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40 For just as Jonah was in the belly of the huge fish[a] for three days and three nights,[b] so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. 41 The people[c] of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented when Jonah preached to them[d]—and now,[e] something greater than Jonah is here! 42 The queen of the South[f] will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon—and now,[g] something greater than Solomon is here!

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 12:40 tn Grk “large sea creature.”
  2. Matthew 12:40 sn A quotation from Jonah 1:17.
  3. Matthew 12:41 tn Grk “men”; the word here (ἀνήρ, anēr) usually indicates males or husbands, but occasionally is used in a generic sense of people in general, as here (cf. BDAG 79 s.v. 1.a, 2).
  4. Matthew 12:41 tn Grk “at the preaching of Jonah.”
  5. Matthew 12:41 tn Grk “behold.”
  6. Matthew 12:42 sn On the queen of the South see 1 Kgs 10:1-3 and 2 Chr 9:1-12, as well as Josephus, Ant. 8.6.5-6 (8.165-175). The South most likely refers to modern southwest Arabia, possibly the eastern part of modern Yemen, although there is an ancient tradition reflected in Josephus which identifies this geo-political entity as Ethiopia.
  7. Matthew 12:42 tn Grk “behold.”