Matthew 7:26 (DBY)

Passage

And every one who hears these my words and does not do them, he shall be likened to a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand;

Nearby Context

Matthew 7:24 Whoever therefore hears these my words and does them, I will liken him to a prudent man, who built his house upon the rock;

Matthew 7:25 and the rain came down, and the streams came, and the winds blew and fell upon that house, and it did not fall, for it had been founded upon the rock.

Matthew 7:26 And every one who hears these my words and does not do them, he shall be likened to a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand;

Matthew 7:27 and the rain came down, and the streams came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, and it fell, and its fall was great.

Matthew 7:28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were astonished at his doctrine,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "hears", "words", "does", "shall", "likened", "foolish", "built", and "house". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "hears" and "words", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 25's "and the rain came down and the..." into verse 27's "and the rain came down and the...", so "hears" and "words" 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 "hears" and "words" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.