By thy words thou shalt be justified - That is, the whole tenor of thy conversation will be an evidence for or against thee, in the great day. How many are there who count words for nothing! and yet eternity often depends on them. Lord, put a watch before the door of my lips! is a prayer proper for all men. read more
We would see a sign from thee - That is, we wish now to see thee work a miracle. Pride, vain curiosity, and incredulity, have never proof sufficient of the truth: for they will not be satisfied. read more
An evil and adulterous generation - Or, race of people; for so γενεα should be translated here, and in most other places in the Gospels; for our Lord, in general, uses it to point out the Jewish people. This translation is a key to unlock some very obscure passages in the evangelists. Seeketh after a sign - Or, seeketh another sign, ( επιζητει ), so I think this word should be translated. Our Lord had already given the Jews several signs; and here they desire sign upon sign. Our... read more
Three days and three nights - Our Lord rose from the grave on the day but one after his crucifixion: so that, in the computation in this verse, the part of the day on which he was crucified, and the part of that on which he rose again, are severally estimated as an entire day; and this, no doubt, exactly corresponded to the time in which Jonah was in the belly of the fish. Our Lord says, As Jonah was, so shall the Son of man be, etc. Evening and morning, or night and day, is the Hebrew... read more
The men of Nineveh shell rise in judgment - The voice of God, threatening temporal judgments, caused a whole people to repent, who had neither Moses nor Christ, neither the law nor the prophets; and who perhaps never had but this one preacher among them. What judgment may not we expect, if we continue impenitent, after all that God has bestowed upon us? A greater than Jonas is here - Πλειον , for τι πλειον , something more. The evidence offered by Jonah sufficed to convince and lead... read more
The queen of the south - In 1 Kings 10:1 , this queen is said to be of Saba, which was a city and province of Arabia Felix, to the south, or south-east, of Judea. Uttermost parts of the earth - Περατων της γης - a form of speech which merely signifies, a great distance. See Deuteronomy 28:49 . read more
When the unclean spirit - If there had been no reality in demoniacal possessions, our Lord would have scarcely appealed to a case of this kind here, to point out the real state of the Jewish people, and the desolation which was coming upon them. Had this been only a vulgar error, of the nonsense of which the learned scribes and the wise Pharisees must have been convinced, the case not being one in point, because not true, must have been treated by that very people with contempt for whose... read more
Into my house - The soul of that person from whom he had been expelled by the power of Christ, and out of which he was to have been kept by continual prayer, faith, and watchfulness. He findeth it empty - Unoccupied, σχολαζοντα , empty of the former inhabitant, and ready to receive a new one: denoting a soul that has lost the life and power of godliness, and the testimony of the Holy Spirit. Swept and garnished - As σχολαζω signifies to be idle, or unemployed, it may refer here... read more
Seven other spirits more wicked - Seven was a favourite number with the Jews, implying frequently, with them, something perfect, completed, filled up, for such is the proper import of the Hebrew word שוע sheva or shevang : nearly allied in sound to our seven. And perhaps this meaning of it refers to the seventh day, when God rested from his work, having filled up, or completed the whole of his creative design. Seven demons - as many as could occupy his soul, harassing it with pride,... read more
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Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 12:36
Every idle word - Ρημα αργον , a word that does nothing, that neither ministers grace nor instruction to them who hear it. The word αργον corresponds to the Hebrew שוא shave , which signifies not only vain or empty, but also wicked and injurious, such as a false testimony against a neighbor, compare Deuteronomy 5:11 , Deuteronomy 5:20 . Add to this, that Symmachus translates פגול piggul , polluted, Leviticus 19:7 , by the very Greek word in the text. It was to explain this... read more