You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?
English Standard Version (ESV)
Jesus' harsh "brood of vipers" isn't just an insult; it points to a deep-seated, inherited malice. They condemn their fathers for killing prophets while actively continuing the very same murderous pattern, proving they're not just like vipers, but their continuation.
You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?
English Standard Version (ESV)
Jesus is in the midst of a scathing public rebuke of the scribes and Pharisees, calling out their hypocrisy for honoring dead prophets while persecuting living ones and even planning Jesus' death. He declares that they are filling up the measure of their ancestors' sins and will be held accountable for all the righteous blood shed from the beginning. This verse is the climax of this denunciation, where Jesus directly addresses the religious leaders with the harshest of condemnations.
Jesus doesn't just call the Pharisees hypocrites; he uses a shocking, ancient insult. What does this 'brood of vipers' label reveal about their spiritual lineage and destiny?
Jesus calls the scribes and Pharisees "serpents, offspring of vipers" (Matthew 23:33). This isn't just an insult; it's a profound accusation.
A Legacy of Violence
Jesus points out that they are the spiritual descendants of those who killed the prophets (Matthew 23:31). They even build monuments for the prophets their fathers killed, a hypocritical display that highlights their own rejection of God's messengers. By doing so, they essentially testify that they approve of their ancestors' actions. They aren't just continuing a family tradition; they are actively embodying the same rebellious spirit.
An Accursed Seed
This imagery of vipers suggests a deeply ingrained, poisonous nature. Just as some ancient beliefs held that vipers killed their mothers by breaking through the womb, Jesus implies these leaders are spiritually destructive, even to the very source of their 'life' (God's truth). Their lineage is not one of faithfulness but of rebellion, an 'accursed seed' destined for judgment if they persist.
Jesus declares they must 'fill up the measure of their fathers.' What does this chilling phrase mean for their future, and how does it connect to the coming judgment?
Jesus tells the religious leaders, "you also must fill up the measure of your fathers" (Matthew 23:32). This is a declaration of impending judgment, a theme echoed throughout Scripture.
Ask a follow-up
The Fullness of Iniquity
This phrase signifies that their generation's sin will complete the tally of rebellion begun by their ancestors. God's patience has a limit. For generations, they have rejected God's messengers—the prophets. Now, on the brink of rejecting God's own Son, their iniquity will reach its breaking point. It's not that God wants them to sin more, but that their persistent rebellion will inevitably lead to a full measure of guilt that demands a divine response.
The Certainty of Hell
Because their 'measure' is full, Jesus asks a devastating rhetorical question: "how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?" (Matthew 23:33). The original Greek points to the 'pronouncing of the sentence which condemns to Gehenna.' This isn't a suggestion or a possibility; it's a declaration of certainty. Their actions, rooted in a deep-seated hypocrisy and rebellion, leave them with no path to escape the ultimate consequences of their choices.
Understand the original words
opheis · Greek Noun
A metaphor for deception, malice, and rebellion against God, tracing back to the serpent in the Garden of Eden.
geenna · Greek Noun
A place of final judgment and eternal punishment for the wicked, separated from the presence of God.
Jesus' strong words in Matthew 23:33 are a direct confrontation with the religious elite of his day. He saw their deep-seated hypocrisy, their rejection of God's prophets throughout history, and their current plot against him, as a pattern that would inevitably lead to divine judgment upon their generation.
c. 30 AD— this verse
Jesus' Ministry in Jerusalem
Jesus delivers his most scathing public rebukes against the scribes and Pharisees, accusing them of hypocrisy and spiritual blindness.
c. 30 AD
Jesus' Confrontation with Religious Leaders
Jesus is repeatedly questioned and challenged by religious authorities who are seeking to trap him and discredit his teachings.
c. 30 AD
Jesus' Prediction of Jerusalem's Destruction
Jesus laments over Jerusalem, foretelling its future desolation due to its rejection of God's messengers.
c. 33 AD
Crucifixion of Jesus
Despite Jesus' warnings and prophecies, the religious and political leaders orchestrate his crucifixion.
c. 33 AD
Pentecost and the Early Church
Following Jesus' ascension, the Holy Spirit empowers the apostles, leading to the growth of the early Church despite opposition.
c. 70 AD
Destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple
The Roman army under Titus besieges and destroys Jerusalem and its Temple, fulfilling Jesus' prophecies and marking a turning point for Judaism.
This verse directly references the murder of Abel, the first martyr, setting a precedent for the violence against prophets and righteous individuals that Jesus condemns.
1 Kings 18:4This passage highlights Elijah's actions to save prophets from death, contrasting with the Pharisees' murderous intent and their hypocrisy in honoring past prophets while persecuting present ones.
Luke 11:47-51This parallel passage in Luke reiterates the condemnation of the scribes and Pharisees for building tombs of prophets while continuing their lineage of violence, directly linking them to the blood of all the prophets shed since creation.
1 Thessalonians 2:15-16This New Testament passage echoes Jesus' denunciation by describing how the Jews killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and persecuted the apostles, showing a consistent pattern of opposition to God's messengers.
Revelation 18:24This apocalyptic vision connects the blood of all the prophets and saints found in the earth to the judgment of the city (symbolizing wicked systems), mirroring Jesus' accusation that the generation would be held accountable for all the righteous blood shed.
calvinMatthew 23:29-39: "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous,"
- Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you build the sepulchers of the prophets and embellish the monuments of the righteous, 30. And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been their associates in the blood of the prophets. 31. Thus you testify against yourselves, that you are the children of thos…
henryMatthew 23:13-33: "But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in."
23:13-33 The scribes and Pharisees were enemies to the gospel of Christ, and therefore to the salvation of the souls of men. It is bad to keep away from Christ ourselves, but worse also to keep others from him. Yet it is no new thing for the show and form of godliness to be made a cloak to t…
Jesus' harsh "brood of vipers" isn't just an insult; it points to a deep-seated, inherited malice. They condemn their fathers for killing prophets while actively continuing the very same murderous pattern, proving they're not just like vipers, but their continuation.
Jesus is in the midst of a scathing public rebuke of the scribes and Pharisees, calling out their hypocrisy for honoring dead prophets while persecuting living ones and even planning Jesus' death. He declares that they are filling up the measure of their ancestors' sins and will be held accountable for all the righteous blood shed from the beginning. This verse is the climax of this denunciation, where Jesus directly addresses the religious leaders with the harshest of condemnations.
Jesus is in the midst of a scathing public rebuke of the scribes and Pharisees, calling out their hypocrisy for honoring dead prophets while persecuting living ones and even planning Jesus' death. He declares that they are filling up the measure of their ancestors' sins and will be held accountable for all the righteous blood shed from the beginning. This verse is the climax of this denunciation, where Jesus directly addresses the religious leaders with the harshest of condemnations.
"You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?" — Jesus' harsh "brood of vipers" isn't just an insult; it points to a deep-seated, inherited malice. They condemn their fathers for killing prophets while actively continuing the very same murderous pa…
Get the original Greek and Hebrew, verse-by-verse context, and related passages inside the app.
Last reviewed October 2026