Matthew 7:26 (DRB)

Passage

And every one that heareth these my words and doth them not, shall be like a foolish man that built his house upon the sand,

Nearby Context

Matthew 7:24 Every one therefore that heareth these my words, and doth them, shall be likened to a wise man that built his house upon a rock,

Matthew 7:25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it was founded on a rock.

Matthew 7:26 And every one that heareth these my words and doth them not, shall be like a foolish man that built his house upon the sand,

Matthew 7:27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was the fall thereof.

Matthew 7:28 And it came to pass when Jesus had fully ended these words, the people were in admiration at his doctrine.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "heareth", "words", "doth", "shall", "like", "foolish", "built", and "house". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "heareth" 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 fell and the floods..." into verse 27's "And the rain fell and the floods...", so "heareth" 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 "heareth" and "words" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.