Matthew 16:3

and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but not the signs of the times.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Jesus addresses the crowds and religious leaders who demanded a sign from heaven. He speaks to them during a daytime encounter immediately following their evening weather predictions.

The words — The text highlights πυρρίζει (purrazei), meaning "is red," and χειμῶν (cheimōn), meaning "a storm." These terms describe the meteorological signs the people recognize.

The thread — The motif of reading atmospheric signs appears in Luke 12:56, while the call to discern "the times" echoes 1 Chronicles 12:32. Jesus contrasts their practical weather reading with their spiritual blindness in Matthew 11:5.

Why it lands — The text demands recognition of observable reality before spiritual discernment. It requires readers to apply their keenness toward natural phenomena to the events unfolding around them.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

King James Version

And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?

Cross-references

Luke 12:56 You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and sky. Why don’t you know how to interpret the present time?
1 Chronicles 12:32 From Issachar, men who understood the times and knew what Israel should do: 200 chiefs with all their kinsmen at their command.
Matthew 11:5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.
Luke 13:15 “You hypocrites!” the Lord replied. “Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it to water?
Matthew 4:23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.
Matthew 7:5 You hypocrite! First take the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
Matthew 15:7 You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you:
Matthew 22:18 But Jesus knew their evil intent and said, “You hypocrites, why are you testing Me?
Matthew 23:13 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let in those who wish to enter.
Luke 11:44 Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, which men walk over without even noticing.”