Matthew 11:2-19
Lexham English Bible
2 Now when[a] John[b] heard in prison the deeds of Christ, he sent word[c] by his disciples 3 and[d] said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” 4 And Jesus answered and[e] said to them, “Go and[f] tell John what you hear and see: 5 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] 6 And whoever is not offended by me is blessed.”
7 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? 8 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. 9 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]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Matthew 11:2 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“heard”) which is understood as temporal
- Matthew 11:2 That is, John the Baptist
- Matthew 11:2 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Matthew 11:3 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“sent” in the previous verse) has been translated as a finite verb
- Matthew 11:4 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“answered”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Matthew 11:4 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“go”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Matthew 11:5 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Matthew 11:7 Here “as” is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle (“were going away”)
- Matthew 11:9 Some manuscripts have “But what did you go out to see? A prophet?”
- Matthew 11:10 A quotation from Mal 3:1; cf. Mark 1:2
- Matthew 11:12 Or “seize”
- Matthew 11:14 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Matthew 11:19 Many Greek manuscripts, including most later ones, read “children”
Matthew 11:2-19
Christian Standard Bible
2 Now when John heard in prison what the Christ was doing, he sent a message through his disciples(A) 3 and asked him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” (B)
4 Jesus replied to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: 5 The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, those with leprosy[a] are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor are told the good news,(C) 6 and blessed is the one who isn’t offended by me.”(D)
7 As these men were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swaying in the wind?(E) 8 What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothes? See, those who wear soft clothes are in royal palaces. 9 What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.(F) 10 This is the one about whom it is written:
11 “Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one greater than John the Baptist has appeared,[c] but the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been suffering violence,[d] and the violent have been seizing it by force. 13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. 14 And if you’re willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who is to come.(H) 15 Let anyone who has ears[e] listen.(I)
An Unresponsive Generation
16 “To what should I compare this generation? It’s like children sitting in the marketplaces who call out to other children:
17 We played the flute for you,
but you didn’t dance;
we sang a lament,
but you didn’t mourn![f]
18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’(J) 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard,(K) a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’(L) Yet wisdom is vindicated[g] by her deeds.”[h]
Read full chapter2012 by Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.