Lukas 11:29

The Sign of Jonah

11:29 As ¹  the crowds were increasing, Jesus ²  began to say, “This generation is a wicked generation; it looks for a sign, ³  but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. ⁴ 

Lukas 21:32

21:32 I tell you the truth, ⁵  this generation ⁶  will not pass away until all these things take place.

Lukas 11:30

11:30 For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, ⁷  so the Son of Man will be a sign ⁸  to this generation. ⁹ 

Lukas 9:41

9:41 Jesus answered, ¹⁰  “You ¹¹  unbelieving ¹²  and perverse generation! How much longer ¹³  must I be with you and endure ¹⁴  you? ¹⁵  Bring your son here.”

[11:29]  ¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[11:29]  ² tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:29]  ³ sn 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.

[11:29]  ⁴ sn 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.

[21:32]  ⁵ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[21:32]  ⁶ sn This is one of the hardest verses in the gospels to interpret. Various views exist for what generation means. (1) Some take it as meaning “race” and thus as an assurance that the Jewish race (nation) will not pass away. But it is very questionable that the Greek term γενεά (genea) can have this meaning. Two other options are possible. (2) Generation might mean “this type of generation” and refer to the generation of wicked humanity. Then the point is that humanity will not perish, because God will redeem it. Or (3) generation may refer to “the generation that sees the signs of the end” (vv. 25-26), who will also see the end itself. In other words, once the movement to the return of Christ starts, all the events connected with it happen very quickly, in rapid succession.

[11:30]  ⁷ tn Grk “to the Ninevites.” What the Ninevites experienced was Jonah’s message (Jonah 3:4, 10; 4:1).

[11:30]  ⁸ tn The repetition of the words “a sign” are not in the Greek text, but are implied and are supplied here for clarity.

[11:30]  ⁹ tc Only the Western ms D and a few Itala mss 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.

[9:41]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “And answering, Jesus said.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “Jesus answered.” Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[9:41]  ¹¹ tn Grk “O.” The marker of direct address, ὦ (w), is functionally equivalent to a vocative and is represented in the translation by “you.”

[9:41]  ¹² tn Or “faithless.”

[9:41]  sn The rebuke for lack of faith has OT roots: Num 14:27; Deut 32:5, 30; Isa 59:8.

[9:41]  ¹³ tn Grk “how long.”

[9:41]  ¹⁴ tn Or “and put up with.” See Num 11:12; Isa 46:4.

[9:41]  ¹⁵ sn The pronouns you…you are plural, indicating that Jesus is speaking to a group rather than an individual.