Seeinga lonefigtreeby the road,He cameto it and foundnothingon it exceptleavesonly;and He saidto it, "Nolongershall there everbe [any] fruitfrom you." And at oncethe fig treewithered.
He dugit all around,removedits stones,And plantedit with the choicestvine.And He builta towerin the middleof it And alsohewedout a winevatin it; Then He expected[it] to produce[good] grapes,But it produced[only] worthlessones.
"I will surelysnatchthem away,"declaresthe LORD;"Therewill be nograpeson the vineAnd nofigson the figtree,And the leafwill wither;And what I have giventhem will passaway."'"
Seeing[this], the discipleswere amazedand asked,"Howdid the fig treewither[all] at once?"
He saidto it, "May no oneevereatfruitfrom you again!"And His discipleswere listening.
As they were passingby in the morning,they sawthe fig treewitheredfrom the roots[up].
"Indeedthe axeis alreadylaidat the rootof the trees;soeverytreethat does not beargoodfruitis cut downand throwninto the fire."
"Everybranchin Me that does not bearfruit,He takes away;and every[branch] that bearsfruit,He prunesit sothat it may bearmorefruit.
"Ifanyonedoes not abidein Me, he is thrownawayas a branchand driesup; and they gatherthem, and castthem into the fireand they are burned.
holdingto a formof godliness,although they have deniedits power;Avoidsuch men as these.
They professto knowGod,but by [their] deedsthey deny[Him], beingdetestableand disobedientand worthlessfor anygooddeed.
These are the menwho are hidden reefsin your love feastswhen they feastwith you without fear,caringfor themselves;cloudswithout water,carried alongby winds;autumntreeswithout fruit,doublydead,uprooted;
"Let the one who doeswrong,stilldo wrong;and the one who is filthy,stillbe filthy;and let the one whois righteous,stillpracticerighteousness;and the one who is holy,stillkeep himself holy."
