Luke 7:31

31 “To what, then, can I compare the men of this generation? What are they like?

Luke 7:31 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 7:31

And the Lord said
This clause is not in the Syriac, Arabic, Persic, and Ethiopic versions, nor in some copies, nor in Beza's most ancient copy; and being omitted, more clearly shows, that the two former verses are the words of Christ, and not an observation the evangelist makes, on the different behaviour of Christ's hearers, upon the commendation he had given of John:

whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation;
or "to what men shall I liken them", as the Persic version: the phrase "men of this generation", is Rabbinical; so (yvwa awhh ard) , the men of that "generation", are more beautiful in work than these, says the Targumist on ( Ecclesiastes 7:11 ) . "And to what are they like?" To that which follows.

Luke 7:31 In-Context

29 All the people who heard this, even the tax collectors, acknowledged God’s justice. For they had received the baptism of John.

30 But the Pharisees and experts in the law rejected God’s purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.

31 “To what, then, can I compare the men of this generation? What are they like?

32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to one another: ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.’

33 For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon!’