American Standard Version
Matthew 11:18
18For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a demon.
Matthew 11:18 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil.
- New International Version (NIV)For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’
- English Standard Version (ESV)For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.'
- New King James Version (NKJV)For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’
Context of Matthew 11:18
16But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the marketplaces, who call unto their fellows 17and say, We piped unto you, and ye did not dance; we wailed, and ye did not mourn. For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a demon. 19The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold, a gluttonous man and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners! And wisdom is justified by her works. 20Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not.
Read all of Matthew 11Matthew 11:18 word by word
ἦλθεν γὰρ Ἰωάννης μήτε ἐσθίων μήτε πίνων, καὶ λέγουσιν· δαιμόνιον ἔχει.Read the interlinear
Cross-references for Matthew 11:18
- Matthew 3:4Now John himself had his raiment of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his food was locusts and wild honey.
- Jeremiah 15:17I sat not in the assembly of them that make merry, nor rejoiced; I sat alone because of thy hand; for thou hast filled me with indignation.
- Jeremiah 16:8And thou shalt not go into the house of feasting to sit with them, to eat and to drink.
- Luke 1:15For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and he shall drink no wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.
- 1 Corinthians 9:27but I buffet my body, and bring it into bondage: lest by any means, after that I have preached to others, I myself should be rejected.
- Matthew 10:25It is enough for the disciple that he be as his teacher, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more them of his household!
- 2 Kings 9:11Then Jehu came forth to the servants of his lord: and one said unto him, Is all well? wherefore came this mad fellow to thee? And he said unto them, Ye know the man and what his talk was.
- Jeremiah 29:26Jehovah hath made thee priest in the stead of Jehoiada the priest, that there may be officers in the house of Jehovah, for every man that is mad, and maketh himself a prophet, that thou shouldest put him in the stocks and in shackles.
- Hosea 9:7The days of visitation are come, the days of recompense are come; Israel shall know it: the prophet is a fool, the man that hath the spirit is mad, for the abundance of thine iniquity, and because the enmity is great.
- John 7:20The multitude answered, Thou hast a demon: who seeketh to kill thee?
- John 8:48The Jews answered and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a demon?
- John 10:20And many of them said, He hath a demon, and is mad; why hear ye him?
- Acts 26:24And as he thus made his defence, Festus saith with a loud voice, Paul, thou art mad; thy much learning is turning thee mad.
Commentaries on Matthew 11:18
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18For John came neither eating nor drinking - Leading a very austere and mortified life: and yet, he did not receive him. A sinner will not be persuaded that what he has no mind to imitate can come from God. There are some who will rather blame holiness itself, than esteem it in those whom they do not like. He hath a devil - He is a vile hypocrite, influenced by a demon to deceive and destroy the simple.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 16-19Verses 16-19 But whereunto shall I liken - Christ proceeds to reprove the inconsistency and fickleness of that age of people. He says they were like children - nothing pleased them. He refers here to the “plays” or “sports” of children. Instrumental music, or piping and dancing, were used in marriages and festivals as a sign of joy. See the notes at Isaiah 5:11-12. Compare Job 21:11; 2 Samuel 6:14; Judges 11:34; Luke 15:25. Children imitate their…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 16-24Verses 16-24 Christ reflects on the scribes and Pharisees, who had a proud conceit of themselves. He likens their behaviour to children's play, who being out of temper without reason, quarrel with all the attempts of their fellows to please them, or to get them to join in the plays for which they used to assemble. The cavils of worldly men are often very trifling and show great malice. Something they have to urge against every one, however excellent and…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 18-19Here Jesus describes how both John and he himself offended the people of that generation. John lived in the wilderness, eating locusts and honey (Matthew 3:1, 4). People accused him of having a demon. Jesus, by contrast, ate and drank freely with others. People accused him of being like a rebellious son (see Deuteronomy 21:18–21).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-191. And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciple--rather, "the twelve disciples," he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities--This was scarcely a fourth circuit--if we may judge from the less formal way in which it was expressed--but, perhaps, a set of visits paid to certain places, either not reached at all before, or too rapidly passed through, in order to fill up the time till the return of the Twelve…Read the comment
Topics related to Matthew 11:18
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Matthew 11
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Catena Aurea
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- John Lightfoot Commentary
- Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
American Standard Version — 1901 — Public Domain
Commentaries