English Standard Version
Matthew 11:21
21"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.
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.
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)“What sorrow awaits you, Korazin and Bethsaida! For if the miracles I did in you had been done in wicked Tyre and Sidon, their people would have repented of their sins long ago, clothing themselves in burlap and throwing ashes on their heads to show their remorse.
Context of Matthew 11:21
19The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds." 20Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. "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. 22But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. 23And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.
Read all of Matthew 11Matthew 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 to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes!
- Matthew 23:13"But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.
- Matthew 26:24The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born."
- Jeremiah 13:27I have seen your abominations, your adulteries and neighings, your lewd whorings, on the hills in the field. Woe to you, O Jerusalem! How long will it be before you are made clean?"
- Luke 11:42"But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.
- Jude 1:11Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam's error and perished in Korah's rebellion.
- Mark 6:45Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd.
- Mark 8:22And they came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him.
- Luke 9:10On their return the apostles told him all that they had done. And he took them and withdrew apart to a town called Bethsaida.
- John 1:44Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.
- John 12:21So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus."
- Matthew 12:41The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.
- Ezekiel 3:6not to many peoples of foreign speech and a hard language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely, if I sent you to such, they would listen to you.
- Acts 13:44The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord.
- Acts 28:25And disagreeing among themselves, they departed after Paul had made one statement: "The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet:
- Job 42:6therefore I despise myself, and 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
In the dictionaries
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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries