Matthew 11:21 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Matthew 11:21
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.
Chorazin · noun — vocative singular feminine, a place
woe
οὐαίouai
G3759
"woe" · interjection
unto thee
σοίsoí
G4671
to thee
Bethsaida
Βηθσαϊδά,Bēthsaida
G966
fishing-house · noun — vocative singular feminine, a place
for
ὅτιhoti
G3754
demonstrative · conjunction
if
εἰei
G1487
if · conditional particle
the mighty works
δυνάμειςdunameis
G1411
force (literally or figuratively) · noun — nominative plural feminine
which were done
ἐγένοντοegenonto
G1096
to cause to be ("gen"-erate) · verb — second aorist middle deponent indicative, 3rd person plural
in
ἐνen
G1722
"in · preposition
you
ὑμῖνhymîn
G5213
to (with or by) you
had been done
γενόμεναιgenomenai
G1096
to cause to be ("gen"-erate) · verb — second aorist middle deponent participle, nominative plural feminine
in
ἐνen
G1722
"in · preposition
Tyre
ΤύρῳTurō
G5184
Tyre · noun — dative singular feminine, a place
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
Sidon
ΣιδῶνιSidōni
G4605
Sidon (i.e. Tsidon) · noun — dative singular feminine, a place
they
μετενόησαν.metenoēsan
G3340
to think differently or afterwards · verb — aorist active indicative, 3rd person plural
would have
ἂνan
G302
(what- · particle
repented
μετανοέωmetanoéō
G3340
to think differently or afterwards
long ago
πάλαιpalai
G3819
(adverbially) formerly · adverb
in
ἐνen
G1722
"in · preposition
sackcloth
σάκκῳsakkō
G4526
"sack"-cloth · noun — dative singular masculine
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
ashes
σποδῷspodō
G4700
ashes · noun — dative singular feminine
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Ezekiel 3:6-7 Not to many people of a strange speech and of an hard language, whose words thou canst not understand. Surely, had I sent thee to them, they…
Job 42:6 Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.
Matthew 15:21 Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon.
Mark 6:45 And straightway he constrained his disciples to get into the ship, and to go to the other side before unto Bethsaida, while he sent away the…
Luke 9:10 And the apostles, when they were returned, told him all that they had done. And he took them, and went aside privately into a desert place b…
John 12:21 The same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus.
Acts 12:20 And Herod was highly displeased with them of Tyre and Sidon: but they came with one accord to him, and, having made Blastus the king’s chamb…
Matthew 11:22 But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Matthew 11:16-24
Christ was going on in the praise of John the Baptist and his ministry, but here stops on a sudden, and turns that to the reproach of those who enjoyed both that, and the ministry of Christ and his apostles too, in vain. As to that generation, we may observe to whom he compares them (Mat 11:16-19), and as to the particular places he instances in, we may observe with whom he compares them, Mat 11:20-24.
I. As to that generation, the body of the Jewish people at that time. There were many indeed that pressed into the kingdom of heaven; but the generality continued in unbelief and obstinacy. John was a great and good man, but the generation in which his lot was cast was as barren and unprofitab…
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, and works above every other.
for if the mighty works--the miracles
which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon--ancient and celebrated commercial cities, on the northeastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea, lying north of Palesti…
Woe unto thee, Chorazin!.... Though many of Christ's mighty works were done in this place, yet mention is made of it no where else, but here; whether it was a single city, or a country, is not easy to determine: the word "Chorasin", signifying "woody places", Dr. Lightfoot (l) conjectures it might include Cana, in which Christ wrought his first miracle, and a small adjacent country, situated in a wood, and be so called from thence; and Origen (m) reads it, , "the region of Zin":
woe unto thee, Bethsaida! This was the city of Andrew and Peter; see Gill on John 1:44; so that as bad as it was, some persons were called out of it by the grace of God, and to the high office of apostleship; and w…
The Church Fathers
Then, to show thee that they are not such by nature, He states also the name of the city out of which proceeded five apostles. For both Philip, and those two pairs of the chief apostles, were from thence.
It is enough for me that even John, when "strewing the Lord's ways," was the herald of repentance no less to such as were on military service and to publicans, than to the sons of Abraham. The Lord Himself presumed repentance on the part of the Sidonians and Tyrians if they had seen the evidences of His "miracles."
(Mor. xxxv. 6.) In sackcloth is the roughness which denotes the pricking of the conscience for sin, ashes denote the dust of the dead; and both are wont to be employed in penitence, that the pricking of the sackcloth may remind us of our sins, and the dust of the ash may cause us to reflect what we have become by judgment.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Chorazin — Named along with Bethsaida and Capernaum as one of the cities in which our Lord’s “mighty works” were done, and which was doomed to woe because of signal privileges neglected (Matt. 11:21; Luke…
Dance — Found in Judg. 21:21, 23; Ps. 30:11; 149:3; 150:4; Jer. 31:4, 13, etc., as the translation of hul, which points to the whirling motion of Oriental sacred dances. It is the rendering of a word…
Foreknowledge of God — Acts 2:23; Rom. 8:29; 11:2; 1 Pet. 1:2), one of those high attributes essentially appertaining to him the full import of which we cannot comprehend. In the most absolute sense his knowledge is…
Judgment, The final — The sentence that will be passed on our actions at the last day (Matt. 25; Rom. 14:10, 11; 2 Cor. 5:10; 2 Thess. 1:7-10). The judge is Jesus Christ, as mediator. All judgment is committed to him…
Sackcloth — Cloth made of black goats’ hair, coarse, rough, and thick, used for sacks, and also worn by mourners (Gen. 37:34; 42:25; 2 Sam. 3:31; Esther 4:1, 2; Ps. 30:11, etc.), and as a sign of repentance…
Sidon — Fishing; fishery, Gen. 10:15, 19 (A.V. marg., Tzidon; R.V., Zidon); Matt. 11:21, 22; Luke 6:17. (See ZIDON.)
Tyre — A rock, now es-Sur; an ancient Phoenician city, about 23 miles, in a direct line, north of Acre, and 20 south of Sidon. Sidon was the oldest Phoenician city, but Tyre had a longer and more…
Zidon, Or Sidon — (Genesis 10:15,19; Joshua 11:8; 19:28; Judges 1:31; 18:28; Isaiah 23:2,4,12; Jeremiah 25:22; 27:3; Ezekiel 28:21,22; Joel 3:4) (Joel 4:4); Zech 9:2; Matt 11:21,22; 15:21; Mark 3:8; 1:24,31; Luke…
Ashes · Repenting in — Repenting in
Bethsaida · .Jesus prophesies against — .Jesus prophesies against
Matthew 11:20-24
Matthew 11:20-24
Luke 10:13-16
20. Then he began to upbraid the cities, in which most of his mighty works were done, because they had not repented of crimes: 21. Woe to thee, Chorazin! woe to thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which have been done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented of their crimes long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22. But I say to you, It will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon [36] in the day of judgment than for you. 23. And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted even to heaven shall be cast down even to hell; for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until th…
As Jesus moved through the villages of Galilee—from Korazin to Bethsaida to Capernaum—he gave the people a greater revelation of himself, with a correspondingly more severe judgment when they refused to listen. The severity is indicated by comparison with the pagan cities of Tyre (Isa 23; Ezek 26:1–28:19), Sidon (Ezek 28:20-23), and Sodom (Gen 18:22–19:29).
Judgment, The · Neglected advantages increase condemnation at — Neglected advantages increase condemnation at
Miracles · Guilt of rejecting the evidence afforded by — Guilt of rejecting the evidence afforded by
Opportunity · THE MEASURE OF RESPONSIBILITY — THE MEASURE OF RESPONSIBILITY
Punishment Of The Wicked, The · Shall be: Increased by neglect of privileges — Shall be: Increased by neglect of privileges
Repentance · Danger of neglecting — Danger of neglecting
Reproof · On account of: Impenitence — On account of: Impenitence
Responsibility · ACCORDING TO PRIVILEGE — ACCORDING TO PRIVILEGE
Sidonians, The · Character of: Wicked and impenitent — Character of: Wicked and impenitent
Sins, National · Aggravated by privileges — Aggravated by privileges
Tyre · .To be — .To be
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
