Matthew 11:7-17

7 But as they went [away], Jesus began to say to the crowds concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? a reed moved about by the wind?
8 But what went ye out to see? a man clothed in delicate raiment? behold, those who wear delicate things are in the houses of kings.
9 But what went ye out to see? a prophet? Yea, I say to you, and more than a prophet:
10 this is he of whom it is written, Behold, *I* send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee.
11 Verily I say to you, that there is not arisen among [the] born of women a greater than John the baptist. But he who is a little one in the kingdom of the heavens is greater than he.
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.

Footnotes 4

  • [a]. Mal. 3.1.
  • [b]. Or 'the least.' It is the comparative degree; whoever else is taken, the 'one' is less; the idiomatic force is more preserved by 'a little one.'
  • [c]. As 'forces his way,' Luke 16.16.
  • [d]. By saying, 'who is to come,' it is left in the abstract as in Greek -- the one who had this character in their mind.
The Darby Translation is in the public domain.