Luke 3:7

So John ¹  said to the crowds ²  that came out to be baptized by him, “You offspring of vipers! ³  Who warned you to flee ⁴  from the coming wrath?

John said to the crowds coming out to be baptised by him, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

So he began saying to the crowds who were going out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

Here is a sample of John’s preaching to the crowds that came for baptism: "You brood of snakes! Who warned you to flee God’s coming judgment?

When crowds of people came out for baptism because it was the popular thing to do, John exploded: "Brood of snakes! What do you think you're doing slithering down here to the river? Do you think a little water on your snakeskins is going to deflect God's judgment?

So he said to the people who went out to him for baptism: You offspring of snakes, at whose word are you going in flight from the wrath to come?

John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, "Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

So John ¹  said to the crowds ²  that came out to be baptized by him, “You offspring of vipers! ³  Who warned you to flee ⁴  from the coming wrath?

¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (John) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² sn The crowds. It is interesting to trace references to “the crowd” in Luke. It is sometimes noted favorably, other times less so. The singular appears 25 times in Luke while the plural occurs 16 times. Matt 3:7 singles out the Sadducees and Pharisees here.

³ tn Or “snakes.”

⁴ sn The rebuke “Who warned you to flee…?” compares the crowd to snakes who flee their desert holes when the heat of a fire drives them out.