Matthew 12:38 is the 38th verse in the twelfth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. Content In the original Greek according to Westcott-Hort, this verse is: Τότε ἀπεκρίθησάν τινες τῶν γραμματέων καὶ Φαρισαίων, λέγοντες, Διδάσκαλε, θέλομεν ἀπὸ σοῦ σημεῖον ἰδεῖν. In the King James Version of the Bible the text reads: Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. The New International Version translates the passage as: Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, "Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you." Analysis Note Luke (11:16) includes, [a sign] from Heaven. The scribes and Pharisees mentioned here the ones which previously stated that Christ had cast out devils by the help of Beelzebub. Now they ask for a heavenly sign. According to Lapide the meaning of the scribes is as follows: "O Christ, are in the earth and of the earth, but we wish to see celestial miracles in Heaven. For God, Whom You assert to be the Author of these miracles, dwells in Heaven. Cause, therefore, that fire may come down from Heaven, as Elijah did; or that the sky may flash with new and marvellous thunders and lightnings, as Samuel did (1 Sam. 7:10); or that the sun should stand still, as Joshua did." Similarities of this verse and the next one with Matthew 16:1–4 (and also the parallel passages in Mark 8:11-13; Luke 11:16, 29-32) are noted; the comparison of the passages in Matthew 12 and Matthew 16 is as follows. Commentary from the Church Fathers Chrysostom: " Because the Lord had so oft repressed the shameless tongue of the Pharisees by His sayings, they now turn to His works, whereat the Evangelist wondering, says, Then certain of the Scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign of thee; and that at a time when they should have been moved, when they should have wondered, and been dumb with astonishment; yet even at such time they desist not from their malice. For they say, We would see a sign of thee, that they may take Him as in a snare." Jerome: "They require a sign of Him, as though what they had seen were not signs; and in another Evangelist what they required is more fully expressed, We would see of