Understanding the Times^(A)

⁵⁴ Then Jesus said to the ·people [crowds], “When you see clouds coming up in the west, [^Limmediately] you say, ‘It’s going to rain,’ and [^Lso; thus] it happens. ⁵⁵ When you feel the wind begin to blow from the south [^Cthe desert], you say, ‘It will be a hot day,’ and it happens. ⁵⁶ Hypocrites! You know how to ·understand [interpret] the appearance of the earth and sky. Why don’t you ·understand [know how to interpret] ·what is happening now [this present time; ^Cthe time of the coming of the Kingdom]?

² Jesus answered,^[a] “·At sunset [In the evening] you say we will have good weather, because the sky is red. ³ And in the morning you say that it will be ·a rainy day [stormy; bad weather], because the sky is red and ·dark [threatening; overcast]. You see ·these signs in [the appearance of] the sky and know ·what they mean [how to interpret them]. ·In the same way [or However; On the other hand], you ·see the things that I am doing now, but you don’t know their meaning [^Lcannot interpret the signs of the times].