12 From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence, and violent people have been raiding it. 13 For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. 14 And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. 15 Whoever has ears, let them hear.

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.”

12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. 13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. 14 And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come. 15 He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

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.

12 And from the time John the Baptist began preaching until now, the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing, and violent people are attacking it. 13 For before John came, all the prophets and the law of Moses looked forward to this present time. 14 And if you are willing to accept what I say, he is Elijah, the one the prophets said would come. 15 Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!

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.”

12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. 13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. 14 And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come. 15 He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

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.”

12 Since the time John the Baptist came until now, the kingdom of heaven has been going forward in strength, and people have been trying to take it by force. 13 All the prophets and the law of Moses told about what would happen until the time John came. 14 And if you will believe what they said, you will believe that John is Elijah, whom they said would come. 15 Let those with ears use them and listen!

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.”

12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and men of violence take it by force. 13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. 14 And if ye are willing to receive it, this is Elijah, that is to come. 15 He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. 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.

12 But from the days of John the baptist until now, the kingdom of the heavens is taken by violence, and the violent seize on it. 13 For all the prophets and the law have prophesied unto John. 14 And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, who is to come. 15 He that has ears to hear, let him hear.

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.

12 From the time of John the Baptizer until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful people have been seizing it. 13 All the Prophets and Moses’ Teachings prophesied up to the time of John. 14 If you are willing to accept their message, John is the Elijah who was to come. 15 Let the person who has ears listen! 

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.” 

12 From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been suffering violence, and the violent have been seizing it by force. 13 For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John; 14 if you’re willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who is to come. 15 Anyone who has ears should listen!

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.”

12 From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. 13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John came; 14 and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. 15 Let anyone with ears listen!

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.”

12 But from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven is treated violently, and the violent claim it. 13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John, 14 and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah, the one who is going to come. 15 The one who has ears, let him hear!

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.”

12 Since the days of John the Baptist, the kingdom of heaven has been advancing with force. And forceful people are taking hold of it. 13 All the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John came. 14 If you are willing to accept it, John is the Elijah who was supposed to come. 15 Those who have ears should listen.

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.”

12 “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force.

13 “For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John.

14 “And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come.

15 “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

16 “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market places, who call out to the other children,

17 and say, ‘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, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”