LUKE 7:31 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor, cyan:dative/indirect object.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT “To what, then, will I compare the men of this generation? And what are they like?

UST Then Jesus also said, “I will tell you what you people living in this time period are like.

BSB “To what, then, can I compare the men of this generation? What are they like?

MSB “To what,[fn] then, can I compare the men of this generation? What are they like?

BLB "To what therefore will I liken the men of this generation? And to what are they like?

AICNT [[And the Lord said,]][fn] “To what then will I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like?

7:31, And the Lord said: Some manuscripts include. TR

OEB ‘To what then,’ Jesus continued, ‘should I compare the people of the present generation? What are they like?

WEBBE [fn] “To what then should I compare the people of this generation? What are they like?

7:31 TR adds “But the Lord said,”

WMBB (Same as above including footnotes)

NET “To what then should I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like?

LSV And the LORD said, “To what, then, will I liken the men of this generation? And to what are they like?

FBV “What shall I compare these people to?” asked Jesus. “What are they like?

TCNT [fn]Jesus went on to say, “To what then should I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like?

7:31 Jesus went on to say ¦ Then the Lord said TR {Note: The main Greek text does not include the words Jesus went on to say. These words have been added for stylistic purposes.}

T4T Then Jesus also said, “Many of you people have heard what John and I have taught. ◄I will illustrate what you are like./Do you know what many of you people who have heard what John and I have taught are like?► [RHQ]

LEB “To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like?

BBE What comparison am I to make of the men of this generation? what are they like?

Moff "To what then shall I compare the men of this generation?
⇔ What are they like?

Wymth "To what then shall I compare the men of the present generation, and what do they resemble?

ASV Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation, and to what are they like?

DRA And the Lord said: Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation? and to what are they like?

YLT And the Lord said, 'To what, then, shall I liken the men of this generation? and to what are they like?

Drby To whom therefore shall I liken the men of this generation, and to whom are they like?

RV Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation, and to what are they like?
(Whereunto/To_what then shall I liken the men of this generation, and to what are they like? )

SLT And the Lord said, To whom shall I liken the men of this generation? and to whom are they like?

Wbstr And the Lord said, To what then shall I liken the men of this generation? and to what are they like?

KJB-1769 ¶ And the Lord said, Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation? and to what are they like?
(¶ And the Lord said, Whereunto/To_what then shall I liken the men of this generation? and to what are they like? )

KJB-1611 ¶ And the Lord said, whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation? and to what are they like?

Bshps And the Lorde sayde: Whervnto shall I lyken the men of this generation? and what thyng are they lyke?
(And the Lord said: Whervnto shall I liken the men of this generation? and what thing are they like?)

Gnva And the Lord saide, Whereunto shall I liken the men of this generation? and what thing are they like vnto?
(And the Lord said, Whereunto/To_what shall I liken the men of this generation? and what thing are they like unto? )

Cvdl But the LORDE saide: Where vnto shal I licken the men of this generacion? And whom are they like?
(But the LORD said: Where unto shall I liken the men of this generation? And whom are they like?)

TNT And the lorde sayd: Wher vnto shall I lyke the men of this generacion and what thinge are they lyke?
(And the lord said: Where unto shall I like the men of this generation and what thing are they like? )

Wycl And the Lord seide, Therfor to whom schal Y seie `men of this generacioun lijk, and to whom ben thei lijk?
(And the Lord said, Therefore to whom shall I say men of this generation like, and to whom been they like?)

Luth Aber der HErr sprach: Wem soll ich die Menschen dieses Geschlechts vergleichen, und wem sind sie gleich?
(But the/of_the LORD spoke: Who should I the people this descendants compare, and whom are they/she/them even?)

ClVg Ait autem Dominus: Cui ergo similes dicam homines generationis hujus? et cui similes sunt?[fn]
(He_said however Master: To_whom therefore similar I_will_say people/men generation of_this? and to_whom similar are? )

7.31 Cui ergo, etc. Laudato Joanne, transit ad increpandum illos qui nec prædicatione Joannis moti sunt, vel ipsius Christi prædicationem despiciunt.

7.31 To_whom therefore, etc. Praiseto Yoanne, transit to increpandum those who/which but_not preaching Yoannis moved are, or of_his/her_own of_Christ preaching they_look_down_on.

UGNT τίνι οὖν ὁμοιώσω τοὺς ἀνθρώπους τῆς γενεᾶς ταύτης, καὶ τίνι εἰσὶν ὅμοιοι?
(tini oun homoiōsō tous anthrōpous taʸs geneas tautaʸs, kai tini eisin homoioi?)

SBL-GNT Τίνι οὖν ὁμοιώσω τοὺς ἀνθρώπους τῆς γενεᾶς ταύτης, καὶ τίνι εἰσὶν ὅμοιοι;
(Tini oun homoiōsō tous anthrōpous taʸs geneas tautaʸs, kai tini eisin homoioi;)

RP-GNT Τίνι οὖν ὁμοιώσω τοὺς ἀνθρώπους τῆς γενεᾶς ταύτης, καὶ τίνι εἰσὶν ὅμοιοι;
(Tini oun homoiōsō tous anthrōpous taʸs geneas tautaʸs, kai tini eisin homoioi;)

TC-GNT [fn]Τίνι οὖν ὁμοιώσω τοὺς ἀνθρώπους τῆς γενεᾶς ταύτης, καὶ τίνι εἰσὶν ὅμοιοι;
(Tini oun homoiōsō tous anthrōpous taʸs geneas tautaʸs, kai tini eisin homoioi; )

7:31 τινι ¦ ειπε δε ο κυριος τινι TR

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs (from our SR-GNT base).

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 7:18–35: John the Baptizer sent messengers to Jesus

At the time when the events in this section happened, John the Baptizer was in prison (3:20). He sent two of his disciples to Jesus to ask Jesus whether he was the Messiah. He referred to the Messiah as “the coming one” whom he and the people were expecting. Jesus’ answer implied that he was the Messiah.

After John’s messengers had left, Jesus talked about what a great man John was. But he also implied that the coming kingdom would be greater. It would be so great that people who would experience it and its benefits would have even greater privileges and blessings than John had. Finally, Jesus showed that the Jewish religious leaders rejected the plan of God, since they rejected both John and Jesus.

It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it. Some other possible headings for this section are:

Jesus responds to the messengers of John the Baptizer and speaks about John to the crowd

Jesus speaks to the people about John the Baptizer

Jesus teaches about John the Baptizer

There is a parallel passage for this section in Matthew 11:3–19.

7:31

To what, then, can I compare the men of this generation? What are they like?: In the Greek text these two questions are connected as one rhetorical question. For example:

To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? (ESV)

Notice that Jesus answered the questions himself in 7:32a. He used the rhetorical questions to introduce the statement about “the people of this generation” in 7:32–34. There are two ways to translate these rhetorical questions:

As one or more questions. For example:
How can I describe the people of this generation? What are they like? (REB)
To what then should I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? (NET)
As one or more statements. For example:
This is how I will compare the men of this generation. This is what they are like.
As a combination of questions and statements. For example:
So what comparison can I use to describe this generation? I will tell you what they are like.

The two questions have almost the same meaning. Jewish people often used this kind of repetition, and it may add some emphasis to what Jesus asks. If it is not easy or natural in your language to ask two different yet similar questions here, you could combine them:

What illustration/comparison can I use to show what the people of today are like?

7:31a

“To what, then, can I compare the men of this generation?

¶ “So to what can I compare the people of this day/time?
¶ “It is difficult to know how to describe you^(plur) people who reject John and me

then: The Greek conjunction oun that the BSB translates as then means “therefore.” It introduces a conclusion of the statements in 29–30. The Jewish religious leaders had rejected John (7:30), so in 7:31–35, Jesus could compare them to children who cannot be satisfied. Connect 7:31a to what comes before it in a way that is natural in your language.

compare: To compare means to say that one thing is like another. Jesus answered his question in 7:32 by giving a simile or short parable (“they are like…”). So another way to express this question is:

What illustration/parable can I use to show what the people of this generation are like?

the men of this generation: The phrase the men of this generation refers to Jewish people who lived in the same period of time as John and Jesus. It does not refer to a specific age group. In this context, the word generation refers specifically to people who rejected John and Jesus and their message. Some of these people were the Pharisees and experts in the law who were mentioned in 7:30. The term also implies that Jesus disapproved of the attitudes and actions of those people.Most commentators agree that the sense here is clearly negative. Not all commentators who interpret the sense as negative agree that it refers only to a subset of “all the people.” Bock (p. 679), for example, says, “It seems clear that Jesus is describing the majority response in his rebuke.” Others such as Stein (p. 232) would limit the referent to those who “oppose Jesus and the gospel and who stand in contrast to the sons of light.” Marshall in his treatment of the phrase gives a good listing of NT examples of “generation” that carry the negative nuance and of the OT passages and language (“a perverse and wicked generation,” Deuteronomy 32:5; “a stubborn and rebellious generation,” Psalm 78:8) that may be the basis for this. If this interpretation of the phrase is correct, it may draw from the meaning of γενεὰ as “the descendants of a common ancestor” (see Friberg, meaning 1; Thayer, meaning 2). If this is the sense, it would refer to the Jewish race, and in particular, the Jewish race with their habitual tendency to reject God’s messengers.

Some ways to translate this are:

Translate the word in a neutral way and let the context express disapproval. For example:
people of this day/time
people who are living now (GW)
many of these people who heard John and me
Translate it in a way that expresses Jesus’ disapproval of those people who rejected him and John. For example:
these people who reject God’s messengers
the people who reject John and me

Some of the people that Jesus was speaking to were part of the generation that he referred to. In some languages it may be more natural to indicate that explicitly (as Jesus did in 7:33–34). For example:

What are you people like? (CEV)

men: In this context, the Greek word that the BSB translates as men refers to people in general, including both men and women. For that reason, most English versions, even literal ones such as the ESV and NASB, translate it as “people.”

7:31b

What are they like?

What are they like? I will tell you what they are like:
or to say/illustrate what you^(plur) are like.

What are they like?: As in 7:31a, Jesus was referring to some of the people who were listening to him. If you indicated that explicitly in 7:31a, it will probably be natural to continue to do that here. For example:

What kind of people are you? (CEV)

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion

τίνι οὖν ὁμοιώσω τοὺς ἀνθρώπους τῆς γενεᾶς ταύτης, καὶ τίνι εἰσὶν ὅμοιοι?

˱to˲_what ˱to˲_what (Some words not found in SR-GNT: τίνι Οὖν ὁμοιώσω τούς ἀνθρώπους τῆς γενεᾶς ταύτης καί τίνι εἰσίν ὅμοιοι)

Jesus is using these questions as a teaching tool, to introduce a comparison. If it would be helpful in your language, you could translate them as statements. Alternate translation: [This is what I compare the people of this time to. This is what they are like]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / parallelism

τίνι οὖν ὁμοιώσω τοὺς ἀνθρώπους τῆς γενεᾶς ταύτης, καὶ τίνι εἰσὶν ὅμοιοι?

˱to˲_what ˱to˲_what (Some words not found in SR-GNT: τίνι Οὖν ὁμοιώσω τούς ἀνθρώπους τῆς γενεᾶς ταύτης καί τίνι εἰσίν ὅμοιοι)

These two phrases mean the same thing. Jesus is using repetition for emphasis and to capture the interest of his listeners. You do not need to put both phrases in your translation if that might be confusing for your readers. Alternate translation: [What should I compare the people of this time to?] or [This is what I compare the people of this time to.]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / gendernotations

τοὺς ἀνθρώπους τῆς γενεᾶς ταύτης

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: τίνι Οὖν ὁμοιώσω τούς ἀνθρώπους τῆς γενεᾶς ταύτης καί τίνι εἰσίν ὅμοιοι)

Jesus is using the term men in a generic sense that includes all people. Alternate translation: [the people of this generation]

Parallel LUKE 7:31

Section 7:18–35: John the Baptizer sent messengers to Jesus

7:31

7:31a

7:31b