Matthew 3:9-10

3:9 and don’t think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones! 3:10 Even now the ax is laid at ¹  the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

Matthew 3:12

3:12 His winnowing fork ²  is in his hand, and he will clean out his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the storehouse, ³  but the chaff he will burn up with inextinguishable fire.” ⁴ 

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¹ sn Laid at the root. That is, placed and aimed, ready to begin cutting.

² sn A winnowing fork was a pitchfork-like tool used to toss threshed grain in the air so that the wind blew away the chaff, leaving the grain to fall to the ground. The note of purging is highlighted by the use of imagery involving sifting though threshed grain for the useful kernels.

³ tn Or “granary,” “barn” (referring to a building used to store a farm’s produce rather than a building to house livestock).

⁴ sn The image of fire that cannot be extinguished is from the OT: Job 20:26; Isa 34:8-10; 66:24.