He answered and said to them, “When it is evening you say, ‘ It will be fair weather, for the sky is red’;
Parallel translations
- WEB But he answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’
- KJV He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red.
- BSB But He replied, “When evening comes, you say, ‘The weather will be fair, for the sky is red,’
- NASB But He replied to them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’
- NLT He replied, “You know the saying, ‘Red sky at night means fair weather tomorrow;
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
Jesus notes that they can read the evening sky to predict fair weather. It matters because it sets up his rebuke that they can read the sky but not the times.
Overview
Jesus points to their skill in interpreting the appearance of the sky—red at evening means fair weather. This everyday wisdom shows they are capable of careful observation. The contrast is about to be drawn between their weather-reading and their blindness to spiritual reality. (Some early manuscripts omit verses 2b-3, a textual point on which faithful scholars differ, though the saying's substance appears also in Luke 12:54-56.)
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 1
- Luke 12:54–56He said to the multitudes also, “When you see a cloud rising from the west, immediately you say, ‘A shower is coming,’ and so it happens.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 16:2 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.