^{9 Ref} `But what went ye out to see? -- a prophet? yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet,

^{10 Ref} for this is he of whom it hath been written, Lo, I do send My messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee.

^{11 Ref} Verily I say to you, there hath not risen, among those born of women, a greater than John the Baptist, but he who is least in the reign of the heavens is greater than he.

^{12 Ref} `And, from the days of John the Baptist till now, the reign of the heavens doth suffer violence, and violent men do take it by force,

^{13 Ref} for all the prophets and the law till John did prophesy,

^{14 Ref} and if ye are willing to receive `it', he is Elijah who was about to come;

^{15 Ref} he who is having ears to hear -- let him hear.

^{16 Ref} `And to what shall I liken this generation? it is like little children in market-places, sitting and calling to their comrades,

^{17 Ref} and saying, We piped unto you, and ye did not dance, we lamented to you, and ye did not smite the breast.

^{18 Ref} `For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a demon;

^{19 Ref} the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, Lo, a man, a glutton, and a wine-drinker, a friend of tax-gatherers and sinners, and wisdom was justified of her children.'