▼3:16The expression “son of...” in Hebrew is often used metaphorically. The “sons of the priests” are priests in training, not necessarily the offspring of the Jewish priests. The expression “son of a year” means a one-year old; “son of perdition” means someone who is lost; “son of death” means someone who has died, or a dead body. In other words, the “son” is the metaphorical offspring of a particular group or concept, regardless of his biological lineage. So the expression “sons of adulterers” could be translated as the sons of adultery, i.e., those who act as if they were the offspring of adultery.(Conte)