Pharisees attack, casting out demons, sign of Jonah
Matthew 12:41 The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.
Matthew 12:41 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here.
The manly of Nineveh will raise themselves in the decision to deal with this type, this one. And they will decide against it because they changed their minds about the proclamation of Jonah. And look! Something greater than Jonah: here!
The past is always a point of comparison for the future.
Like Matthew 12:6, this verse is an example of the translators wanting Jesus to say something that he clearly didn't. There is a problem with "greater" referring to a person. The "greater" is neuter, not masculine. When Jesus uses this word to refer to a person, as he does in Matthew 11:11, he uses a masculine form as you would expect. Here, it refers to "something," most likely his "realm of the skies."
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "men" is not the common word usually translated as "men."
- WV - Wrong Voice - The verb is in the middle voice requiring the concept of "themselves" as its object.
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "the" before "judgment" is not shown in the English translation.
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "the" before "generation" is not shown in the English translation.
- CW - Confusing Word -- The "men" is not the common word usually translated as "men."
- WV - Wrong Voice - The verb is in the middle voice requiring the concept of "themselves" as its object.
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "the" before "generation" is not shown in the English translation.
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "Look" is not shown in the English translation.
- IW - Inserted Word -- The word "now" doesn't exist in the source.
- IW - Inserted Word -- The word "is" doesn't exist in the source.
"The -- There is no Greek article "the" here in the source, but the noun is plural and in English an article is used before plural nouns in phrases like this.
men - (CW) Men" is a noun that isn't the normal Greek word translated as "man" but a special word that indicates that manliness of "men," both for good and bad. In English, we would say "male." It emphasizes the adult man when compared to a youth or the mortality of a man when compared to the divinity of God. It is also used to mean "husband."
of -- This word "of" comes from the genitive case of the following word that requires the addition of a preposition in English. The most common is the "of" of possession.
Nineveh - "Nineveh" is the Greek name of the kingdom in the story of Jonah.
shall -- This helping verb "shall" indicates that the verb is the future tense. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English.
rise - "Rise " is a Greek verb that means "to make to stand up," "to raise from the dead," "to rouse to action," and "to make people rise up." In the future form used, it indicates the men acting on themselves, so, "are going to raise themselves."
missing "by/for themselves"-- (WV) A phrase is necessary because the form of the previous verb is a middle voice, which means that the subject is to act on "themselves," "for themselves" or "by themselves."
in -- The word translated as "in" means "in," "within," "with," "during" (time), or "among" with a dative object as the one here. With the accusative, it means "into," "on," and "for." When referring to time, it means "during."
missing "the" -- (MW) The untranslated word is the Greek definite article, which usually precedes a noun and, without a noun, takes the meaning of "the one." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those"). See this article for more.
judgment - The Greek word translated as "judgment" means distinguishing among choices and "separating" things. Jesus uses it in a variety of ways, while the KJV usually translates it as "judgment," but in doing so, Jesus seems to make contradictory statements ("I judge no one," "The Father does not judge but has given all judgment to the Son,") so he obviously uses it to means different things based on the context. It also means a "turning point," since it is the source of the meaning of "crisis" has in English. Only secondarily does it means "judgment" as in a court judgment.
with-- "With" is the Greek word that usually means "with" or a related concept such as "among" or "by the means of." It also refers to "after" or "behind" when referring to a place, time, or pursuit.
this - -- The word translated as "this" means "from here" or "this/that thing." This word appears after "generation."
missing "the" -- (MW) The untranslated word is the Greek definite article, which usually precedes a noun and, without a noun, takes the meaning of "the one." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those"). See this article for more.
generation, - "Generation" is a Greek word that means "race," "family," "offspring," and "age." Christ uses it to mean a certain type of person. This is the root word for our word "genus," "generic," "general," and "generation."
and -- The Greek word translated as "and" is used as the conjunction "and," but it also is used to add emphasis ("also").
shall -- This helping verb "shall" indicates that the verb is the future tense or a form that indicates possibility at some time. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English. This verb is in a form that can be interpreted many different ways, but this is the simplest.
condemn - The verb translated as "condemn" is a verb form of the word translated as "judgment" above. It means "to judge against" or "decide against." There prefix means "down" or "against" and in "thumbs down."
it: -- The word translated as "his" is the Greek word commonly translated as third-person pronouns in English.
because -- In the Greek source, this is a word here that means "that" or "because." So what follows is a dependent clause, indicating either what they were "saying" or why they were saying it.
they -- This is from the third-person, plural form of the verb.
repented - The word translated as "repent" primarily means "to change minds."
at -- The word translated as "at" means "into" a place, "towards" as a direction, "in regards to" a subject, and "up to" limits in time and measure.
the-- The word translated as "the" is the Greek definite article. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those") than the English "the." See this article for more.
preaching - The word translated as "preaching" means "proclamation" or "announcement." This is not one of the two more common words normally translated as "preach" in the NT. This word is only used twice, in this verse and the parallel in Luke. Jonah actually didn't preach to Nineveh. He announced that God would destroy them if they didn't reform. Jonah was personally disappointed that Nineveh, Israel's enemy, listened to his warnings and changed their ways. Jonah was the herald, predicting God's wrath. Jonah was a flawed herald in the sense that he didn't want God to spare Nineveh even if they did reform. Jonah wanted God to judge people by who they were (enemies of Israel) rather than what they did (change their ways).
of -- This word "of" comes from the genitive case of the following word that requires the addition of a preposition in English. The most common is the "of" of possession.
Jonas; -"Jonas" is from the Greek spelling of the proper name "Jonah."
and -- The Greek word translated as "and" is used as the conjunction "and," but it also is used to add emphasis ("also").
behold, - "Behold" is a Greek verb that means "to see," "to examine," "to perceive," "to behold," "to know how to do," "to see with the mind's eye," and "to know." It is in a form of a command tell listeners to acts on themselves "See for yourselves." We would say "Look!" in English.
a -- There is no indefinite article in Greek, but when a word doesn't have a definite article, the indefinite article can be added in English translation.
greater - The word translated as "a greater" is an adjective meaning "greater" but it is neuter, not masculine. This gives it the sense of "something greater" rather than indicating someone greater. The problem with thinking that this refers to Jesus is the it is neuter, not masculine. As we see in Matthew 11:11 when Jesus refers to a person with this adjective, he uses the proper males form.
than This word "than" comes from the genitive case of the following word that requires the addition of a preposition in English. The most common is the "of" of possession. However, it can also mean "than" (in comparisons).
Jonas -"Jonas" is from the Greek spelling of the proper name "Jonah."
is -- (IW) There is nothing that can be translated as "it" in the Greek source. While "is" can be assumed when there are words in the form of a subject without a verb. A verse that looks similar in translation, Matthew 12:6, does have a verb "to be" in it.
here. - The word translated a "here" means "here I am" when the speaker is referring to himself. However, here it refers to the "something greater of Jonah than his preaching" is here.
"The -- There is no Greek article "the" here in the source, but the noun is plural and in English an article is used before plural nouns in phrases like this.
men - (CW) Men" is a noun that isn't the normal Greek word translated as "man" but a special word that indicates that manliness of "men," both for good and bad. In English, we would say "male." It emphasizes the adult man when compared to a youth or the mortality of a man when compared to the divinity of God. It is also used to mean "husband."
of -- This word "of" comes from the genitive case of the following word that requires the addition of a preposition in English. The most common is the "of" of possession.
Nineveh - "Nineveh" is the Greek name of the kingdom in the story of Jonah.
will -- This helping verb "will" indicates that the verb is the future tense. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English.
stand- "Stand" is a Greek verb that means "to make to stand up," "to raise from the dead," "to rouse to action," and "to make people rise up." In the future form used, it indicates the men acting on themselves, so, "are going to raise themselves."
up -- This is from the prefix that means "up"of the previous verb.
missing "by/for themselves"-- (WV) A phrase is necessary because the form of the previous verb is a middle voice, which means that the subject is to act on "themselves," "for themselves" or "by themselves."
at-- The word translated as "at" means "in," "within," "with," "during" (time), or "among" with a dative object as the one here. The "at" assumes "the judgement" is a time, but that isn't clear from the text, which could mean "this judgment."
the -- The word translated as "the" is the Greek definite article. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those") than the English "the." See this article for more.
judgment - The Greek word translated as "judgment" means distinguishing among choices and "separating" things. Jesus uses it in a variety of ways, while the KJV usually translates it as "judgment," but in doing so, Jesus seems to make contradictory statements ("I judge no one," "The Father does not judge but has given all judgment to the Son,") so he obviously uses it to means different things based on the context. It also means a "turning point," since it is the source of the meaning of "crisis" has in English. Only secondarily does it means "judgment" as in a court judgment.
with -- "With" is the Greek word that with genitive used here means generally, "with," "together with," "in the midst of," "among," "between." "in common," "along with," "by the aid of," and "in conjunction with." It is not a preposition usually translated as "against."
this - -- The word translated as "this" means "from here" or "this/that thing." This word appears after "generation."
missing "the" -- (MW) The untranslated word is the Greek definite article, which usually precedes a noun and, without a noun, takes the meaning of "the one." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those"). See this article for more.
generation, - "Generation" is a Greek word that means "race," "family," "offspring," and "age." Christ uses it to mean a certain type of person. This is the root word for our word "genus," "generic," "general," and "generation."
and -- The Greek word translated as "and" is used as the conjunction "and," but it also is used to add emphasis ("also").
condemn - The verb translated as "condemn" is a verb form of the word translated as "judgment" above. It means "to judge against" or "decide against." There prefix means "down" or "against" and in "thumbs down."
it: -- The word translated as "his" is the Greek word commonly translated as third-person pronouns in English.
for -- In the Greek source, this is a word here that means "that" or "because." So what follows is a dependent clause, indicating either what they were "saying" or why they were saying it.
they -- This is from the third-person, plural form of the verb.
repented - The word translated as "repent" primarily means "to change minds."
at -- The word translated as "at" means "into" a place, "towards" as a direction, "in regards to" a subject, and "up to" limits in time and measure.
the-- The word translated as "the" is the Greek definite article. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those") than the English "the." See this article for more.
preaching - The word translated as "preaching" means "proclamation" or "announcement." This is not one of the two more common words normally translated as "preach" in the NT. This word is only used twice, in this verse and the parallel in Luke. Jonah actually didn't preach to Nineveh. He announced that God would destroy them if they didn't reform. Jonah was personally disappointed that Nineveh, Israel's enemy, listened to his warnings and changed their ways. Jonah was the herald, predicting God's wrath. Jonah was a flawed herald in the sense that he didn't want God to spare Nineveh even if they did reform. Jonah wanted God to judge people by who they were (enemies of Israel) rather than what they did (change their ways).
of -- This word "of" comes from the genitive case of the following word that requires the addition of a preposition in English. The most common is the "of" of possession.
Jonas; -"Jonas" is from the Greek spelling of the proper name "Jonah."
and -- The Greek word translated as "and" is used as the conjunction "and," but it also is used to add emphasis ("also").
missing "Look" -- (MW) The untranslated word is a Greek verb that means "to see," "to examine," "to perceive," "to behold," "to know how to do," "to see with the mind's eye," and "to know." It is in a form of a command tell listeners to acts on themselves "See for yourselves." We would say "Look!" in English.
now -- (IW) There is nothing that can be translated as "it" in the Greek source.
something -- The following word is not masculine but neuters, so "something" is correct.
greater - The word translated as "a greater" is an adjective meaning "greater" but it is neuter, not masculine. This gives it the sense of "something greater" rather than indicating someone greater. The problem with thinking that this refers to Jesus is the it is neuter, not masculine. As we see in Matthew 11:11 when Jesus refers to a person with this adjective, he uses the proper males form.
than This word "than" comes from the genitive case of the following word that requires the addition of a preposition in English. The most common is the "of" of possession. However, it can also mean "than" (in comparisons).
Jonas -"Jonas" is from the Greek spelling of the proper name "Jonah."
is -- (IW) There is nothing that can be translated as "is" in the Greek source. While "is" can be assumed when there are words in the form of a subject without a verb. A verse that looks similar in translation, Matthew 12:6, does have a verb "to be" in it.
here. - The word translated a "here" means "here I am" when the speaker is referring to himself. However, here it refers to the "something greater of Jonah than his preaching" is here.
ἄνδρες (noun pl masc nom) "The men" is from aner, which means "a man (as opposed to a god)," "a man (as opposed to a woman)," "a husband," "a man in the prime of life (as opposed to a youth)," and "a man indeed."
Νινευεῖται [3 verses](noun sg masc gen) "Of Nineveh" is from Nineuites which is the Greek from of the kingdom's name from the story of Jonah.
ἀναστήσονται (3rd pl fut ind mid) "Shall rise" is from anistemi, which means "to make stand up," "to raise up," "to raise from sleep," "to wake up," "to raise from the dead," "to rouse to action," "to put up for sale," "to make people rise," "to emigrate," "to transplant," and "to rise and leave the sanctuary."
ἐν (prep) "In" is from en, which means "in," "on," "at," "by," "among," "within," "surrounded by," "in one's hands," "in one's power," and "with."
τῇ (article sg fem dat)) Untranslated is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the").
κρίσει (noun sg fem dat) "Judgment" is krisis, which means "separating," "distinguishing," "judgment," "choice," "election," "trial," "dispute," "event," and "issue."
μετὰ (prep) "With" is from meta, which means "in the midst of," "among," "between," "in common," "along with," "by the aid of," "in one's dealings with," "into the middle of," "coming into," "in pursuit of," "after," "behind," "according to," and "next afterward"
τῆς (article sg fem gen) Untranslated is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the").
γενεᾶς (noun sg fem gen) "Generation" is from genea, which means "race," "family," "generation," "class," and "kind." It is a form of the word from which we get the scientific word,"genus."
ταύτης (adj sg fem gen) "This" is from tauta, which is a referring pronoun meaning "these," "this," "that," and "here." It can mean the nearer or the further depending on usage. As an adverb it can mean "therefore" and "that is why."
καὶ (conj) "And" is from kai, which is the conjunction joining phrases and clauses, "and," or "also." After words implying sameness, "as" (the same opinion as you). Used in series, joins positive with negative "Not only...but also." Also used to give emphasis, "even," "also," and "just."
κατακρινοῦσιν [10 verses](verb 3rd pl fut ind act) "Shall condemn" is katakrinô, which means "to give a sentence against," and "to condemn."
αὐτήν: (adj sg fem acc) "It" is from autos, which means "the same," and the reflexive pronouns, "myself," "yourself," "himself," "herself," "itself," or the oblique case of the pronouns, "him," "her," and "it." It also means "one's true self," that is, "the soul" as opposed to the body and "of one's own accord."
ὅτι "That" is from hoti, which introduces a statement of fact "with regard to the fact that," "seeing that," and acts as a causal adverb meaning "for what," "because," "since," and "wherefore."
μετενόησαν (3rd pl aor ind act) "Repented" is metanoeô, which means "to perceive too late," "too perceive afterwards," "to change one's mind or o," and "to repent."
εἰς (prep) "At" is from eis, which means "into (of place)," "up to (of time)," "until (of time)," "as much as (of measure or limit)," "as far as (of measure or limit)," "towards (to express relation)," "in regard to (to express relation)," "of an end or limit," and "for (of purpose or object)."
τὸ (article sg neut nom/acc) "The" is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the").
κήρυγμα [2 verses](noun sg neut nom/acc) "Preaching" is kêrugma, which means "proclamation," "announcement," and "that which is proclaimed by a herald.
Ἰωνᾶ, (proper noun) "Jonas" is from Ionas, the Greek word for the OT prophet Jonah.
καὶ (and) "And" is from kai, which is the conjunction joining phrases and clauses, "and," or "also." After words implying sameness, "as" (the same opinion as you). Used in series, joins positive with negative "Not only...but also." Also used to give emphasis, "even," "also," and "just."
ἰδοὺ (2nd sg aor imperat mid or 2nd sg aor ind mid) "Behold" is from eido which means "to see," "to examine," "to perceive," "to behold," "to know how to do," "to see with the mind's eye," and "to know."
πλεῖον (adj sg neut nom) "A greater than" is from pleiôn, which means "more [of number, size, extent]," "longer [of time]," "greater than," "further than," (with an article) "the greater number," "the mass or crowd," "the greater part," "the advantage. As an adverb, "more," or "rather."
Ἰωνᾶ (proper noun) "Jonas" is from Ionas, the Greek word for the OT prophet Jonah.
ὧδε. (adv) Here" is hode, the demonstrative pronoun which means "this" in the sense of "what is present" and "what can be seen." With verbs of action and with a person (its use here), it means "here" as in "here I am" in the sense of "I am present."
Going into Jerusalem, the religious and political heart of Judea, was truly going into the belly of the beast. Neither the Romans nor the Distinguished High Council had any tolerance for popular religious figures there.
No one, at the time, understood the hidden meaning of this prediction.
Are you going to get the Roman’s to repent the way they rule us?
one of the local Militants asked.
“It will be miraculous if the Distinguished of the High Council don’t turn him over to the Romans,” one commented.
“Reforming the pagans of Nineveh would be easier than reforming the Distinguished!” another commented.
“This type think that they are the only real men capable of good judgment among us,” said another, indicating the Distinguished.
“The real men of Nineveh will raise themselves up in that judgment in dealing with this type, this one,” added the Nazarene also indicating the Distinguished. “And they will decide against them.”
“Why would the pagans of Nineveh decide against us?” asked the Distinguished leader.
“Because they changed their minds about the proclamation of Jonah,” responded the Master, “And look!”
The Master pointed a finger to the sky.
His followers and those who had heard him teach knew how to responded.
“This realm of the skies!” they shouted and cheered.
“Something greater than Jonah,” added the teacher. “It is here!”