Matthew 16:1, 2(a), 4:
16:1And the Pharisees and Sadducees having come-towards (Jesus) tempting asked him to point-upon a sign from heaven to them. .2(a)But the (one) having answered said to them, .4"An evil and adulterous generation earnestly-seeks-after a sign, and a sign will not be given to it except the sign of Jonah." And having left them down he went-away.
The Pharisees and Sadducees came towards Jesus tempting him. The verb "to tempt" in this context means: to make trial-of or try in the bad sense of putting to the test with evil and ill-intent enticing to do wrong, trying to cause another to fall-aside from the truth of God's Word, enticing to make someone disbelieve what God says during that specific situation. The devil is the source of tempting with/by evil.
And these Pharisees and Sadducees asked him (their motivation to ask this question inquiring for information was to tempt him – they asked him) to point-upon a sign from heaven to them (to exhibit or display, as pointing out with his finger, a designated signal or standard of authenticity to them out-from the heaven, from the sky above, but figuratively referring to God).
But Jesus answered by saying to them, “An evil and adulterous generation (a generation, referring to a time-period of a race, descent or kind of living-beings, a generation that is actively-malignant and adulterous, which is the voluntary action of debasing itself with/by someone or something else that is contaminating or defiling from God's viewpoint, here referring to leaving the only true God as though He were the husband, and going and being with some other so-called god – an evil and adulterous generation) intensely looks for a sign,
And Jesus left them down (in the sense of leaving them behind him where they were) and he went away somewhere else.
Some Greek texts include what is written in Luke 12:54-56 making verses 2(b) and 3 here in Matthew 16.
[Reference: the Book of Jonah; Jeremiah 3:6-14; Ezekiel 23:37; Hosea 1:2; Matthew 12:38-41; Mark 8:11-13.]
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