Matthew 16:3

3 and in the morninge ye saye to daye shalbe foule wedder and that because the skye is cloudy and reed. O ye ypocrites ye can discerne ye fassion of the skye: and can ye not discerne ye signes of the tymes?

Matthew 16:3 Meaning and Commentary

Matthew 16:3

And in the morning, it will be foul weather today
When you rise in the morning, and take a survey of the heavens, it is a very usual thing with you to say, it is like to be windy or rainy weather today,

for the sky is red and lowring;
which shows, that the clouds are so thick that the sun cannot pierce through them, and its face is not seen; so that it may be reasonably concluded they will issue in rain, or wind, or both.

O ye hypocrites.
The Vulgate Latin, and Munster's Hebrew Gospel, leave out this appellation; but all other versions, as well as copies, have it: and it is an usual epithet, bestowed very justly by Christ, on these men; who pretended to be the guides of the people, took upon them to teach and instruct them in divine things, and set up themselves as men of great holiness, piety and knowledge; and yet, instead of searching the Scriptures, and comparing the characters of the times of the Messiah therein fixed, with the present ones, spent their time in making such low and useless observations, and which fall within the compass of everyone's knowledge and reach.

Ye can discern the face of the sky;
very distinctly, and make some very probable guesses, if not certain conclusions, what will follow, good weather or bad:

but can ye not discern the signs of the times?
or, as the Syriac reads it, "the time", the present time: if they had not been blind, they might easily have discerned, that the signs of the time of the Messiah's coming were upon them, and that Jesus was the Messiah; as the departure of the sceptre from Judah, the ending of Daniel's weeks, the various miracles wrought by Christ, the wickedness of the age in which they lived, the ministry of John the Baptist, and of Christ, the great flockings of the people, both to one and to the other, with divers other things which were easy to be observed by them: but they pretend this to be a very great secret.

``The secret of the day of death, they say ^F25, and the secret of the day when the king Messiah comes, who by his wisdom can find out?''

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FOOTNOTES:

F25 Targum in Eccl. vii. 24.

Matthew 16:3 In-Context

1 Then came the pharises and saduces and did tempte him desyringe him to shewe them some signe from heve.

2 He answered and sayde vnto the. At even ye saye we shall have fayre wedder and yt because ye skye is reed:

3 and in the morninge ye saye to daye shalbe foule wedder and that because the skye is cloudy and reed. O ye ypocrites ye can discerne ye fassion of the skye: and can ye not discerne ye signes of the tymes?

4 The frowarde nacion and advoutrous seketh a signe and there shall non other signe be geven vnto them but the signe of the prophet Ionas. So lefte he them and departed.

5 And when his disciples were come to the other side of the water they had forgotte to take breed with the.