Matthew 11:17 (KJV)

Passage

And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented.

Nearby Context

Matthew 11:15 He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Matthew 11:16 But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows,

Matthew 11:17 And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented.

Matthew 11:18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil.

Matthew 11:19 The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "saying", "piped", "danced", "mourned", and "lamented". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "saying" and "piped", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 16's "But whereunto shall I liken this generation..." into verse 18's "For John came neither eating nor drinking...", so "saying" and "piped" belong inside that flow. In Matthew context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "saying" and "piped" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.