Matthew 11:19
Translations
King James Version (KJV)
The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a drunkard, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.
American King James Version (AKJV)
The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a drunkard, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.
American Standard Version (ASV)
The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold, a gluttonous man and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners! And wisdom is justified by her works.
Basic English Translation (BBE)
The Son of man has come feasting, and they say, See, a lover of food and wine, a friend of tax-farmers and sinners! And wisdom is judged to be right by her works.
Webster's Revision
The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold, a man gluttonous, and a wine-bibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified by her children.
World English Bible
The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' But wisdom is justified by her children."
English Revised Version (ERV)
The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold, a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners! And wisdom is justified by her works.
Definitions for Matthew 11:19
Clarke's Matthew 11:19 Bible Commentary
The Son of man came eating and drinking - That is, went wheresoever he was invited to eat a morsel of bread, and observed no rigid fasts: how could he, who had no corrupt appetites to mortify or subdue?
They say, Behold a man gluttonous, etc. - Whatever measures the followers of God may take, they will not escape the censure of the world: the best way is not to be concerned at them. Iniquity, being always ready to oppose and contradict the Divine conduct, often contradicts and exposes itself.
But wisdom is justified of her children - Those who follow the dictates of true wisdom ever justify, point out as excellent, the holy maxims by which they are guided, for they find the way pleasantness, and the path, peace. Of, here, and in many places of our translation, ought to be written by in modern English. Some suppose that our blessed Lord applies the epithet of η σοφια, that Wisdom to himself; as he does that of Son of man, in the first clause of the verse: and that this refers to the sublime description given of wisdom in Proverbs 8. Others have supposed that by the children or sons (τεκνων) of wisdom our Lord means John Baptist and himself, who came to preach the doctrines of true wisdom to the people, and who were known to be teachers come from God by all those who seriously attended to their ministry: they recommending themselves, by the purity of their doctrines, and the holiness of their lives, to every man's conscience in the sight of God. It is likely, however, that by children our Lord simply means the fruits or effects of wisdom, according to the Hebrew idiom, which denominates the fruits or effects of a thing, its children. So in Job 5:7, sparks emitted by coals are termed בני רשף beney resheph, the children of the coal. It was probably this well known meaning of the word, which led the Codex Vaticanus, one of the most ancient MSS. in the world, together with the Syriac, Persic, Coptic, and Ethiopic, to read εργων, works, instead of τεκνων, sons or children. Wisdom is vindicated by her works, i.e. the good effects prove that the cause is excellent.
The children of true wisdom can justify all God's ways in their salvation; as they know that all the dispensations of Providence work together for the good of those who love and fear God. See on Luke 7:35 (note).
Wesley's Matthew 11:19 Bible Commentary
11:19 The Son of man came eating and drinking - Conversing in a free, familiar way. Wisdom is justified by her children - That is, my wisdom herein is acknowledged by those who are truly wise.