This verse is John the Baptist’s exhortation toward true, not merely outward, repentance. He shows that repentance must be expressed not only in words, but in deeds, through a change in one’s life and conduct. The phrase “fruits worthy” speaks of the fruits that flow from a repentant and transformed heart: righteousness, humility, mercy, and obedience to God’s will. John reminds us that faith without works is dead, and that sincere turning to God is recognized before God not by words alone, but by a repentant heart and the deeds that follow.