Matthew 7:9 (YLT)

Passage

`Or what man is of you, of whom, if his son may ask a loaf--a stone will he present to him?

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 who is asking doth receive, and he who is seeking doth find, and to him who is knocking it shall be opened.

Matthew 7:9 `Or what man is of you, of whom, if his son may ask a loaf--a stone will he present to him?

Matthew 7:10 and if a fish he may ask--a serpent will he present to him?

Matthew 7:11 if, therefore, ye being evil, have known good gifts to give to your children, how much more shall your Father who <FI>is<Fi> in the heavens give good things to those asking him?

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 8's "for every one who is asking doth..." into verse 10's "and if a fish he may ask--a...", so "loaf--a" and "stone" 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 "loaf--a" and "stone" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.