Matthew 7:9
in Matthew 7Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Or what man is there of you, who, if his son shall ask him for a loaf, will give him a stone;
KJV
Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?
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This verse in Matthew 7
Commentary
15 notes on this verseOr what man is there of you,.... "That is a father", as in Luk 11:11 that is, is in the relation, and has the affections of a father; and indeed is a man, and has the nature and passions of a man; unless he is become a mere brute, and devoid of all humanity, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?
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 Fathers4 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.
Lest perchance any one considering how great is the difference between God and man, and weighing his own sins should despair of obtaining, and so never take in hand to ask; therefore He proposes a comparison of the relation between father and son; that should we despair because of our sins, we may hope because of God's fatherly goodness. And what are the things that we ought to ask, he shows under the likeness of a loaf, and a fish. The loaf is the word concerning the knowledge of God the Father. The stone is all falsehood that has a stumbling-block of offence to the soul.
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. […]
And so, in petitioning for "daily bread," we ask for perpetuity in Christ, and indivisibility from His body. But, because that word is admissible in a carnal sense too, it cannot be so used without the religious remembrance withal of spiritual Discipline; for (the Lord) commands that bread be prayed for, which is the only food necessary for believers; for "all other things the nations seek after."
The Medieval Church1 voice
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.
8 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church2 voices
Therefore he adds: What man of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? By bread is understood Christ: "I am the living bread which came down from heaven" (Jn 6:51). It is also sacred doctrine: "I will feed him …
"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, …
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 Century4 voices
Or what man is there - whom if his son - Men are exhorted to come unto God, with the persuasion that he is a most gracious and compassionate Parent, who possesses all heavenly and earthly good, knows what is necessary for each of his creatures, and is infinitely ready to communicate that which they need most. Will he give him a stone? - Will he not readily give him bread if he have it? This was a proverb in other countries; a benefit grudgingly given by an avaricious man is called by Seneca, panem lapidosum, stony bread.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread--a loaf. will he give him a stone?--round and smooth like such a loaf or cake as was much in use, but only to mock him.
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.
Modern Voices1 voice
All very great teachers and leaders have had this habit of assuming their point of view to be one which was human and casual, one which would readily appeal to every passing man. If a man is genuinely superior to his fellows the first thing …
The words behind it
16 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 |
| τίς | tis | which | G5101 → | 563 times |
| ἐστιν | estin | is | G1510 → | 2333 times |
| ἐξ | ex | of | G1537 → | 911 times |
| ὑμῶν | humon | you | G4771 → | 2973 times |
| ἄνθρωπος | anthropos | a man | G444 → | 549 times |
| ὃν | hon | whom | G3739 → | 1405 times |
| αἰτήσει | aitesei | he will ask for | G154 → | 70 times |
| ὁ | ho | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| υἱὸς | huios | son | G5207 → | 377 times |
| αὐτοῦ | autou | of him | G846 → | 5565 times |
| ἄρτον, | arton | bread, | G740 → | 97 times |
| μὴ | me | surely not | G3361 → | 1066 times |
| λίθον | lithon | a stone | G3037 → | 58 times |
| ἐπιδώσει | epidosei | will he give | G1929 → | |
| αὐτῷ; | auto | to him? | G846 → | 5565 times |
ἪOr
eG2228 →342 times
τίςwhich
tisG5101 →563 times
ἐστινis
estinG1510 →2333 times
ἐξof
exG1537 →911 times
ὑμῶνyou
humonG4771 →2973 times
ἄνθρωποςa man
anthroposG444 →549 times
ὃνwhom
honG3739 →1405 times
αἰτήσειhe will ask for
aiteseiG154 →70 times
ὁthe
hoG3588 →19766 times
υἱὸςson
huiosG5207 →377 times
αὐτοῦof him
autouG846 →5565 times
ἄρτον,bread,
artonG740 →97 times
μὴsurely not
meG3361 →1066 times
λίθονa stone
lithonG3037 →58 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 14 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; GK Chesterton, Heretics, Ch. 17: On the Wit of Whistler (1905); J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Matthew; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; 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; Pseudo-Chrysostom, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Rabanus Maurus, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Remigius of Rheims, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Tertullian, On Prayer; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Matthew and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Matthew.