Matthew 11:21

Matthew 11:21 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
• New International Version (NIV)“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
• English Standard Version (ESV)"Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
• New King James Version (NKJV)“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

Context of Matthew 11:21

19The Son of Man came eating and drinking [with others], and they say, ‘Look! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners [including non-observant Jews]!’ Yet wisdom is justified and vindicated by her deeds [in the lives of those who respond to Me].” 20Then He began to denounce [the people in] the cities in which most of His miracles were done, because they did not repent [and change their hearts and lives]. “Woe (judgment is coming) to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon [cities of the Gentiles], they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes [their hearts would have been changed and they would have expressed sorrow for their sin and rebellion against God]. 22Nevertheless I say to you, it will be more tolerable for [the pagan cities of] Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. 23And you, Capernaum, are you to be exalted to heaven [for your apathy and unresponsiveness]? You will descend to Hades (the realm of the dead); for if the miracles done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.

Matthew 11:21 word by word

Οὐαί σοι Χοραζίν, οὐαί σοι Βηθσαϊδά, ὅτι εἰ ἐν Τύρῳ καὶ Σιδῶνι ἐγένοντο αἱ δυνάμεις αἱ γενόμεναι ἐν ὑμῖν, πάλαι ἂν ἐν σάκκῳ καὶ σποδῷ μετενόησαν.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Woeοὐαίouai · woe!G3759
• unto theeσύsu · youG4771
• ChorazinΧοραζίνChorazin · ChorazinG5523
• BethsaidaΒηθσαϊδάBēthsaida · BethsaidaG966
• forὅτιhoti · that/since: sinceG3754
• ifεἰei · ifG1487
• the mighty worksὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• the mighty worksδύναμιςdunamis · powerG1411
• which were doneγίνομαιginomai · to beG1096
• inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• TyreΤύροςTuros · TyreG5184
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• SidonΣιδώνSidōn · SidonG4605
• theyμετανοέωmetanoeō · to repentG3340
• would haveἄνan · ifG302
• long agoπάλαιpalai · of oldG3819
• sackclothσάκκοςsakkos · sackclothG4526
• ashesσποδόςspodos · ashesG4700

Cross-references for Matthew 11:21

• Matthew 18:7“Woe (judgment is coming) to the world because of stumbling blocks and temptations to sin! It is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to the person on whose account or through whom the stumbling block comes!
• Matthew 23:13“But woe (judgment is coming) to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven in front of people; for you do not enter yourselves, nor do you allow those who are [in the process of] entering to do so.
• Matthew 26:24The Son of Man is to go [to the cross], just as it is written [in Scripture] of Him; but woe (judgment is coming) to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had never been born.”
• Jeremiah 13:27I have seen your vile and detestable acts, Even your adulteries and your lustful neighings [after idols], And the lewdness of your prostitution On the hills in the fields. Woe (judgment is coming) to you, O Jerusalem! How long will you remain unclean [by ignoring My precepts]?”
• Luke 11:42“But woe (judgment is coming) to you Pharisees, because you [self-righteously] tithe mint and rue and every [little] garden herb [tending to all the minutiae], and yet disregard and neglect justice and the love of God; but these are the things you should have done, without neglecting the others.
• Jude 1:11Woe to them! For they have gone the [defiant] way of Cain, and for profit they have run headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of [mutinous] Korah.
• Mark 6:45Jesus immediately insisted that His disciples get into the boat and go ahead [of Him] to the other side to Bethsaida, while He was dismissing the crowd.
• Mark 8:22Then they came to Bethsaida; and some people brought a blind man to Jesus and begged Him to touch him.
• Luke 9:10When the apostles returned, they told Him all that they had done. He took them with Him and He privately withdrew [across the Jordan] to a city called Bethsaida.
• John 1:44Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.
• John 12:21these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”
• Matthew 12:41The men of Nineveh will stand up [as witnesses] at the judgment against this generation, and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and now, something greater than Jonah is here.
• Ezekiel 3:6not to many peoples of unintelligible speech or difficult language, whose words you cannot understand. But I have sent you to them who should listen to you and pay attention to My message;
• Acts 13:44On the next Sabbath almost the entire city gathered together to hear the word of the Lord [about salvation through faith in Christ].
• Acts 28:25They disagreed among themselves and they began to leave after Paul had made one last statement: “The Holy Spirit rightly spoke through Isaiah the prophet to your fathers, saying,
• Job 42:6Therefore I retract [my words and hate myself] And I repent in dust and ashes.”

Commentaries on Matthew 11:21

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21Wo unto thee, Chorazin - Bethsaida! - It would be better to translate the word , alas for thee, than wo to thee. The former is an exclamation of pity; the latter a denunciation of wrath. It is evident that our Lord used it in the former sense. It is not known precisely where Chorazin was situated; but as Christ joins it in the same censure with Bethsaida, which was in Upper Galilee, beyond the sea, Mark 6:45, it is likely that Chorazin was in the same…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 21Chorazin and Bethsaida - These were towns not far from Capernaum, but the precise situation is unknown. See “The Land and the Book” (Thomson), vol. ii. pp. 8,9. Bethsaida means literally a “house of hunting” or “a house of game,” and it was probably situated on the banks of the Sea of Galilee, and supported itself by hunting or fishing. It was the residence of Philip, Andrew, and Peter, John 1:44. It was enlarged by Philip the Tetrarch, and called…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 16-24Verses 16-24 Christ reflects on the scribes and Pharisees, who had a proud conceit of themselves. He likens their behaviour to children's play, who being out of temper without reason, quarrel with all the attempts of their fellows to please them, or to get them to join in the plays for which they used to assemble. The cavils of worldly men are often very trifling and show great malice. Something they have to urge against every one, however excellent and…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 21-24As Jesus traveled through the villages of Galilee (Korazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum) he revealed more of himself to the people. Because of this greater revelation, their refusal to listen brought a more severe judgment. Jesus compared their judgment to that of the pagan cities Tyre (Isaiah 23; Ezekiel 26:1–28:19), Sidon (Ezekiel 28:20–23), and Sodom (Genesis 18:22–19:29).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2121. Woe unto thee, Chorazin!--not elsewhere mentioned, but it must have lain near Capernaum. woe unto thee, Bethsaida--"fishing-house," a fishing station--on the western side of the Sea of Galilee, and to the north of Capernaum; the birthplace of three of the apostles--the brothers Andrew and Peter, and Philip. These two cities appear to be singled out to denote the whole region in which they lay--a region favored with the Redeemer's presence, teaching…Read the comment

Topics related to Matthew 11:21

• Ashes
• Bethsaida
• Chorazin
• Impenitence
• Jesus, the Christ
• Opportunity
• Responsibility
• Tyre

In the dictionaries

• Sidon
• Tyre
• Zidon, or Sidon
• Sidon, Sidonians
• Tyre, Tyrians
• Chorazin
• Easy
• Foreknowledge of God
• Judgment, The final
• Justify

Commentaries on Matthew 11

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Catena Aurea
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• John Lightfoot Commentary
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings