Matthew 11:3-6

11:3 “Are you the one who is to come, ¹  or should we look for another?” 11:4 Jesus answered them, ²  “Go tell John what you hear and see: ³  11:5 The blind see, the ⁴  lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news proclaimed to them. 11:6 Blessed is anyone ⁵  who takes no offense at me.”

Matthew 11:20-24

Woes on Unrepentant Cities

11:20 Then Jesus began to criticize openly the cities ⁶  in which he had done many of his miracles, because they did not repent. 11:21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! ⁷  Woe to you, Bethsaida! If ⁸  the miracles ⁹  done in you had been done in Tyre ¹⁰  and Sidon, ¹¹  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, ¹²  will you be exalted to heaven? ¹³  No, you will be thrown down to Hades! ¹⁴  For if the miracles done among you had been done in Sodom, it would have continued to this day. 11:24 But I tell you, it will be more bearable for the region of Sodom ¹⁵  on the day of judgment than for you!”

[11:3]  ¹ sn Aspects of Jesus’ ministry may have led John to question whether Jesus was the promised stronger and greater one who is to come that he had preached about in Matt 3:1-12.

[11:4]  ² tn Grk “And answering, Jesus said to them.” This construction is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation.

[11:4]  ³ sn What you hear and see. The following activities all paraphrase various OT descriptions of the time of promised salvation: Isa 35:5-6; 26:19; 29:18-19; 61:1. Jesus is answering not by acknowledging a title, but by pointing to the nature of his works, thus indicating the nature of the time.

[11:5]  ³ tn Grk “and the,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more. Two other conjunctions are omitted in this series.

[11:6]  ⁴ tn Grk “whoever.”

[11:20]  ⁵ tn The Greek word here is πόλις (polis) which can be translated “city” or “town.” “Cities” was chosen here to emphasize the size of the places Jesus’ mentions in the following verses.

[11:21]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn This introduces a second class (contrary to fact) condition in the Greek text.

[11:21]  ⁸ tn Or “powerful deeds.”

[11:21]  ⁹ map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[11:21]  ¹⁰ 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]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn The interrogative particle introducing this question expects a negative reply.

[11:23]  ⁹ 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).

[11:24]  ⁸ sn The allusion to Sodom, the most wicked of OT cities from Gen 19:1-29, shows that to reject the current message is even more serious, and will result in more severe punishment, than the worst sins of the old era. The phrase region of Sodom is in emphatic position in the Greek text.