Matthew 12:36-41

English Standard Version

³⁶ I tell you, ^(A)on the day of judgment ^(B)people will give account for ^(C)every careless word they speak, ³⁷ for ^(D)by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

The Sign of Jonah

³⁸ Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, ^(E)we wish to see a sign from you.” ³⁹ But he answered them, ^(F)“An evil and ^(G)adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. ⁴⁰ For ^(H)just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, ^(I)so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. ^41 (J)The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and ^(K)condemn it, for ^(L)they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, ^(M)something greater than Jonah is here.