Matthew 11:21-23

11:21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! ¹  Woe to you, Bethsaida! If ²  the miracles ³  done in you had been done in Tyre ⁴  and Sidon, ⁵  they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 11:22 But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you! 11:23 And you, Capernaum, ⁶  will you be exalted to heaven? ⁷  No, you will be thrown down to Hades! ⁸  For if the miracles done among you had been done in Sodom, it would have continued to this day.

[11:21]  ¹ sn Chorazin was a town of Galilee that was probably fairly small in contrast to Bethsaida and is otherwise unattested. Bethsaida was declared a polis by the tetrarch Herod Philip, sometime after a.d. 30.

[11:21]  ² tn This introduces a second class (contrary to fact) condition in the Greek text.

[11:21]  ³ tn Or “powerful deeds.”

[11:21]  ⁴ map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[11:21]  ⁵ sn Tyre and Sidon are two other notorious OT cities (Isa 23; Jer 25:22; 47:4). The remark is a severe rebuke, in effect: “Even the sinners of the old era would have responded to the proclamation of the kingdom, unlike you!”

[11:23]  ⁶ sn Capernaum was a town on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, 680 ft (204 m) below sea level. It was a major trade and economic center in the North Galilean region.

[11:23]  ⁷ tn The interrogative particle introducing this question expects a negative reply.

[11:23]  ⁸ sn In the OT, Hades was known as Sheol. It is the place where the unrighteous will reside (Luke 10:15; 16:23; Rev 20:13-14).