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Questions from John the Baptist

11 [a](A)Now it happened that when Jesus had finished [b]giving instructions to His twelve disciples, He departed from there (B)to teach and [c]preach in their cities.

(C)Now when (D)John in prison heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to Him, “Are You (E)the One who is to come, or shall we look for someone else?” And Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: (F)the blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the (G)poor have the [d]gospel preached to them. And blessed is he [e]who (H)does not [f]take offense at Me.”

Jesus’ Tribute to John the Baptist

Now as these men were going away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John, “What did you go out into (I)the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? [g]But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ [h]palaces! [i]But what did you go out to see? (J)A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and one who is more than a prophet. 10 This is the one about whom it [j]is written,

(K)Behold, I send My messenger [k]ahead of You,
Who will prepare Your way before You.’

11 Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is [l]least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 (L)And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven [m]suffers violence, and violent men [n]take it by force. 13 For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John. 14 And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is (M)Elijah who [o]was to come. 15 (N)He who has ears to hear, [p]let him hear.

16 “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces, who call out to the other children, 17 and say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not [q]mourn.’ 18 For John came neither (O)eating nor (P)drinking, and they say, ‘(Q)He has a demon!’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a [r]drunkard, (R)a friend of tax collectors and [s]sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated [t]by her deeds.”

Woe to Unrepentant Cities

20 Then He began to denounce the cities in which most of His [u](S)miracles were done, because they did not repent. 21 (T)Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, (U)Bethsaida! For if the [v]miracles had occurred in (V)Tyre and (W)Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago in [w](X)sackcloth and ashes. 22 Nevertheless I say to you, (Y)it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in (Z)the day of judgment than for you. 23 And (AA)Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will (AB)descend to (AC)Hades; for if the [x]miracles had occurred in (AD)Sodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day. 24 Nevertheless I say to you that (AE)it will be more tolerable for the land of (AF)Sodom in the day of judgment, than for you.”

Come to Me

25 (AG)At that [y]time Jesus said, “I praise You, (AH)Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that (AI)You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. 26 Yes, (AJ)Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight. 27 (AK)All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father (AL)except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.

28 (AM)Come to Me, all [z]who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and (AN)learn from Me, for I am [aa]gentle and humble in heart, and (AO)you will find rest for your souls. 30 For (AP)My yoke is [ab]easy and My burden is light.”

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 11:1 Lit And
  2. Matthew 11:1 Or commanding
  3. Matthew 11:1 Or proclaim
  4. Matthew 11:5 Or good news
  5. Matthew 11:6 Lit whoever
  6. Matthew 11:6 Or stumble over Me
  7. Matthew 11:8 Or Well then,
  8. Matthew 11:8 Lit houses
  9. Matthew 11:9 Or Well then,
  10. Matthew 11:10 Lit has been written
  11. Matthew 11:10 Lit before your face
  12. Matthew 11:11 Or less
  13. Matthew 11:12 Or is forcibly entered
  14. Matthew 11:12 Or seize it for themselves
  15. Matthew 11:14 Or is going to come
  16. Matthew 11:15 Or hear!, listen!; Gr imperative
  17. Matthew 11:17 Lit beat the breast
  18. Matthew 11:19 Or wine-drinker
  19. Matthew 11:19 Irreligious Jews
  20. Matthew 11:19 Or from
  21. Matthew 11:20 Or works of power
  22. Matthew 11:21 Or works of power
  23. Matthew 11:21 Symbols of mourning
  24. Matthew 11:23 Or works of power
  25. Matthew 11:25 Or occasion
  26. Matthew 11:28 Or who work to exhaustion
  27. Matthew 11:29 Lit lowly
  28. Matthew 11:30 Or comfortable, pleasant

A Question from John the Baptist

11 And it happened that when Jesus had finished giving orders to his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and to preach in their towns. Now when[a] John[b] heard in prison the deeds of Christ, he sent word[c] by his disciples and[d] said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” And Jesus answered and[e] said to them, “Go and[f] tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised, and the poor have good news announced to them.[g] And whoever is not offended by me is blessed.”

Now as[h] these were going away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in the houses of kings. But why did you go out? To see a prophet?[i] Yes, I tell you, and even more than a prophet! 10 It is this man about whom it is written:

‘Behold, I am sending my messenger before your face,
    who will prepare your way before you.’[j]

11 Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen one greater than John the Baptist. But the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 But from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven is treated violently, and the violent claim[k] it. 13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John, 14 and if you are willing to accept it,[l] he is Elijah, the one who is going to come. 15 The one who has ears, let him hear!

16 “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces who call out to one another, 17 saying,

‘We played the flute for you and you did not dance;
we sang a lament and you did not mourn.’

18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a man who is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”[m]

Woes Pronounced on Unrepentant Towns

20 Then he began to reproach the towns in which the majority of his miracles had been done, because they did not repent: 21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 Nevertheless I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and for Sidon on the day of judgment than for you! 23 And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades! For if the miracles done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until today. 24 Nevertheless I tell you that it will be more bearable for the region of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you!”

A Yoke That Is Easy

25 At that time Jesus answered and[n] said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent, and have revealed them to young children.[o] 26 Yes, Father, for to do so was your gracious will.[p] 27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom[q] the Son wants to reveal him.[r] 28 Come to me, all of you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke on you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to carry and my burden is light.”

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 11:2 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“heard”) which is understood as temporal
  2. Matthew 11:2 That is, John the Baptist
  3. Matthew 11:2 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  4. Matthew 11:3 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“sent” in the previous verse) has been translated as a finite verb
  5. Matthew 11:4 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“answered”) has been translated as a finite verb
  6. Matthew 11:4 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“go”) has been translated as a finite verb
  7. Matthew 11:5 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  8. Matthew 11:7 Here “as” is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle (“were going away”)
  9. Matthew 11:9 Some manuscripts have “But what did you go out to see? A prophet?”
  10. Matthew 11:10 A quotation from Mal 3:1; cf. Mark 1:2
  11. Matthew 11:12 Or “seize”
  12. Matthew 11:14 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  13. Matthew 11:19 Many Greek manuscripts, including most later ones, read “children”
  14. Matthew 11:25 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“answered”) has been translated as a finite verb
  15. Matthew 11:25 Or perhaps “to the childlike,” or “to the innocent”
  16. Matthew 11:26 Literally “was pleasing before you”
  17. Matthew 11:27 Literally “to whomever”
  18. Matthew 11:27 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation