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

19Then I, the Son of Man, came. I eat meals with other people and I drink wine. So people say about me, “Look at him! He eats too much and he drinks too much. He is a friend of bad people and men who take taxes from people.” God is wise. The good things that he does show that he is right.’ 20In some of the cities Jesus had done many powerful things. But some people in those cities did not want to stop doing wrong things. They did not want to change how they lived. So Jesus spoke against those people. He said to them, ‘You people in Chorazin, it will be very bad for you! And it will be very bad for you, people in Bethsaida. I have done great and powerful things in your cities. If I had done such great things in Tyre and in Sidon, the people there would have changed how they lived. They would have shown they were sorry for their sins. They would have put on clothes made from goat's hair. They would also have put ashes on their heads. 22Yes, when God judges everyone, he will punish the people from Tyre and Sidon. But he will punish much more you people from Chorazin and Bethsaida. 23And what will happen to you people in Capernaum? You think that God will lift you up to heaven, do you? No! He will throw you down to Hades, the place for dead people. I did powerful things in your town. If I had done these powerful things in Sodom, it would still be there today.

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 18:7Some things in this world will cause people to do wrong things. You can be sure that bad things will happen. But it will be very bad for the person who makes these things happen.
• Matthew 23:13Jesus spoke to the teachers of God's Law and the Pharisees. ‘It will be very bad for you,’ he said. ‘You are hypocrites! You have stopped people who wanted to go into the kingdom of heaven. It is like you have shut the door so that they cannot go in. Then you yourselves do not even go in.
• Matthew 26:24The Son of Man must die in the way that the Bible says. But it will be very bad for the man who gives me to my enemies. It would be better for that man if he had not been born.’
• Jeremiah 13:27People of Jerusalem, you are in terrible trouble! I have seen the disgusting things that you do. You are like a woman who has not been faithful to her husband. Like a prostitute, you look for other gods to serve. You cannot control yourselves, as you do disgusting things on the hills and in the fields. Will you never be clean and pure again?’
• Luke 11:42It will be very bad for you Pharisees! When you grow spices to cook with food, you give a tenth part of these small things to God. You are right to obey this rule. But you do not do the most important things. You do not help people in a good way. You do not really love God. You should have done the important things as well as the other little things.
• Jude 1:11It will be terrible for them! They have lived in the way that Cain lived. They have made the same mistake that Balaam made, because they wanted to get money for themselves. Like Korah, they have refused to obey God. So God will destroy them.
• Mark 6:45Immediately after this, Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Get into the boat and sail across the lake to Bethsaida.’ Jesus said that he would first send the crowd away. Then he would also leave.
• Mark 8:22Jesus and his disciples came to a village called Bethsaida. Some people led a blind man to Jesus. They asked Jesus to touch the man.
• Luke 9:10The 12 apostles that Jesus had sent out returned. They told him what they had done. Then he took them away from the crowd, so that he could be alone with them. They went to a town called Bethsaida.
• John 1:44Philip, like Andrew and Peter, came from the town of Bethsaida.
• John 12:21These Greek people came to Philip, who was from a town in Galilee called Bethsaida. They said to him, ‘Please sir, we want to meet Jesus.’
• Matthew 12:41When God judges everyone, the people who lived in Nineveh will be there. They will stand up and they will speak against you. They will show that the people who are alive today are bad. When Jonah spoke to the people in Nineveh long ago, they stopped doing bad things. But look! There is someone here now who is greater than Jonah was.
• Ezekiel 3:6I am not sending you to people who speak many different languages that you cannot understand. If I did send you to people like that, I am sure that they would listen to you.
• Acts 13:44On the next Jewish day of rest, almost everyone in the town came together to hear the Lord God's message.
• Acts 28:25They argued about it with each other. When they began to leave the house, Paul said, ‘The Holy Spirit spoke a true message to your ancestors. He gave this message to Isaiah, the prophet:
• Job 42:6So I am ashamed of the things that I said. I sit here in dirt and in ashes to show you that I am very sorry.’

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