^11:12From²⁰ the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and forceful people lay hold of it.²¹^11:13For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John appeared.²²^11:14And if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah, who is to come. ^11:15The one who has ears had better listen!²³

^11:16“To²⁴ what should I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces who call out to one another,²⁵

^11:17‘We played the flute for you, yet you did not dance;²⁶

we wailed in mourning,²⁷ yet you did not weep.’

^11:18For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’²⁸^11:19The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him,²⁹ a glutton and a drunk, a friend of tax collectors³⁰ and sinners!’³¹ But wisdom is vindicated³² by her deeds.”³³

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Footnotes

20 Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
21 Or “the kingdom of heaven is forcibly entered and violent people take hold of it.” For a somewhat different interpretation of this passage, see the note on the phrase “urged to enter in” in .
22 The word “appeared” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.
23 The translation “had better listen!” captures the force of the third person imperative more effectively than the traditional “let him hear,” which sounds more like a permissive than an imperative to the modern English reader. This was Jesus’ common expression to listen and heed carefully (cf. Matt 13:9, 43; Mark 4:9, 23; Luke 8:8, 14:35).
24 Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
25 Grk “who call out to one another, saying.” The participle λέγουσιν (legousin) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
26 ‘We played the flute for you, yet you did not dance …’ The children of this generation were making the complaint (see vv. 18–19) that others were not playing the game according to the way they played the music. John and Jesus did not follow “their tune.” Jesus’ complaint was that this generation wanted things their way, not God’s.
27 The verb ἐθρηνήσαμεν (ethrēnēsamen) refers to the loud wailing and lamenting used to mourn the dead in public in 1st century Jewish culture.
28 John the Baptist was too separatist and ascetic for some, and so he was accused of not being directed by God, but by a demon.
29 Grk “Behold a man.”
30 See the note on tax collectors in .
31 Neither were they happy with Jesus (the Son of Man), even though he was the opposite of John and associated freely with people like tax collectors and sinners. Either way, God’s messengers were subject to complaint.
32 Or “shown to be right.”
33 Most witnesses (B2 C D L Θ f1 33 𝔐 lat) have “children” (τέκνων, teknōn) here instead of “deeds” (ἔργων, ergōn), but since “children” is the reading of the parallel in Luke 7:35, scribes would be motivated to convert the less colorful “deeds” into more animate offspring of wisdom. Further, ἔργων enjoys support from א B* W (f13) as well as early versional and patristic support.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

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

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

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

For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ 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.”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

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. For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. Whoever has ears, let them hear.

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

“ ‘We played the pipe for you,

and you did not dance;

we sang a dirge,

and you did not mourn.’

For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ 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.”

CSBChristian Standard Bible

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. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if you’re willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who is to come. Let anyone who has ears listen.

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

We played the flute for you,

but you didn’t dance;

we sang a lament,

but you didn’t mourn!

For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’ 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.”

NLTNew Living Translation

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. For before John came, all the prophets and the law of Moses looked forward to this present time. And if you are willing to accept what I say, he is Elijah, the one the prophets said would come. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!

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

‘We played wedding songs,

and you didn’t dance,

so we played funeral songs,

and you didn’t mourn.’

For John didn’t spend his time eating and drinking, and you say, ‘He’s possessed by a demon.’ 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.”

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

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

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

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

we sang a lament and you did not mourn.’

For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’ 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.”

KJV 1900King James Version

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

But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows, And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented. For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil. 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.

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