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Matthew 16:4
ESV An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So he left them and departed.
NIV A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.' Jesus then left them and went away.
NASB An evil and adulterous generation wants a sign; and so a sign will not be given to it, except the sign of Jonah.' And He left them and went away.
CSB An evil and adulterous generation demands a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah." Then he left them and went away.
NLT Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign, but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah. ' Then Jesus left them and went away.
KJV A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.

What does Matthew 16:4 mean?

Jesus is reacting to a request from some Pharisees and Sadducees; they have demanded a miraculous sign to validate the claims that Jesus is the long-promised Messiah of Israel (Matthew 16:1–3). They are asking this, apparently, to trip Him up, to test Him, to catch Him doing something they can use to discredit Him and stop His ministry (Matthew 12:9–10).

Rather than agree, Jesus points out they have missed all the "signs of the times" which already played in front of their eyes. In prior verses, Jesus made a comparison to signs of weather: clear and obvious things which could easily be understood. Ignoring the miracles of Jesus means these critics have seen the signs and refused to believe (John 5:39–40). The one who heals the lame and gives sight to the blind, Jesus, has been fulfilling prophecies (Isaiah 35:5–6; 61:1–2), and they ought to know as much. The truth is, they have not missed the truth, but ignored it.

As with a similar request in Matthew 12:38, Jesus refuses to comply. Instead, He notes that it's a sign of a depraved culture to ignore evidence while demanding even more. In this, Christ condemns not just the men standing before Him but the people they represent: the generation of His day. He calls the people evil and adulterous for wanting more and more evidence that He is the Messiah. They are evil in their refusal to believe the obvious truth. Jesus uses the metaphor for spiritual unfaithfulness from the Old Testament, adultery, which God so often used for Israel's worship of false gods. Like them, Jesus says, His generation wants religious experiences and miraculous entertainment despite being offered the truth, which is Christ, the Son of God, Himself (John 14:6).

Jesus declares that His generation will receive no additional signs, except for one: the sign of Jonah. What is the sign of Jonah? Jesus gave more detail about it when answering the same request once before, "For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." (Matthew 12:40). It will become clear after Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection that the most powerful sign He can offer to those who are asking is to return from dead on the third day as Jonah returned from the "dead" after three days' "burial" in the sea. If that sign cannot convince these religious leaders, nothing can (Luke 16:31).
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