16 “To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others:

17 “ ‘We played the pipe for you,

and you did not dance;

we sang a dirge,

and you did not mourn.’

18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by her deeds.”

16 “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates,

17 “ ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;

we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’

18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.”

16 But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows, 17 And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented. 18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil. 19 The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.

16 “To what can I compare this generation? It is like children playing a game in the public square. They complain to their friends,

17 ‘We played wedding songs,

and you didn’t dance,

so we played funeral songs,

and you didn’t mourn.’

18 For John didn’t spend his time eating and drinking, and you say, ‘He’s possessed by a demon.’ 19 The Son of Man, on the other hand, feasts and drinks, and you say, ‘He’s a glutton and a drunkard, and a friend of tax collectors and other sinners!’ But wisdom is shown to be right by its results.”

16 “But to what shall I liken this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their companions, 17 and saying:

‘We played the flute for you,

And you did not dance;

We mourned to you,

And you did not lament.’

18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is justified by her children.”

16 “What can I say about the people of this time? What are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace, who call out to each other,

17 ‘We played music for you, but you did not dance;

we sang a sad song, but you did not cry.’

18 John came and did not eat or drink like other people. So people say, ‘He has a demon.’ 19 The Son of Man came, eating and drinking, and people say, ‘Look at him! He eats too much and drinks too much wine, and he is a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved to be right by what she does.”

16 But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the marketplaces, who call unto their fellows 17 and say, We piped unto you, and ye did not dance; we wailed, and ye did not mourn. 18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a demon. 19 The 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.

16 But to whom shall I liken this generation? It is like children sitting in the markets, which, calling to their companions, 17 say, We have piped to you, and ye have not danced: we have mourned to you, and ye have not wailed. 18 For John has come neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He has a demon. 19 The Son of man has come eating and drinking, and they say, Behold, a man that is eating and wine-drinking, a friend of tax-gatherers, and of sinners: —and wisdom has been justified by her children.

16 “How can I describe the people who are living now? They are like children who sit in the marketplaces and shout to other children, 

17 ‘We played music for you, 

but you didn’t dance. 

We sang a funeral song, 

but you didn’t show any sadness.’ 

18 “John came neither eating nor drinking, and people say, ‘There’s a demon in him!’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and people say, ‘Look at him! He’s a glutton and a drunk, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ 

“Yet, wisdom is proved right by its actions.” 

16 “To what should I compare this generation? It’s like children sitting in the marketplaces who call out to each other:

17 We played the flute for you,

but you didn’t dance;

we sang a lament,

but you didn’t mourn!

18 For John did not come eating or drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”

16 “But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another,

17 ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;

we wailed, and you did not mourn.’

18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon’; 19 the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”

16 “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces who call out to one another, 17 saying,

‘We played the flute for you and you did not dance;

we sang a lament and you did not mourn.’

18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a man who is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”

16 “What can I compare today’s people to? They are like children sitting in the market places and calling out to others. They say,

17 “ ‘We played the flute for you.

But you didn’t dance.

We sang a funeral song.

But you didn’t become sad.’

18 When John came, he didn’t eat or drink as you do. And people say, ‘He has a demon.’ 19 But when the Son of Man came, he ate and drank as you do. And people say, ‘This fellow is always eating and drinking far too much. He’s a friend of tax collectors and “sinners.” ’ Those who act wisely prove that wisdom is right.”