For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation.
Parallel translations
- WEB For even as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will also the Son of Man be to this generation.
- BSB For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so the Son of Man will be a sign to this generation.
- ESV For as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation.
- NKJV For as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation.
- NASB For just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation.
- NLT What happened to him was a sign to the people of Nineveh that God had sent him. What happens to the Son of Man will be a sign to these people that he was sent by God.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
As Jonah was a sign to Nineveh, so the Son of Man will be a sign to this generation. Jesus' coming and resurrection confront people with God's call.
Overview
Jonah's preaching, and his deliverance from the fish, became a sign summoning Nineveh to repent. Likewise Jesus, especially in his resurrection, is the sign for his generation. The parallel calls for repentance in response to the greater prophet now present.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Matt 12:40–42For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
- Jonah 3:2–10Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.
- Jonah 1:17Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
- Luke 24:46–47And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:
- Jonah 2:10And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 11:30 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.