1. "All hail, Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Glamis! All hail, Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor! All hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be king hereafter!"
This is the first prophecy the witches make to Macbeth. It hails him as the Thane of Glamis (his current title), the Thane of Cawdor (a title that currently belongs to another man), and the future King of Scotland. This prediction plants the seeds of ambition in Macbeth's mind and sets the stage for the tragic events that follow.
2. "Beware the Thane of Fife. And be whom thou wouldst be, that art the opener of the door. Commit no more murders."
This prophecy is made by the witches during their second encounter with Macbeth. They warn him to beware of Macduff, the Thane of Fife, who will eventually be his downfall. They also tell him to "be whom thou wouldst be, that art the opener of the door," which some interpret as a warning to Macbeth not to be too ambitious and to accept his current position. Finally, they tell him to commit no more murders, foreshadowing the bloody path he will take to secure his throne.
3. "Macbeth shall never vanquished be, until Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane hill shall come against him."
This is the final prophecy the witches make to Macbeth. They assure him that he will never be defeated until Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane Hill. Macbeth takes this prophecy literally and believes he is invincible. However, in the play's climactic battle, Malcolm's army camouflages themselves with branches from Birnam Wood, fulfilling the prophecy and leading to Macbeth's defeat.
These three prophecies, along with the witches' other cryptic utterances and apparitions, play a significant role in shaping Macbeth's character and driving the plot of the play. They create a sense of inevitability and doom, suggesting that Macbeth's tragic fate is already set in motion and that he is ultimately powerless to escape it.