7:32–34

In 7:32 Jesus described children playing games in the marketplace. In one game they pretended to be celebrating a happy occasion such as a wedding where there was music and dancing. In another game they pretended to be at a funeral. But their friends would not play either game. It was impossible to satisfy them.

Jesus used this short parable to illustrate how the people of his time, especially the religious leaders, refused to be satisfied. They were not happy either with John or with Jesus (7:33–34).

7:32

In Greek this verse is one long sentence. It compares the people of that generation to the whole situation that Jesus described. Languages will have different ways to translate this long comparison. Some ways to do this in English are:

they are like children sitting in the marketplace. Some called out to others…
-or-
they act like children who sit in the marketplace and call out to each other…

7:32a

They are like: In this verse Jesus continued to refer to the people in the generation that he was addressing. If you indicated this explicitly in 7:31, you may continue to do that here. For example:

You(plur) are like

children sitting: In this verse the children were playing games. They were pretending to do the things that they referred to. In some languages you may want to make that explicit. For example:

children sitting ⌊and playing games⌋

marketplace: The marketplace was a large open area within the town where people came to buy and sell things. Their children had space to play together there. In some cultures the marketplace is not the most natural place where children play. In other areas there may not be a common marketplace. If this is true in your area, you can consider these options:

• Use a general expression. For example:

in a public place
-or-
in the public square (New Living Translation (2004))

• Use a term that refers to the place that children usually gather to play in your culture. For example:

in the center of the village

calling out to one another: The phrase calling out to one another probably implies that the children were playing in groups. The children in one group shouted to the children in the other group. Compare with Matthew 11:16–17. Other ways to translate this are:

some children called out to others
-or-
One group shouts to the other (Good News Translation)

7:32b

We played the flute for you, and you did not dance: Some children wanted the others to dance for them when they pretended to play happy music on the flute. But the other group of children did not want to play that game.

People usually played flute music so that people would dance. They played this music at feasts and other happy occasions such as weddings. In some languages it may be helpful to make this explicit. For example:

We played wedding music for you, but you wouldn’t dance! (Good News Translation)

played the flute: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as played the flute means to make music by blowing into a flute. The musical instrument called a flute here probably consisted of one or two pipes, often made of reed, wood, or bone. In this context, Jesus mentioned the flute to represent joyful music for dancing, rather than to refer specifically to the flute. In some cultures a flute may not be used to play joyful music for dancing. If that is true in your culture, you can consider these options:

• Translate in a more general way. For example:

we played happy/joyful music
-or-
we played music for dancing

• Refer to a musical instrument in your culture that is used to accompany dancing at joyful occasions.

7:32c

we sang a dirge, and you did not weep: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as sang a dirge often refers to the mourning that occurs at funerals. It can also refer to the chants or songs that are sung at funerals. This meaning fits well in this context, since 7:32b also described music. Another way to translate this is:

We sang funeral songs, but you wouldn’t cry! (Good News Translation)

General Comment on 7:32a–c

There are different ways to describe the way in which the people of Jesus’ generation were like the children that Jesus described. In some languages it may be necessary to make the point of similarity explicit. If that is true in your language, you may be able to say:

They are like when children sit and play games in the marketplace, and are ⌊impossible to please⌋. Some children call to others saying…

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