Matthew 7:15 (DBY)

Passage

But beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but within are ravening wolves.

Nearby Context

Matthew 7:13 Enter in through the narrow gate, for wide the gate and broad the way that leads to destruction, and many are they who enter in through it.

Matthew 7:14 For narrow the gate and straitened the way that leads to life, and they are few who find it.

Matthew 7:15 But beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but within are ravening wolves.

Matthew 7:16 By their fruits ye shall know them. Do [men] gather a bunch of grapes from thorns, or from thistles figs?

Matthew 7:17 So every good tree produces good fruits, but the worthless tree produces bad fruits.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "sheep", "beware", "false", "prophets", "come", "sheep's", "clothing", and "within". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "sheep" and "beware", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 14's "For narrow the gate and straitened the..." into verse 16's "By their fruits ye shall know them...", so "sheep" and "beware" belong inside that flow. In Matthew context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "sheep" and "beware" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.