifling offenses or matters of indifference, a habit of passing rash and hasty judgments, a disposition to magnify the errors and infirmities of our neighbors and make the worst of them—this is what our Lord forbids. It was common among the Pharisees. It has always been common from their day down to the present time. We must watch against it. We should “believe all things” and “hope all things” about others, and be very slow to find fault. This is Christian charity ( I Corinthians 13:7 .) The second portion of these verses teaches us the importance of exercising discretion as to the persons with whom we speak on the subject of religion. Everything is beautiful in its place and season.
The words behind it
8 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἢ | e | Or | G2228 → | 342 times |
| καὶ | kai | also | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| ἰχθὺν | ichthun | a fish | G2486 → | 20 times |
| αἰτήσει, | aitesei | he will ask for, | G154 → | 70 times |
| μὴ | me | surely not | G3361 → | 1066 times |
| ὄφιν | ophin | a serpent | G3789 → | 13 times |
| ἐπιδώσει | epidosei | will he give | G1929 → | |
| αὐτῷ; | auto | to him? | G846 → | 5565 times |
ἢOr
eG2228 →342 times
καὶalso
kaiG2532 →9120 times
ἰχθὺνa fish
ichthunG2486 →20 times
αἰτήσει,he will ask for,
aiteseiG154 →70 times
μὴsurely not
meG3361 →1066 times
ὄφινa serpent
ophinG3789 →13 times
ἐπιδώσειwill he give
epidoseiG1929 →
αὐτῷ;to him?
autoG846 →5565 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Matthew
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Matthew; John Chrysostom, Homily on the Gospel of Matthew 23; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Lightfoot, Horae Hebraicae et Talmudicae on Matthew; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Rabanus Maurus, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Remigius of Rheims, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Matthew and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Matthew.