MAT 16:2 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, 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 But he answering said to them,[fn] “[Evening having come, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’

Some ancient manuscripts include the following words here.

UST He answered them, “[When it is evening and the sky looks red, you know that there will be good weather the next day.

BLB And answering He said to them, "Evening having come, you say, 'Fair weather, for the sky is red,'

AICNT But he answered them, “[When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red’;

OEB But Jesus answered, ‘In the evening you say “It will be fine weather, for the sky is as red as fire.”

WEBBE But he answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’

WMBB (Same as above)

NET He said, “When evening comes you say, ‘It will be fair weather, because the sky is red,’

LSV and He answering said to them, “Evening having come, you say, Fair weather, for the sky is red,

FBV Jesus replied, “In the evening you say, ‘It'll be a fine day tomorrow, because the sky is red,’

TCNT But he answered them, “When evening comes you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’

T4T He answered them, “In this country, in the evening you say, ‘It will be good weather tomorrow, because the sky is red.’

LEB So he answered and[fn] said to them, “When[fn] evening comes you say, ‘It will be fair weather because the sky is red,’

16:2 *Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“answered”) has been translated as a finite verb

16:2 *Here “when” is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle (“comes”)

BBE But in answer he said to them, At nightfall you say, The weather will be good, for the sky is red.

Moff He replied,

Wymth He replied, "In the evening you say, `It will be fine weather, for the sky is red;'

ASV But he answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the heaven is red.

DRA But he answered and said to them: When it is evening, you say, It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.

YLT and he answering said to them, 'Evening having come, ye say, Fair weather, for the heaven is red,

Drby But he answering said to them, When evening is come, ye say, Fine weather, for the sky is red;

RV But he answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the heaven is red.
(But he answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye/you_all say, It will be fair weather: for the heaven is red. )

SLT And he having answered, said to them, It being evening, ye say, Calm weather: for the heaven is fiery red.

Wbstr He answered and said to them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red.

KJB-1769 He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red.
(He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye/you_all say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. )

KJB-1611 He answered, and said vnto them, When it is euening, yee say, It will bee faire weather: for the skie is red.
(He answered, and said unto them, When it is evening, ye/you_all say, It will be fair weather: for the skie is red.)

Bshps He aunswered & sayde vnto them: when it is euenyng, ye say, it wyll be fayre weather: for the sky is redde.
(He answered and said unto them: when it is evening, ye/you_all say, it will be fair weather: for the sky is redde.)

Gnva But he answered, and said vnto them, When it is euening, ye say, Faire wether: for ye skie is red.
(But he answered, and said unto them, When it is evening, ye/you_all say, Faire wether: for ye/you_all skie is red. )

Cvdl But he answered, & sayde: At eue ye saye: It wil be fayre wedder. for ye sskye is reed.
(But he answered, and said: At eve/even ye/you_all say: It will be fair wedder. for ye/you_all sskye is reed.)

TNT He answered and sayde vnto the. At even ye saye we shall have fayre wedder and that because the skye is reed:
(He answered and said unto them. At even ye/you_all say we shall have fair wedder and that because the sky is reed: )

Wycl And he answeride, and seide to hem, Whanne the euentid is comun, ye seien, It schal be clere, for heuene is rodi;
(And he answered, and said to hem, When the eventide/evening is come, ye/you_all said, It shall be clere, for heaven is ruddy/reddish;)

Luth Aber er antwortete und sprach: Des Abends sprechet ihr: Es wird ein schöner Tag werden, denn der Himmel ist rot;
(But he replied and spoke: Des at_evening speaker you(pl)/their/her: It becomes a beautiful day become, because/than the/of_the heaven is rot;)

ClVg At ille respondens, ait illis: Facto vespere dicitis: Serenum erit, rubicundum est enim cælum.[fn]
(But he/that_one responding, he_said to_them: Facto in_the_evening you(pl)_say: Serenum will_be, rubicundum it_is because the_sky. )

16.2 Facto vespere. Increpat eos, quod ex ordine elementorum discernant dies, sed signa temporum ignorant, cum omnis lex et prophetæ, adventus sui indicia ex operum quæ gereret admiratione significent.

16.2 Facto in_the_evening. Increpat them, that from in_order elementorum discernant days, but signs times ignorant, when/with everyone the_law and the_prophets, arrivals self indicia from works which gereret admiratione significent.

UGNT ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς, [fn] [ὀψίας γενομένης λέγετε, εὐδία; πυρράζει γὰρ ὁ οὐρανός.
(ho de apokritheis eipen autois, [opsias genomenaʸs legete, eudia; purrazei gar ho ouranos.)

Some ancient manuscripts include verses 2b–3.

SBL-GNT ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· ⸂Ὀψίας γενομένης λέγετε· Εὐδία, πυρράζει γὰρ ὁ οὐρανός·
(ho de apokritheis eipen autois; ⸂Opsias genomenaʸs legete; Eudia, purrazei gar ho ouranos;)

RP-GNT Ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς, Ὀψίας γενομένης λέγετε, Εὐδία· πυρράζει γὰρ ὁ οὐρανός.
(Ho de apokritheis eipen autois, Opsias genomenaʸs legete, Eudia; purrazei gar ho ouranos.)

TC-GNT Ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς, Ὀψίας γενομένης λέγετε, Εὐδία· πυρράζει γὰρ ὁ οὐρανός.
(Ho de apokritheis eipen autois, Opsias genomenaʸs legete, Eudia; purrazei gar ho ouranos. )

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

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 16:1–4: The Jewish leaders tested Jesus

The Pharisees and Sadducees were two groups of Jewish leaders who were often opposed to each other. Here, they joined together to test Jesus. They tested him by asking him to do a certain kind of miracle that would prove that God had sent him. This kind of miracle was called a “sign.”

Jesus rebuked them for asking for a sign. He said that the only sign that they would see would be like what happened to Jonah. Jonah was in a big fish for three days. Then God caused the fish to vomit Jonah onto land alive. Similarly, Jesus would be in the grave for three days. Then God would cause him to be alive again. This would prove that God had sent him.

Here are some other possible headings for this section:

The leaders ask for a miracle

The Demand for a Sign

There is a parallel passage for this section in Mark 8:11–13. There is a parallel passage for 16:2–3 in Luke 12:54–56.

Paragraph 16:1–4

In this paragraph, the Pharisees and Sadducees tested Jesus. They tested him by asking him for a sign to prove that he was from God.

16:2a

But He replied, “When evening comes, you say,

He replied, “At sunset you^(plur) say,
He told them, “When the sun is going down, you^(plur) say that

But He replied: There is a textual issue here. Some of the earliest and best Greek manuscripts do not have the words in 16:2–3 after “He answered them.” The editors of the UBS Greek text considered these words to probably be original, but they put them in brackets to show that they are not completely certain. As a result, almost all English versions include these words. (See the REB for an exception.) Most English versions also include a footnote to explain the textual issue. For example, the NLT says: “Several manuscripts do not include any of the words in 16:2–3 after He replied.” You may also want to include a footnote to explain this issue. Here Jesus responded to the request of the Pharisees and Sadducees, but he did not answer a question. So in some languages, it will be more natural to use a different verb. For example:

He told them (CEV)

He said

When evening comes: Here the word evening refers to sunset or soon after.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

At sunset (NCV)

When the sun is going down

16:2b–3b

In 16:2b–3b, Jesus apparently repeated a common understanding among people about the weather in the land of Israel at that time. They used the way that the sky looked in the evening to predict what the weather would be like the next day. And in the morning, if the sky was red and overcast, they predicted that the day would be stormy. Jesus used this common saying to begin his response to their request.

In many areas, people do not use observations like this to predict what the weather will be like. So you may want to explain it in a footnote. Here is a sample footnote:

Some people in Israel believed that the sky could tell them what the weather would be like later. If the sky was red in the evening, that meant that it would not rain the next day. If they saw a “red and threatening” sky in the morning, that meant that the day would be stormy. Jesus referred to the redness of the sky as a kind of sign of the weather.

16:2b

‘The weather will be fair, for the sky is red,’

‘It will be good weather, because the sky is red.’
the sky is red, so it will not rain tomorrow.

The weather will be fair: The Greek word that the BSB translates as weather will be fair refers to a day with few clouds, little wind, and no rain or snow. This clause refers to the weather the next day.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

we will have good weather (NCV)

tomorrow will be a sunny day

there will be no rain or strong wind

for the sky is red: This clause is a basis/reason for the conclusion that “the weather will be fair.” In some languages, it will be more natural to put this clause first. For example:

Because the sky is red, it will be fair weather.

The sky is red, so it will be nice weather.

In some languages, it will be more natural to use indirect speech here. For example:

At sunset, you say that there will be fair weather because the sky is red.

In the evening when the sky is red, you say that the weather will be fair.

sky: This is the same word that was translated in 16:1b as “heaven.” Since Jesus was talking about the weather, it means sky here. But since it can also mean “heaven,” he was probably making a play on words. He used the same word to make fun of the request by the Pharisees and Sadducees to see a sign from “heaven.”

is red: The word red refers to the red color in the sky that sometimes occurs at sunset. Use an expression that is natural for this type of sky.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / quotesinquotes

λέγετε, εὐδία; πυρράζει γὰρ ὁ οὐρανός

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὁ Δέ ἀποκριθείς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς)

If it would be clearer in your language, you could translate this so that there is not a quotation within a quotation. Alternate translation: [you say that it will be fair weather, for the sky is red]

Note 2 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result

εὐδία; πυρράζει γὰρ ὁ οὐρανός

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὁ Δέ ἀποκριθείς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς)

If it would be more natural in your language, you could reverse the order of these clauses, since the second clause gives the reason for the result that the first clause describes. Alternate translation: [The sky is red, so it will be fair weather]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

εὐδία

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὁ Δέ ἀποκριθείς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς)

Here the people speaking are implying that the fair weather will take place on the next day. You could include this information if that would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: [fair weather tomorrow]

Parallel MAT 16:2

Section 16:1–4: The Jewish leaders tested Jesus

Paragraph 16:1–4

16:2a

16:2b–3b

16:2b