Matthew 16:4

Matthew 16:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Jesus then left them and went away.
• English Standard Version (ESV)An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah." So he left them and departed.
• New King James Version (NKJV)A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” And He left them and departed.

Context of Matthew 16:4

2But he answering said to them, When evening is come, ye say, Fine weather, for the sky is red; 3and in the morning, A storm to-day, for the sky is red [and] lowering; ye know [how] to discern the face of the sky, but ye cannot the signs of the times. 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. 5And when his disciples were come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. 6And Jesus said to them, See and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Matthew 16:4 word by word

γενεὰ πονηρὰ καὶ μοιχαλὶς σημεῖον ἐπιζητεῖ· καὶ σημεῖον οὐ δοθήσεται αὐτῇ εἰ μὴ τὸ σημεῖον Ἰωνᾶ καὶ καταλιπὼν αὐτοὺς ἀπῆλθεν.¶Read the interlinear

• wickedπονηρόςponēros · evil/badG4190
• adulterousμοιχαλίςmoichalis · adulterousG3428
• generationγενεάgenea · generationG1074
• seeksἐπιζητέωepizēteō · to seek afterG1934
• signσημεῖονsēmeion · signG4592
• givenδίδωμιdidōmi · to giveG1325
• leftκαταλείπωkataleipō · to leave behindG2641
• wentἀπέρχομαιaperchomai · to go awayG565

Cross-references for Matthew 16:4

• Matthew 12:39But he, answering, said to them, A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and a sign shall not be given to it save the sign of Jonas the prophet.
• Mark 8:12And groaning in his spirit, he says, Why does this generation seek a sign? Verily I say unto you, A sign shall in no wise be given to this generation.
• Acts 2:40And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, Be saved from this perverse generation.
• Jonah 1:17And Jehovah prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
• Luke 11:29But as the crowds thronged together, he began to say, This generation is a wicked generation: it seeks a sign, and a sign shall not be given to it but the sign of Jonas.
• Matthew 15:14Leave them alone; they are blind leaders of blind: but if blind lead blind, both will fall into a ditch.
• Genesis 6:3And Jehovah said, My Spirit shall not always plead with Man; for he indeed is flesh; but his days shall be a hundred and twenty years.
• Hosea 4:17— Ephraim is joined to idols: leave him alone.
• Hosea 9:12For even should they bring up their children, yet will I bereave them, [that] not a man [remain]: for woe also to them when I shall have departed from them!
• Mark 5:17And they began to beg him to depart from their coasts.
• Acts 18:6But as they opposed and spoke injuriously, he shook his clothes, and said to them, Your blood be upon your own head: I [am] pure; from henceforth I will go to the nations.

Commentaries on Matthew 16:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Wicked and adulterous generation - The Jewish people are represented in the Sacred Writings as married to the Most High; but, like a disloyal wife, forsaking their true husband, and uniting themselves to Satan and sin. Seeketh after a sign, , seeketh sign upon sign, or, still another sign. Our blessed Lord had already wrought miracles sufficient to demonstrate both his Divine mission and his divinity; only one was farther necessary to take away the…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-4Verses 1-4 See also Mark 8:11-12. The Pharisees also, and the Sadducees - See the notes at Matthew 3:7. Tempting - That is, trying him - feigning a desire to see evidence that he was the Messiah, but with a real desire to see him make the attempt to work a miracle and fail, so that they might betray him and ruin him. A sign from heaven - Some miraculous appearance in the sky. Such appearances had been given by the prophets; and they supposed, if he was…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-12After being welcomed among the Gentiles (non-Jews), Jesus returned to his own people. There he faced rejection again.Read the comment

Topics related to Matthew 16:4

• Jesus Continued
• Jesus, the Christ
• Jonah
• Pharisees
• Reproof
• Sign
• Symbols and Similitudes

In the dictionaries

• Adulterous
• Bind
• Blood
• Gain
• Gate
• Hell
• Leaven
• Loose
• Miracle
• Pharisees

Commentaries on Matthew 16

• 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