16:2a

But He replied:
Here Jesus responded to the request of the Pharisees and Sadducees, but he did not answer a question. So in some languages, it will be more natural to use a different verb. For example:

He told them (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
He said

When evening comes: Here the word evening refers to sunset or soon after.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

At sunset (New Century Version)
-or-
When the sun is going down

16:2b–3b

In 16:2b–3b, Jesus apparently repeated a common understanding among people about the weather in the land of Israel at that time. They used the way that the sky looked in the evening to predict what the weather would be like the next day. And in the morning, if the sky was red and overcast, they predicted that the day would be stormy. Jesus used this common saying to begin his response to their request.

In many areas, people do not use observations like this to predict what the weather will be like. So you may want to explain it in a footnote. Here is a sample footnote:

Some people in Israel believed that the sky could tell them what the weather would be like later. If the sky was red in the evening, that meant that it would not rain the next day. If they saw a “red and threatening” sky in the morning, that meant that the day would be stormy. Jesus referred to the redness of the sky as a kind of sign of the weather.

16:2b

The weather will be fair: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as weather will be fair refers to a day with few clouds, little wind, and no rain or snow. This clause refers to the weather the next day.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

we will have good weather (New Century Version)
-or-
tomorrow will be a sunny day
-or-
there will be no rain or strong wind

for the sky is red: This clause is a basis/reason for the conclusion that “the weather will be fair.” In some languages, it will be more natural to put this clause first. For example:

Because the sky is red, it will be fair weather.
-or-
The sky is red, ⌊so⌋ it will be nice weather.

In some languages, it will be more natural to use indirect speech here. For example:

At sunset, you say that there will be fair weather because the sky is red.

-or-

In the evening when the sky is red, you say that the weather will be fair.

sky: This is the same word that was translated in 16:1b as “heaven.” Since Jesus was talking about the weather, it means sky here. But since it can also mean “heaven,” he was probably making a play on words. He used the same word to make fun of the request by the Pharisees and Sadducees to see a sign from “heaven.”

is red: The word red refers to the red color in the sky that sometimes occurs at sunset. Use an expression that is natural for this type of sky.

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