8:11 Then the Pharisees 1 came and began to argue with Jesus, asking for 2 a sign from heaven 3 to test him. 8:12 Sighing deeply in his spirit he said, “Why does this generation look for a sign? I tell you the truth, 4 no sign will be given to this generation.” 8:13 Then 5 he left them, got back into the boat, and went to the other side.
1 sn See the note on Pharisees in 2:16.
2 tn Grk “seeking from him.” The participle ζητοῦντες (zhtountes) shows the means by which the Pharisees argued with Jesus.
3 sn What exactly this sign would have been, given what Jesus was already doing, is not clear. But here is where the fence-sitters reside, refusing to commit to him.
4 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”
5 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.