Study it in the app“But he answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet.”
Butδὲheὁansweredἀποκριθεὶςand saidεἶπενto them,αὐτοῖς“An evilπονηρὰandκαὶadulterousμοιχαλὶςgenerationΓενεὰseeksἐπιζητεῖa sign,σημεῖονandκαὶnoοὐsignσημεῖονwill be givenδοθήσεταιto itαὐτῇexceptεἰ μὴthe signτὸ σημεῖονof JonahἸωνᾶthe prophet.τοῦ προφήτου
answer
To say something back to the one who spoke or asked.
Where else “apokritheis” appearssay
To express something in words to others.
Where else “eipen” appearsevil
One who does or desires evil, opposed to God and the good.
Where else “ponēra” appearsadulteress
Adulteress: a woman unfaithful to her husband. The prophets use the same image for a people unfaithful to God.
Where else “moichalis” appearsgeneration
Generation: the people born around the same time, or each step from parent to child in a family.
Where else “Genea” appearsseek, strive for
Seek, search for, strive after; also wish for.
Where else “epizētei” appearssign
A miracle that shows God's power.
Where else “sēmeion” appearsgive
To hand something to another freely, as a gift.
Where else “dothēsetai” appearsJonah
Jonah, the prophet who was three days in the belly of the great fish and preached to Nineveh.
Where else “Iōna” appearsprophet
Someone who speaks for God.
Where else “prophētou” appears“Adulterous” can be understood as unfaithful to God, as in the prophets, who call the people’s idolatry adultery.
Other books that tell the same thing or quote these words.
The sign of Jonah
A similar saying; scholars discuss whether it is the same saying in another setting or a repeated one.
Matthew 12:38-42
38Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.” 39But he answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. 40For just as Jonah was in the belly of the sea monster three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. 41The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they changed their minds at the proclamation of Jonah; and look, something greater than Jonah is here. 42The queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and look, something greater than Solomon is here.
29And as the crowds were gathering, he began to say, “This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. 30For just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man also be one to this generation. 31The queen of the South will be raised at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and look, something greater than Solomon is here. 32The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they changed their minds at the proclamation of Jonah, and look, something greater than Jonah is here.
38Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”
39 · This verse (above)
40For just as Jonah was in the belly of the sea monster three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.
1. What it says
How did Jesus answer the Pharisees when they criticized his disciples for picking grain on the Sabbath (vv. 3–8)?
2. What it means
What does “I desire mercy, and not sacrifice” mean in Jesus' reply (v. 7)?
3. How I live it
Jesus says the mouth speaks from the heart's abundance (v. 34). Which of your words today would you like to guard?
