Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Matthew 12:42 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 42. 42The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Summons the southern queen's journey to Solomon while claiming something greater present.
Read It With
- Matthew 12:38–12:45
Read Matthew 12:42 with 12:38–12:45. In isolation, this verse's contribution—summons the southern queen's journey to Solomon while claiming something greater present—can be detached from its speaker, audience, narrative or teaching sequence, and outcome. The complete unit establishes: Scribes and Pharisees request a sign, Jesus points to Jonah and the Son of man's burial, names Nineveh and the queen as witnesses, and warns about an emptied house retaken by greater evil.
What Remains True
Scribes and Pharisees request a sign, Jesus points to Jonah and the Son of man's burial, names Nineveh and the queen as witnesses, and warns about an emptied house retaken by greater evil. Matthew 12:42's proportionate contribution is this: Summons the southern queen's journey to Solomon while claiming something greater present.
How It Can Shape Life
- Matthew 12:42 contributes this specific claim: Summons the southern queen's journey to Solomon while claiming something greater present. Respond to demands for spectacle with the evidence actually given, and support recovery with sustained change rather than signs, sensational deliverance claims, or contempt for questioners.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Matthew 12:38–12:45 — The sign of Jonah confronts sign-demanding unbeliefSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Matthew 12:38–12:45, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: Greek wording and punctuation control without treating one edition as a complete apparatus.
Exact location: SBLGNT official text file data/sblgnt/text/Matt.txt, Matthew 12:38–12:45
Open the Matthew Greek text file ↗Lexical and grammatical evidence
STEP Bible Data
Tyndale House Cambridge
Tyndale House Cambridge, repository snapshot verified 2026
Supports: Morphology and lexical cross-check for the expressions actually discussed in this thought unit.
Exact location: STEP Bible Data TAGNT rows for Matthew 12:38–12:45
Open source ↗open translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Matthew with Translators' and Textual Notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2005-2026 online edition
Supports: Verse-attached textual, translation, language, historical, Jewish-background, and Synoptic notes for this unit.
Exact location: NET Bible Matthew PDF, printed pp. 1808-1867, exact tn/tc/sn entries attached to 12:38–12:45
Open source ↗