OET interlinear MAT 12:33

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / exmetaphor

ἢ ποιήσατε τὸ δένδρον καλὸν καὶ τὸν καρπὸν αὐτοῦ καλόν, ἢ ποιήσατε τὸ δένδρον σαπρὸν καὶ τὸν καρπὸν αὐτοῦ σαπρόν; ἐκ γὰρ τοῦ καρποῦ, τὸ δένδρον γινώσκεται

either make the tree good and the fruit ˱of˲_it good or make the tree bad and the fruit ˱of˲_it bad by for the fruit the tree /is_being/_known

Here Jesus speaks of people as if they were trees that produced fruit. It makes sense to say that a tree and its fruit together are either good or rotten. It does not make sense to say that a tree is good and its fruit rotten or that a tree is rotten and its fruit good. That is because trees are known by their fruits. Similarly, people who follow God do what is right, and people who do not follow God do what is wrong. It does not make sense to say that someone who does what is right is not following God or that someone who does what is wrong is following God. Most likely, Jesus wishes to apply this figure of speech both to himself (a good tree) and to the Pharisees (bad trees). If possible, preserve the figure of speech or use simile form. Alternate translation: “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree rotten and its fruit rotten. Similarly, either call people good and their deeds good, or call people bad and their deeds bad. For, just as a tree is known by its fruit, so people are known by their deeds”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ἢ ποιήσατε τὸ δένδρον καλὸν καὶ τὸν καρπὸν αὐτοῦ καλόν, ἢ ποιήσατε τὸ δένδρον σαπρὸν καὶ τὸν καρπὸν αὐτοῦ σαπρόν

either make the tree good and the fruit ˱of˲_it good or make the tree bad and the fruit ˱of˲_it bad

Here Jesus could be indicating that: (1) people should make consistent judgments or evaluations of both a tree and its fruit. Alternate translation: “Either consider both the tree and its fruit good, or consider both the tree and its fruit bad” (2) people can make a tree either good or rotten by how they care for that tree. Then, the tree will make fruit that fits with how people cared for that tree. Alternate translation: “Either make the tree good, and it will make its fruit good, or make the tree rotten, and it will make its fruit rotten” or “Either make the tree good, and its fruit will be good, or make the tree rotten, and its fruit will be rotten” (3) a tree produces fruit that fits with what kind of tree it is. Alternate translation: “Either a tree is good and produces good fruit, or a tree is rotten and produces rotten fruit”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun

(Occurrence -1) τὸ δένδρον

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἢ ποιήσατε τὸ δένδρον καλὸν καὶ τὸν καρπὸν αὐτοῦ καλόν ἢ ποιήσατε τὸ δένδρον σαπρὸν καὶ τὸν καρπὸν αὐτοῦ σαπρόν ἐκ γὰρ τοῦ καρποῦ τὸ δένδρον γινώσκεται)

The word tree represents trees in general, not one particular tree. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the idea in another way. Alternate translation: “any tree … any tree … every tree”

Note 4 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result

(Occurrence -1) γὰρ

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἢ ποιήσατε τὸ δένδρον καλὸν καὶ τὸν καρπὸν αὐτοῦ καλόν ἢ ποιήσατε τὸ δένδρον σαπρὸν καὶ τὸν καρπὸν αὐτοῦ σαπρόν ἐκ γὰρ τοῦ καρποῦ τὸ δένδρον γινώσκεται)

Here, the word For introduces a reason why a tree and its fruit must either be good or rotten. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a word or phrase that introduces a reason or basis for a claim, or you could leave For untranslated. Alternate translation: “since” or “which I command because”

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

ἐκ & τοῦ καρποῦ, τὸ δένδρον γινώσκεται

by & the fruit the tree /is_being/_known

If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. If you need to say who does the action, you could use an indefinite subject. Alternate translation: “people know the tree by its fruit”