⁷ So John kept saying to the crowds who came out to be baptized by him, “You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? ⁸ Therefore produce fruits in keeping with repentance! Do not even think of saying to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ because I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones. ⁹ Even now the ax is ready to strike^[a] the root of the trees. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is going to be cut down and thrown into the fire.”