^11:29As⁸⁹ the crowds were increasing, Jesus⁹⁰ began to say, “This generation is a wicked generation; it looks for a sign,⁹¹ but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.⁹²^11:30For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh,⁹³ so the Son of Man will be a sign⁹⁴ to this generation.⁹⁵^11:31The queen of the South⁹⁶ will rise up at the judgment⁹⁷ with the people⁹⁸ of this generation and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon—and now,⁹⁹ something greater¹⁰⁰ than Solomon is here! ^11:32The people¹⁰¹ of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented when Jonah preached to them¹⁰²—and now,¹⁰³ something greater than Jonah is here!

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Footnotes

89 Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
90 Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
91 The mention of a sign alludes back to Luke 11:16. Given what Jesus had done, nothing would be good enough. This leads to the rebuke that follows.
92 As the following comparisons to Solomon and Jonah show, in the present context the sign of Jonah is not an allusion to Jonah being three days in the belly of the fish, but to Jesus’ teaching about wisdom and repentance.
93 Grk “to the Ninevites.” What the Ninevites experienced was Jonah’s message (Jonah 3:4, 10; 4:1).
94 The repetition of the words “a sign” are not in the Greek text, but are implied and are supplied here for clarity.
95 Only the Western D and a few Itala add here a long reference to Jonah being in the belly of the fish for three days and nights and the Son of Man being three days in the earth, apparently harmonizing the text to the parallel in Matt 12:40.
96 On the queen of the South see 1 Kgs 10:1–3 and 2 Chr 9:1–12, as well as Josephus, 8.6.5–6 (8.165–175). The South most likely refers to modern southwest Arabia, possibly the eastern part of modern Yemen, although there is an ancient tradition reflected in Josephus which identifies this geo-political entity as Ethiopia.
97 For the imagery of judgment, see Luke 10:13–15 and 11:19. The warnings are coming consistently now.
98 Grk “men”; the word here (ἀνήρ, anēr) usually indicates males or husbands, but occasionally is used in a generic sense of people in general, as is the case here (cf. 1, 2). The same term, translated the same way, occurs in v. 32.
99 Grk “behold.”
100 The message of Jesus was something greater than what Solomon offered. On Jesus and wisdom, see Luke 7:35; 10:21–22; 1 Cor 1:24, 30.
101 See the note on the word “people” in v. .
102 Grk “at the preaching of Jonah.” The phrase repented when Jonah preached to them confirms that in this context the sign of Jonah (v. 30) is his message.
103 Grk “behold.”

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, “This generation is an evil generation. It seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. For as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

As the crowds increased, Jesus said, “This is a wicked generation. It asks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah. For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation. The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the people of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom; and now something greater than Solomon is here. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and now something greater than Jonah is here.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

As the crowds were increasing, he began saying, “This generation is an evil generation. It demands a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation. The queen of the south will rise up at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and look—something greater than Solomon is here. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at Jonah’s preaching, and look—something greater than Jonah is here.

NLTNew Living Translation

As the crowd pressed in on Jesus, he said, “This evil generation keeps asking me to show them a miraculous sign. But the only sign I will give them is the sign of Jonah. What happened to him was a sign to the people of Nineveh that God had sent him. What happens to the Son of Man will be a sign to these people that he was sent by God.

“The queen of Sheba will stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for she came from a distant land to hear the wisdom of Solomon. Now someone greater than Solomon is here—but you refuse to listen. The people of Nineveh will also stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for they repented of their sins at the preaching of Jonah. Now someone greater than Jonah is here—but you refuse to repent.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And as the crowds were increasing, he began to say, “This generation is an evil generation! It demands a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah! For just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation. The queen of the south will rise up at the judgment with the people of this generation and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here! The people of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the proclamation of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here!

KJV 1900King James Version

And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet. For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation. The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and condemn them: for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here. The men of Nineve shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.

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