Matthew 16:1-4
New English Translation
The Demand for a Sign
16 Now when the Pharisees[a] and Sadducees[b] came to test Jesus,[c] they asked him to show them a sign from heaven.[d] 2 He[e] said, “When evening comes you say, ‘It will be fair weather, because the sky is red,’ 3 and in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, because the sky is red and darkening.’[f] You know how to judge correctly the appearance of the sky,[g] but you cannot evaluate the signs of the times. 4 A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” Then[h] he left them and went away.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Matthew 16:1 sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.
- Matthew 16:1 sn See the note on Sadducees in 3:7.
- Matthew 16:1 tn The object of the participle πειράζοντες (peirazontes) is not given in the Greek text but has been supplied here for clarity.
- Matthew 16:1 sn What exactly this sign would have been, given what Jesus was already doing, is not clear. But here is where the fence-sitters reside, refusing to commit to him.
- Matthew 16:2 tn Grk “But answering, he said to them.” The construction has been simplified in the translation and δέ (de) has not been translated.
- Matthew 16:3 tn Or “red and gloomy” (L&N 14.56).
- Matthew 16:3 tn Grk “The face of the sky you know how to discern.”
- Matthew 16:4 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
Matthew 16:1-4
New Living Translation
Leaders Demand a Miraculous Sign
16 One day the Pharisees and Sadducees came to test Jesus, demanding that he show them a miraculous sign from heaven to prove his authority.
2 He replied, “You know the saying, ‘Red sky at night means fair weather tomorrow; 3 red sky in the morning means foul weather all day.’ You know how to interpret the weather signs in the sky, but you don’t know how to interpret the signs of the times![a] 4 Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign, but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah.[b]” Then Jesus left them and went away.
Read full chapterNET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
