Luke 11:29

29 And while the crowds were thickly gathered together, He began to say, "This is an evil generation. It seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet.

Luke 11:29 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 11:29

And when the people were gathered thick together
Upon this woman's lifting up her voice, and saying the things she did; or rather to see what sign he would give, which some had desired ( Luke 11:16 )

he began to say, this is an evil generation.
The Alexandrian copy, two copies of Beza's, and the Vulgate Latin, and Arabic versions read, "this generation is an evil generation"; and also it was an "adulterous one", as is added in ( Matthew 12:39 )

they seek a sign;
for they had asked one of him, ( Luke 11:16 )

and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the
prophet; one like unto it: (See Gill on Matthew 12:39)

Luke 11:29 In-Context

27 And it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, "Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!"
28 But He said, "More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!"
29 And while the crowds were thickly gathered together, He began to say, "This is an evil generation. It seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet.
30 For as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation.
31 The queen of the South will rise up in 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 indeed a greater than Solomon is here.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. NU-Text omits the prophet.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.