Matthew 3:12 - Plain English Version

¹² You know the way a farmer gets all the seeds from the plants he grows. He hits the seed heads with a stick and throws them in the air, so that the seeds fall off the plants. Then he gathers all the seeds and puts them in his shed. But he burns all the rest. It is rubbish, and he burns it in a fire. Well, God is like that farmer. He’s got that stick in his hand right now. If you turn around and live God’s way, he will look after you. But if you don’t, he will throw you in the fire that never goes out.”

More versions

King James Version (Oxford) 1769

¹² whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

Amplified Bible - Classic Edition

¹² His winnowing fan (shovel, fork) is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear out and clean His threshing floor and gather and store His wheat in His barn, but the chaff He will burn up with fire that cannot be put out.

American Standard Version (1901)

¹² whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing-floor; and he will gather his wheat into the garner, but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire.

Common English Bible

¹² The shovel he uses to sift the wheat from the husks is in his hands. He will clean out his threshing area and bring the wheat into his barn. But he will burn the husks with a fire that can’t be put out.”

Catholic Public Domain Version

¹² His winnowing fan is in his hand. And he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor. And he will gather his wheat into the barn. But the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."

Matthew 3:12 Cross References

Matthew 13:30

No. Just let them all grow up, the good plants and the rubbish plants together. Later, when the right time comes, I will get some men to get the good seed food. But I will talk to them before they do that job. I will tell them to cut down the rubbish plants first, and take them away, and burn them. After that, they will get all the good seed food and bring it into my shed.’ ” (We have not yet translated 13:31-35. You can read some of those stories and messages in Mark 4:30-32.)

Matthew 13:41

You see, I’m God’s special man from heaven, and at the end of the world, I will send out God’s angel messengers. They will get the people that belong to the devil. They will get all the people that don’t belong in God’s family. Those people are the ones that break God’s law, and they make other people do bad things.

Matthew 13:42

The angels will chuck all those bad people into a big fire. Those people will cry, and they will be so angry that they will bite their teeth together.

Matthew 13:43

But at that time God will show everyone that the good people are really great. It will be like they are shiny, like the sun. And they will be in the family of God, their father.” Then Jesus said, “You’ve got ears, so you have to listen to me properly, and take notice of my words.”

John 15:2

And people are like the branches of that grape vine. There are some people that don’t live God’s way. They are like branches on the vine that don’t grow any fruit. They are no good, so the gardener cuts them off. But some people do live God’s way. They are like branches on the vine that do grow fruit. My father keeps on working on those people, to get them to live God’s way even better. He is like the gardener that cleans up the good branches and trims them back a little bit, so that they will grow more fruit.