Matthew 12:24-50

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 12:33

Either make the tree good - That is, the effect will be always similar to the cause; a bad tree will produce bad fruit, and a good tree, good fruit. The works will resemble the heart: nothing good can proceed from an evil spirit; no good fruit can proceed from a corrupt heart. Before the heart of man can produce any good, it must be renewed and influenced by the Spirit of God. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 12:34

O generation of vipers - These are apparently severe words; but they were extremely proper in reference to that execrable people to whom they were addressed: the whole verse is an inference from what was spoken before. Out of the abundance ( περισσευματος , the overflowings) of the heart - Wicked words and sinful actions may be considered as the overflowings of a heart that is more than full of the spirit of wickedness; and holy words and righteous deeds may be considered as the... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 12:35

A good man out of the good treasure of the heart - Της καρδιας , of the heart, is omitted by upwards of one hundred MSS., many of them of the greatest antiquity and authority; by all the Syriac, Arabic, and Persic; by the Slavonic, Saxon, Vulgate, and Itala, (except four), and by several of the primitive fathers. It seems to have been added here by some copyist, merely to explain. The good heart is the good treasury, and the treasure that is in it is the love of God, and of all mankind.... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 12:36

Every idle word - Ρημα αργον , a word that does nothing, that neither ministers grace nor instruction to them who hear it. The word αργον corresponds to the Hebrew שוא shave , which signifies not only vain or empty, but also wicked and injurious, such as a false testimony against a neighbor, compare Deuteronomy 5:11 , Deuteronomy 5:20 . Add to this, that Symmachus translates פגול piggul , polluted, Leviticus 19:7 , by the very Greek word in the text. It was to explain this... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 12:37

By thy words thou shalt be justified - That is, the whole tenor of thy conversation will be an evidence for or against thee, in the great day. How many are there who count words for nothing! and yet eternity often depends on them. Lord, put a watch before the door of my lips! is a prayer proper for all men. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 12:38

We would see a sign from thee - That is, we wish now to see thee work a miracle. Pride, vain curiosity, and incredulity, have never proof sufficient of the truth: for they will not be satisfied. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 12:39

An evil and adulterous generation - Or, race of people; for so γενεα should be translated here, and in most other places in the Gospels; for our Lord, in general, uses it to point out the Jewish people. This translation is a key to unlock some very obscure passages in the evangelists. Seeketh after a sign - Or, seeketh another sign, ( επιζητει ), so I think this word should be translated. Our Lord had already given the Jews several signs; and here they desire sign upon sign. Our... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 12:40

Three days and three nights - Our Lord rose from the grave on the day but one after his crucifixion: so that, in the computation in this verse, the part of the day on which he was crucified, and the part of that on which he rose again, are severally estimated as an entire day; and this, no doubt, exactly corresponded to the time in which Jonah was in the belly of the fish. Our Lord says, As Jonah was, so shall the Son of man be, etc. Evening and morning, or night and day, is the Hebrew... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 12:41

The men of Nineveh shell rise in judgment - The voice of God, threatening temporal judgments, caused a whole people to repent, who had neither Moses nor Christ, neither the law nor the prophets; and who perhaps never had but this one preacher among them. What judgment may not we expect, if we continue impenitent, after all that God has bestowed upon us? A greater than Jonas is here - Πλειον , for τι πλειον , something more. The evidence offered by Jonah sufficed to convince and lead... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 12:42

The queen of the south - In 1 Kings 10:1 , this queen is said to be of Saba, which was a city and province of Arabia Felix, to the south, or south-east, of Judea. Uttermost parts of the earth - Περατων της γης - a form of speech which merely signifies, a great distance. See Deuteronomy 28:49 . read more

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 12:33

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 12:34

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 12:35

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 12:36

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 12:37

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 12:38

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 12:39

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 12:40

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 12:41

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 12:42

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