MAT 16:4 Parallel Verse View

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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, 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 An evil and adulterous generation seeks a sign, but a sign will not be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” And having left them, he went away.

UST You people who are alive right now are wicked and faithless. You want me to do a miracle that proves that God sent me. However, the only miracle you will see is a miracle like the one that happened to the prophet Jonah.” Then Jesus and his apprentices departed from the Pharisees and Sadducees.

BSB [A] wicked and adulterous generation demands a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Then He left them [and] went away.

MSB [A] wicked and adulterous generation demands a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of the prophet[fn] Jonah.” Then He left them [and] went away.

BLB An evil and adulterous generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah." And having left them, He went away.

AICNT An evil and adulterous generation seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of [[the prophet]][fn] Jonah.” And leaving them, he went away.

16:4, the prophet: Later manuscripts add.

OEB A wicked and unfaithful generation is asking for a sign, but no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah.’ So he left them and went away.

WEBBE An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and there will be no sign given to it, except the sign of the prophet Jonah.”
¶ He left them and departed.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” Then he left them and went away.

LSV An evil and adulterous generation seeks a sign, and a sign will not be given to it, except the sign of Jonah the prophet”; and having left them He went away.

FBV Evil people who don't trust in God are the ones who look for a miraculous sign, and no sign will be given to them except the sign of Jonah.” He left them and went away.

TCNT An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of [fn]the prophet Jonah.” Then he left them and went away.

16:4 the prophet ¦ — CT

T4T You evil people have seen me perform miracles but you do not faithfully worship God [MET]. You want to see me perform a miracle that would prove that God has sent me. But God will enable you to see only one miracle. It will be like what happened [MET] to Jonah, the prophet, who was inside a huge fish for three days and then came out of it to live again.” Then Jesus left them and sailed away, along with us disciples.

LEB An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, and a sign will not be given to it except the sign of Jonah!” And he left them and[fn] went away.

16:4 *Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“left”) has been translated as a finite verb

BBE An evil and false generation is searching after a sign; and no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah. And he went away from them.

Moff "It is an evil and disloyal generation that craves a Sign,
⇔ and no Sign shall be given to it except the Sign of Jonah."
⇔ Then he left them and went away.

Wymth A wicked and faithless generation are eager for a sign; but none shall be given to them except the sign of Jonah." and He left them and went away.

ASV An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of Jonah. And he left them, and departed.

DRA A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign: and a sign shall not be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet. And he left them, and went away.

YLT 'A generation evil and adulterous doth seek a sign, and a sign shall not be given to it, except the sign of Jonah the prophet;' and having left them he went away.

Drby A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and a sign shall not be given to it save the sign of Jonas. And he left them and went away.

RV An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of Jonah. And he left them, and departed.
(An evil and adulterous generation seeketh/seeks after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of Jonah. And he left them, and departed. )

SLT An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign; and no sign shall be given her, except the sign of Jonas the prophet. And having left them, he departed.

Wbstr A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh for a sign; and there shall no sign been to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah. And he left them, and departed.

KJB-1769 A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.
( A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh/seeks after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed. )

KJB-1611 A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a signe, and there shall no signe be giuen vnto it, but the signe of the Prophet Ionas. And hee left them, and departed.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation and punctuation)

Bshps The froward and adulterous nation requireth a signe: and there shall no signe be geuen vnto it, but the signe of the prophete Ionas. And he left them, and departed.
(The froward/ornery_or_disobedient and adulterous nation requireth a sign: and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Yonas. And he left them, and departed.)

Gnva The wicked generation, and adulterous seeketh a signe, but there shall no signe be giuen it, but that signe of the Prophet Ionas: so hee left them, and departed.
(The wicked generation, and adulterous seeketh/seeks a sign, but there shall no sign be given it, but that sign of the Prophet Yonas: so he left them, and departed. )

Cvdl This euell and aduouterous generacio seketh a toke, & there shal no toke be geue the, but the toke of ye prophet Ionas. So he left the, and departed.
(This evil and adulterous generation seeketh/seeks a toke, and there shall no took be give them, but the took of ye/you_all prophet Yonas. So he left them, and departed.)

TNT The frowarde nacion and advoutrous seketh a signe and there shall non other signe be geven vnto them but the signe of the prophet Ionas. So lefte he them and departed.
(The froward/ornery_or_disobedient nation and advoutrous seeketh/seeks a sign and there shall non other sign be given unto them but the sign of the prophet Yonas. So left he them and departed. )

Wycl Thanne ye kunne deme the face of heuene, but ye moun not wite the tokenes of tymes. An yuel generacioun and auoutresse sekith a tokene; and a tokene schal not be youun to it, but the tokene of Jonas, the profete. And whanne he hadde left hem, he wente forth.
(Then ye/you_all can judge/judgement the face of heaven, but ye/you_all may/can not wit/know the tokenes of times. An evil generation and auoutresse seeketh/seeks a tokene; and a token shall not be given to it, but the token of Yonas, the profete. And when he had left hem, he went forth.)

Luth Diese böse und ehebrecherische Art sucht ein Zeichen, und soll ihr kein Zeichen gegeben werden denn das Zeichen des Propheten Jona. Und er ließ sie und ging davon.
(This/These evil and adulterous Art searches a sign, and should you(pl)/their/her no/not sign given become because/than the sign the prophet(s) Yona. And he left/let they/she/them and went of_that.)

ClVg Faciem ergo cæli dijudicare nostis: signa autem temporum non potestis scire? Generatio mala et adultera signum quærit: et signum non dabitur ei, nisi signum Jonæ prophetæ. Et relictis illis, abiit.[fn]
(Faciem therefore heavens diyudicare you_knows: signs however times not/no can_you to_know? Generation evil and adulteress sign/signal seeks: and sign/signal not/no will_be_given to_him, except sign/signal Yonæ the_prophets. And abandoned to_them, he_went/is_gone. )

16.4 Signa. Ad tempus gratiæ pertinentia prophetis prædicta, non possunt vobis fidem facere de meo adventu. Signa autem. Signa temporum dixit de adventu suo vel passione cui simile est roseum cœlum vespere. Et item de tribulatione ante adventum futurum, cui simile est roseum cœlum cum tristitia. Non dabitur ei. Sed datur fidelibus de cœlo quando videntibus apostolis in cœlum ascendit, et Spiritum sanctum misit.

16.4 Signa. To time/season thanks pertinentia prophets aforementioned, not/no they_can to_you(pl) faith to_do from/about mine arrival. Signa however. Signa times he/she_said from/about arrival his_own or passionately to_whom simile it_is roseum sky in_the_evening. And item from/about tribulation before arrival future, to_whom simile it_is roseum sky when/with sadness. Not/No will_be_given to_him. But given to_the_faithful from/about sky when to_those_who_see apostles in/into/on sky went_up, and Spirit holy he_sent.

UGNT γενεὰ πονηρὰ καὶ μοιχαλὶς σημεῖον ἐπιζητεῖ, καὶ σημεῖον οὐ δοθήσεται αὐτῇ, εἰ μὴ τὸ σημεῖον Ἰωνᾶ. καὶ καταλιπὼν αὐτοὺς ἀπῆλθεν.
(genea ponaʸra kai moiⱪalis saʸmeion epizaʸtei, kai saʸmeion ou dothaʸsetai autaʸ, ei maʸ to saʸmeion Yōna. kai katalipōn autous apaʸlthen.)

SBL-GNT Γενεὰ πονηρὰ καὶ μοιχαλὶς σημεῖον ἐπιζητεῖ, καὶ σημεῖον οὐ δοθήσεται αὐτῇ εἰ μὴ τὸ σημεῖον ⸀Ἰωνᾶ. καὶ καταλιπὼν αὐτοὺς ἀπῆλθεν.
(Genea ponaʸra kai moiⱪalis saʸmeion epizaʸtei, kai saʸmeion ou dothaʸsetai autaʸ ei maʸ to saʸmeion ⸀Yōna. kai katalipōn autous apaʸlthen.)

RP-GNT Γενεὰ πονηρὰ καὶ μοιχαλὶς σημεῖον ἐπιζητεῖ· καὶ σημεῖον οὐ δοθήσεται αὐτῇ, εἰ μὴ τὸ σημεῖον Ἰωνᾶ τοῦ προφήτου. Καὶ καταλιπὼν αὐτούς, ἀπῆλθεν.
(Genea ponaʸra kai moiⱪalis saʸmeion epizaʸtei; kai saʸmeion ou dothaʸsetai autaʸ, ei maʸ to saʸmeion Yōna tou profaʸtou. Kai katalipōn autous, apaʸlthen.)

TC-GNT Γενεὰ πονηρὰ καὶ μοιχαλὶς σημεῖον ἐπιζητεῖ· καὶ σημεῖον οὐ δοθήσεται αὐτῇ, εἰ μὴ τὸ σημεῖον Ἰωνᾶ [fn]τοῦ προφήτου. Καὶ καταλιπὼν αὐτούς, ἀπῆλθε.
(Genea ponaʸra kai moiⱪalis saʸmeion epizaʸtei; kai saʸmeion ou dothaʸsetai autaʸ, ei maʸ to saʸmeion Yōna tou profaʸtou. Kai katalipōn autous, apaʸlthe. )

16:4 του προφητου ¦ — CT

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, 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.

16:4a

A wicked and adulterous generation demands a sign,

The people who ask me for a miracle are evil/bad and like a married woman who is immoral. You want to see a surprising sign because you are evil/bad people. You are people who do not follow/obey God.

Verse 16:4 has almost the same wording as 12:39. The only differences are that the words “Jesus replied” and “the prophet” are not in this verse. You should translate these two verses in the same way except for those words.

A wicked: This word also means “bad,” “evil,” or “sinful.”

adulterous generation: The word adulterous describes a person who is unfaithful to his/her spouse. Here Jesus used this word in a figurative way. He used it to refer to people who needed to see a sign in order to know that he was the Messiah. He implied that such people showed that they were not faithful to God by their unbelief.

This word is harsh. By calling his listeners adulterous, Jesus intended to upset them. It is how prophets often talked to the people. They did this to shake them out of their bad ways of thinking.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

Use the ordinary word for unfaithfulness to a spouse. For example:
You are a generation of adulterers
Use a simile. Here is an example:
you are people who are unfaithful to God like an adulterous spouse/wife
you are like a married person who is immoral
Translate the meaning without the figure of speech. Here are some examples:
you are not following God
you do not obey God
evil and godless…people of this day (GNT)

generation: The word generation refers to all the people of a similar age living at a particular time and place. For instance, all the adult Jews living in Israel during Jesus’ ministry would be a generation. Jesus was referring to the people of Israel at that time.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

the people of this day (GNT)

the people who are living now

you are people who

demands: The Greek word that the BSB translates as demands means “wants, looks for, asks, demands, desires.” The Pharisees and Sadducees wanted to see a sign from Jesus proving that he was the Messiah. They refused to believe in him simply by faith.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

ask for (NCV)

want (CEV)

16:4b

but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.”

But no miracle will be done for them except the miracle like the one that happened to Jonah.
The only the sign that I will show you is a sign like the one that God did to/for the prophet Jonah long ago.

none will be given it: This clause means that “no sign will be done for” or “no sign will be shown to” this wicked and adulterous generation.

This clause is passive. Here are some ways to translate it:

Use a passive verb. For example:
no sign will be shown to this wicked and adulterous generation
no sign will be given to them (NCV)
no sign will be done for you
Use an active verb. For example:
the only sign I will give them (NLT)
this generation will receive no sign
you will not see any miracle

except the sign of Jonah: This clause refers to the miracle that happened to the prophet Jonah. He was in the stomach of a huge fish for three days. Then God caused the fish to vomit him on the shore and delivered him from death.

God would also deliver Jesus from death. After being dead for three days in the tomb, God would resurrect him. This sign would prove that he was from God and his message was true.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

except a sign like what happened to the prophet Jonah

a miracle that is like the one that God did to the prophet Jonah long ago

This clause does not mean that Jonah did a miracle.

If people in your area are not familiar with the story of Jonah, you may want to include some information about it in a footnote. A sample footnote is:

In the story of the prophet Jonah, a large fish swallowed Jonah. He was in the stomach of the fish for three days and three nights. Then the fish vomited him onto dry ground, and he came out alive.

16:4c

Then He left them and went away.

Then Jesus left them and walked away.
Then Jesus left. (CEV)

Parallel MAT 16:4

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

Paragraph 16:1–4

16:4a

16:4b

16:4c