Matthew 11:16-18

New International Version

¹⁶“To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others:

¹⁷“‘We played the pipe for you,
and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge,
and you did not mourn.’

¹⁸For John came neither eating^(A) nor drinking,^(B) and they say, ‘He has a demon.’

Matthew 11:16-18

New Catholic Bible

¹⁶Indecisive Children.^[a]“To what shall I compare this generation? It is like children who sit in the marketplace and call to one another:

¹⁷‘We played the flute for you,
but you would not dance;
we sang a dirge,
and you refused to mourn.’

¹⁸For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said, ‘He is possessed.’

Matthew 11:16 Indecisive children do not want to play either at a wedding when a flute is sounded or at a funeral when a dirge is sung; such are the Jews who reject the salvation that God offers them: the severity of John frightens them and the goodness of Jesus shocks them. People often hesitate as much before joy as before repentance! But the kingdom of God does not wait; God realizes here below his plan—his “Wisdom”—as the acts of John and Jesus bear witness.

¹⁶^(A)“But to what shall I liken this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their companions, ¹⁷and saying:

‘We played the flute for you,
And you did not dance;
We mourned to you,
And you did not ^[a]lament.’

¹⁸For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’

¹⁶“But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates,

¹⁷“‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’

¹⁸For John came ^(A)neither eating ^(B)nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’

New International Version (NIV)