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Matthew 16:1–4

Debate Over a Sign from Heaven

Mark 8:11, 12

16 Then the aPharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven. He answered and said to them, When it is evening you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red’; and in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ 1Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times. bA wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of 2the prophet Jonah.” And He left them and departed.

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Matthew 16:1–4 — The New International Version (NIV)

The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven.

He replied, When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. 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.

Matthew 16:1–4 — English Standard Version (ESV)

And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. He answered them, When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. 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.

Matthew 16:1–4 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven. He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? 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.

Matthew 16:1–4 — New Living Translation (NLT)

One day the Pharisees and Sadducees came to test Jesus, demanding that he show them a miraculous sign from heaven to prove his authority.

He replied, You know the saying, ‘Red sky at night means fair weather tomorrow; red sky in the morning means foul weather all day.’ You know how to interpret the weather signs in the sky, but you don’t know how to interpret the signs of the times! Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign, but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah. Then Jesus left them and went away.

Matthew 16:1–4 — New Century Version (NCV)

The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus, wanting to trick him. So they asked him to show them a miracle from God.

Jesus answered, “At sunset you say we will have good weather, because the sky is red. And in the morning you say that it will be a rainy day, because the sky is dark and red. You see these signs in the sky and know what they mean. In the same way, you see the things that I am doing now, but you don’t know their meaning. Evil and sinful people ask for a miracle as a sign, but they will not be given any sign, except the sign of Jonah.” Then Jesus left them and went away.

Matthew 16:1–4 — American Standard Version (ASV)

And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and trying him asked him to show them a sign from heaven. But he answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the heaven is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather to-day: for the heaven is red and lowering. Ye know how to discern the face of the heaven; but ye cannot discern the signs of the times. 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.

Matthew 16:1–4 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

And the Pharisees and Sadducees, coming to him, asked him, tempting him, to shew them a sign out of heaven. But he answering said to them, When evening is come, ye say, Fine weather, for the sky is red; and 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.

Matthew 16:1–4 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

The Pharisees and Sadducees came to test Jesus. So they asked him to show them a miraculous sign from heaven. 

He responded to them, “In the evening you say that the weather will be fine because the sky is red. And in the morning you say that there will be a storm today because the sky is red and overcast. You can forecast the weather by judging the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. 

“Evil and unfaithful people look for a miraculous sign. But the only sign they will be given is that of Jonah.” 

Then he left them standing there and went away. 

Matthew 16:1–4 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

The Pharisees and Sadducees approached, and as a test, asked Him to show them a sign from heaven.

He answered them: When evening comes you say, ‘It will be good weather because the sky is red.’ And in the morning, ‘Today will be stormy because the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to read the appearance of the sky, but you can’t read the signs of the times. An evil and adulterous generation demands a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” Then He left them and went away.

Matthew 16:1–4 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

The Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test Jesus they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. He answered them, When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.An evil 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.

Matthew 16:1–4 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

And when the Pharisees and Sadducees came to test him, they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. So he answered and said to them, “When evening comes you say, ‘It will be fair weather because the sky is red,’ and early in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy weather, because the sky is red and darkening.’ You know how to evaluate correctly the appearance of the sky, but you are not able to evaluate the signs of the times. 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 went away.

Matthew 16:1–4 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

The Pharisees and Sadducees came to put Jesus to the test. They asked him to show them a miraculous sign from heaven.

He replied, “In the evening you look at the sky. You say, ‘It will be good weather. The sky is red.’ And in the morning you say, ‘Today it will be stormy. The sky is red and cloudy.’ You know the meaning of what you see in the sky. But you can’t understand the signs of what is happening right now. An evil and unfaithful people look for a miraculous sign. But none will be given to them except the sign of Jonah.”

Then Jesus left them and went away.

Matthew 16:1–4 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

The Pharisees and Sadducees came up, and testing Jesus, they asked Him to show them a sign from heaven.

But He replied to them, When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’

And in the morning, ‘There will be a storm today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Do you know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the times?

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


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