MAT 11:17 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.)

OET (OET-RV) and saying, ‘We played lively music for you but you didn’t dance. Then we played sad music, but you didn’t mourn.’

Key: khaki:verbs, cyan:dative/indirect object, red:negative.
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 saying, ‘We played a flute for you, and you did not dance. We sang a funeral song, and you did not mourn.’

UST ‘We played happy music for you on the flute, but you did not dance! Then we sang sad funeral songs for you, but you did not grieve!’

BSB ‘We played the flute for you,
⇔ and you did not dance;
⇔ we sang a dirge,
⇔ and you did not mourn.’

BLB saying: 'We piped for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge and you did not wail.'

AICNT saying, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we mourned [for you],[fn] and you did not lament.’

11:17, for you: ℵ(01) B(03) D(05) NA28 SBLGNT THGNT ‖ Some manuscripts include. C(04) W(032) BYZ TR

OEB We have played the flute for you, but you have not danced; We have wailed, but you have not mourned.

2DT they say, ‘We played the recorder for you and you did not dance; We lamented and you did not strike yourselves.’

WEBBE and say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you didn’t dance. We mourned for you, and you didn’t lament.’

WMBB (Same as above)

NET ‘We played the flute for you, yet you did not dance;
⇔ we wailed in mourning, yet you did not weep.’

LSV and saying, We piped to you, and you did not dance, we lamented to you, and you did not strike the breast.

FBV ‘We played the flute for you and you didn't dance; we sang sad songs and you didn't cry.’

TCNT ⇔ ‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance;
⇔ we sang a lament [fn]for you, but you did not mourn.’

11:17 for you 97.4% ¦ — CT 1.4%

T4T ‘We played happy music on the flute for you, but you did not dance! Then we sang sad funeral songs for you, but you did not cry [MET]!’

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

BBE We made music for you and you did not take part in the dance; we gave cries of sorrow and you made no signs of grief.

Moff 'We piped to you and you would not dance,
⇔ we lamented and you would not beat your breasts.'

Wymth "`We have played the flute to you,' they say, `and you have not danced: we have sung dirges, and you have not beaten your breasts.'

ASV and say, We piped unto you, and ye did not dance; we wailed, and ye did not mourn.

DRA Who crying to their companions say: We have piped to you, and you have not danced: we have lamented, and you have not mourned.

YLT and saying, We piped unto you, and ye did not dance, we lamented to you, and ye did not smite the breast.

Drby say, We have piped to you, and ye have not danced: we have mourned to you, and ye have not wailed.

RV and say, We piped unto you, and ye did not dance; we wailed, and ye did not mourn.
(and say, We piped unto you, and ye/you_all did not dance; we wailed, and ye/you_all did not mourn. )

SLT And saying, We played the flute to you, and ye moved not; we lamented to you and ye lamented not.

Wbstr And saying, We have piped to you, and ye have not danced; We have mourned to you, and ye have not lamented.

KJB-1769 And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented.
( And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye/you_all have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye/you_all have not lamented. )

KJB-1611 And saying, we haue piped vnto you, and ye haue not danced: wee haue mourned vnto you, and ye haue not lamented.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation and punctuation)

Bshps And say: We haue pyped vnto you, and ye haue not daunsed: we haue mourned vnto you, and ye haue not sorowed.
(And say: We have pyped unto you, and ye/you_all have not danced: we have mourned unto you, and ye/you_all have not sorowed.)

Gnva And say, We haue piped vnto you, and ye haue not daunced, we haue mourned vnto you, and ye haue not lamented.
(And say, We have piped unto you, and ye/you_all have not danced, we have mourned unto you, and ye/you_all have not lamented. )

Cvdl & saye: we haue pyped vnto you, and ye wolde not daunse: We haue morned vnto you, & ye wolde not wepe.
(and say: we have pyped unto you, and ye/you_all would not dance: We have morned unto you, and ye/you_all would not weep.)

TNT and saye: we have pyped vnto you and ye have not daunsed? We have morned vnto you and ye have not sorowed.
(and say: we have pyped unto you and ye/you_all have not danced? We have morned unto you and ye/you_all have not sorowed. )

Wycl and seien, We han songun to you, and ye han not daunsid; we han morned to you, and ye han not weilid.
(and said, We have songun to you, and ye/you_all have not daunsid; we have morned to you, and ye/you_all have not weilid.)

Luth und sprechen: Wir haben euch gepfiffen, und ihr wolltet nicht tanzen; wir haben euch geklaget, und ihr wolltet nicht weinen.
(and speak: We have you gepfiffen, and you(pl)/their/her wanted not tanzen; we/us have you geklaget, and you(pl)/their/her wanted not weep/cry.)

ClVg dicunt: Cecinimus vobis, et non saltastis: lamentavimus, et non planxistis.[fn]
(they_say: Cecinimus to_you(pl), and not/no saltastis: lamentavimus, and not/no planxistis. )

11.17 Cecinimus vobis. Ut David: Exsultate Deo adjutori nostro, jubilate Deo Jacob Psal. 80., et hujusmodi. Lamentavimus. Ut: Convertimini ad me in toto corde vestro in jejunio et fletu et planctu Jœl. 2., et hujusmodi

11.17 Cecinimus to_you(pl). As David: Exsultate to_God helperi our, jubilate to_God Yacob Psal. 80., and of_this_kind. Lamentavimus. Ut: You_are_converted to me in/into/on throughout heart your in/into/on I_fast and crying and planctu Yœl. 2., and of_this_kind

UGNT λέγουσιν, ηὐλήσαμεν ὑμῖν καὶ οὐκ ὠρχήσασθε; ἐθρηνήσαμεν καὶ οὐκ ἐκόψασθε.
(legousin, aʸulaʸsamen humin kai ouk ōrⱪaʸsasthe; ethraʸnaʸsamen kai ouk ekopsasthe.)

SBL-GNT ⸀λέγουσιν· Ηὐλήσαμεν ὑμῖν καὶ οὐκ ὠρχήσασθε· ⸀ἐθρηνήσαμεν καὶ οὐκ ἐκόψασθε·
(⸀legousin; Aʸulaʸsamen humin kai ouk ōrⱪaʸsasthe; ⸀ethraʸnaʸsamen kai ouk ekopsasthe;)

RP-GNT καὶ λέγουσιν, Ηὐλήσαμεν ὑμῖν, καὶ οὐκ ὠρχήσασθε· ἐθρηνήσαμεν ὑμῖν, καὶ οὐκ ἐκόψασθε.
(kai legousin, Aʸulaʸsamen humin, kai ouk ōrⱪaʸsasthe; ethraʸnaʸsamen humin, kai ouk ekopsasthe.)

TC-GNT [fn]καὶ λέγουσιν,
⇔ Ηὐλήσαμεν ὑμῖν, καὶ οὐκ ὠρχήσασθε·
⇔ ἐθρηνήσαμεν [fn]ὑμῖν, καὶ οὐκ ἐκόψασθε.
(kai legousin,
⇔ Aʸulaʸsamen humin, kai ouk ōrⱪaʸsasthe;
⇔ ethraʸnaʸsamen humin, kai ouk ekopsasthe. )

11:17 και ¦ — ANT CT

11:17 υμιν 97.4% ¦ — CT 1.4%

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

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 11:1–19: Jesus praised John the Baptist

Long before Jesus was born, God spoke of a messenger who would prepare the people for the coming of the Messiah (Malachi 3:1). John the Baptist was that messenger. When John’s ministry was ending, he began to doubt that Jesus was the Messiah. So John sent some of his disciples to verify that Jesus was the Messiah (11:3). Jesus indicated that his miracles and preaching were proof that he was the expected Messiah whom God spoke of (11:4–5).

Jesus then showed that John was very important in God’s eyes (11:7–14).

Jesus and John did God’s work in very different ways, but most people refused to listen to either person (11:16–19).

Here are some other possible headings for this section:

The question of John the Baptist

Jesus talked about John the Baptizer

Messengers from John the Baptist (NRSV)

Jesus and John the Baptizer’s actions prove who they are

There is a parallel passage for this section in Luke 7:18–35.

Paragraph 11:16–19

In this paragraph, Jesus compared the people of his generation to children playing in the market. The people of that generation criticized John’s harsh lifestyle and did not respond to his message. They also criticized Jesus’ joyous lifestyle and did not respond to his message. They were like children who refused to dance to happy songs, but they also refused to mourn to sad songs. They were never satisfied. They rejected both John and Jesus.

11:17a

‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;

“ ‘We^(excl) played wedding music on a flute for you^(plur), but you did not dance!
“ ‘We^(excl) played happy music for you^(plur), but you refused to dance!

We played the flute for you, and you did not dance: This sentence means that some children wanted the others to dance for them when they played happy music on a flute. But the other group of children did not want to play that game.

The Jews usually played flute music so that people would dance. They played this music at feasts and other happy occasions like weddings. In some languages it may be helpful to make this explicit. For example:

We played wedding music for you, but you wouldn’t dance! (GNT)

We played/made happy music for you, but you did not dance!

flute: A flute is a musical instrument. It is a tube closed at one end with holes along the length. A person blows in or across an opening at one end to make the sounds.

and: There is contrast between what one group of children wanted and what the other group did. It may be more natural in your language to use the word “but” here instead of and. For example:

We played the flute, but you would not dance! (CEV)

11:17b

we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’

We^(excl) sang a funeral song, but you^(plur) did not mourn!’
We^(excl) sang a sad song, and/but you^(plur) refused to weep/cry!’

we sang a dirge: The Greek word that the BSB translates as sang a dirge refers to singing a song of mourning to express grief and sorrow. People usually sang such songs at funerals or burials.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

We sang funeral songs (GNT)

We sang songs sung at burials

We sang sad songs of death

If the people in your language area do not have funeral songs, you can translate in a more general way. For example:

we sang a sad song (NCV)

and you did not mourn: The word mourn means “express grief and sorrow.” Even though some of the children pretended to be at a funeral, the other children would not play along and pretend to cry.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

but you did not cry (NCV)

but you didn’t show any sadness (GW)

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / quotesinquotes

λέγουσιν, ηὐλήσαμεν ὑμῖν καὶ οὐκ ὠρχήσασθε; ἐθρηνήσαμεν καὶ οὐκ ἐκόψασθε

˓are˒_saying (Some words not found in SR-GNT: λέγουσιν Ηὐλήσαμεν ὑμῖν καί οὐκ ὠρχήσασθε ἐθρηνήσαμεν καί οὐκ ἐκόψασθε)

If it would be clearer in your language, you could translate this so that there is not a quotation within a quotation. Alternate translation: [saying that they played the flute for them, and they did not dance, and that they sang a funeral song, and they did not mourn.]

Note 2 topic: writing-quotations

λέγουσιν

˓are˒_saying

Consider natural ways of introducing direct quotations in your language. Alternate translation: [and they say]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

ηὐλήσαμεν

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: λέγουσιν Ηὐλήσαμεν ὑμῖν καί οὐκ ὠρχήσασθε ἐθρηνήσαμεν καί οὐκ ἐκόψασθε)

The children are referring to the flute to indicate that they played a happy, upbeat tune, for which the flute was well suited. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use an equivalent expression from your language or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [We played a happy tune]

Note 4 topic: grammar-connect-logic-contrast

(Occurrence -1) καὶ

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: λέγουσιν Ηὐλήσαμεν ὑμῖν καί οὐκ ὠρχήσασθε ἐθρηνήσαμεν καί οὐκ ἐκόψασθε)

In both places, the children are expressing a contrast between what they expected their playmates to do and what those playmates actually did. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a word or phrase that introduces a contrast. Alternate translation: [and yet … and yet]

Parallel MAT 11:17

Section 11:1–19: Jesus praised John the Baptist

Paragraph 11:16–19

11:17a

11:17b