Matthew 7:9 (DBY)

Passage

Or what man is there of you who, if his son shall ask of him a loaf of bread, will give him a stone;

Nearby Context

Matthew 7:7 Ask, and it shall be given to you. Seek, and ye shall find. Knock, and it shall be opened to you.

Matthew 7:8 For every one that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened.

Matthew 7:9 Or what man is there of you who, if his son shall ask of him a loaf of bread, will give him a stone;

Matthew 7:10 and if he ask a fish, will give him a serpent?

Matthew 7:11 If therefore *ye*, being wicked, know [how] to give good gifts to your children, how much rather shall your Father who is in the heavens give good things to them that ask of him?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "shall", "loaf", "bread", "give", and "stone". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "shall" and "loaf", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 8's "For every one that asks receives and..." into verse 10's "and if he ask a fish will...", so "shall" and "loaf" 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 "shall" and "loaf" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.