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Matthew 11: Woe to the lake towns, measured against Tyre, Sidon and Sodom

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AFGHANISTANALGERIAAUSTRIAAZERBAIJANBAHRAINBENINBOSNIA AND HERZ.BULGARIABURKINA FASOCHADCYPRUSDJIBOUTIEGYPTERITREAFRANCEGEORGIAGREECEHUNGARYIRANIRAQISRAELITALYJORDANLEBANONLIBYAMALIMALTAMAURITANIAMOROCCONIGERNIGERIAOMANPAKISTANPALESTINEPORTUGALQATARROMANIASAUDI ARABIASERBIASOMALILANDSPAINSUDANSWITZERLANDSYRIATUNISIATURKEYTURKMENISTANUNITED ARAB EMIRATESUZBEKISTANYEMENMediterranean SeaSea of GalileeJordanDead SeaGadara — Matthew 8Sea of Galilee — Matthew 8BethsaidaChorazinSidonTyreCapernaumSidonTyreChorazinBethsaidaSea of GalileeGadara

Matthew 10:15ESV

Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of and than for that town.

ESV

“Woe to you, ! Woe to you, ! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in and , they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

ESV

But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for and than for you.

ESV

And you, , 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 , it would have remained until this day.

ESV

But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of than for you.”

Matthew 12:41ESV

The men of 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.

Matthew 10
Matthew 12

John, in prison, sends his disciples to ask whether Jesus is the one who is to come, and Jesus speaks to the crowds about the man they went out into the wilderness to see. Then he denounces the cities where most of his mighty works were done: Chorazin and Bethsaida will fare worse on the day of judgment than Tyre and Sidon, and Capernaum worse than the land of Sodom (11:20-24). The three towns stand near the north shore of the Sea of Galilee; Tyre and Sidon are cities on the coast to the north-west, and Sodom lies at the far south of the land.

Map of Matthew 11: Woe to the lake towns, measured against Tyre, Sidon and Sodom — 6 sites plotted

Regions on this map

Verses 21 and 23: Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum, the cities where most of his mighty works were done.

  • Denounced with Chorazin in 11:21. The site is disputed: 330 votes put it at et-Tell, near where the Jordan enters the lake, 283 at el-Araj on the shore below it, and 30 at Tabgha.

    Today: et-Tell, north of the Sea of Galilee

  • The first city denounced: "Woe to you, Chorazin!" (11:21). The gazetteer puts it at Khirbet Karraza on 701 votes, in the hills about 3 km north of Capernaum.

    Today: Khirbet Karraza, above the north shore of the Sea of Galilee

  • In 11:23 Capernaum, which might think itself exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades, and Sodom would have fared better with the same mighty works. It is the town Jesus came to live in (4:13). The gazetteer puts it at Tell Hum on 860 votes.

    Today: Tell Hum, on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee

Verses 21 and 22: Tyre and Sidon, which would have repented had the same works been done in them.

  • Named with Tyre in 11:21-22 as cities that would have repented. All 500 votes put it at the Sandikli site in Sidon, on the coast north of Tyre.

    Today: Sidon (Saida), Lebanon

  • Named with Sidon in 11:21-22: had the mighty works been done there, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes, and it will be more bearable for them on the day of judgment. All 500 votes put it at Tyre, on the coast.

    Today: Tyre (Sour), Lebanon

Verses 23 and 24: Sodom, which would have remained until this day.

  • In 11:23-24 Sodom would have remained until this day had it seen the works done in Capernaum, and the land of Sodom will fare better on the day of judgment. Where the city stood is unknown: 477 votes put it on the plain south of the Lisan at the south end of the Dead Sea, 112 north of the sea and 109 at Bab edh-Dhra.

    Today: disputed; most often the plain south of the Lisan, at the south end of the Dead Sea (representative point)

Matthew 11, verse by verse

  1. Matthew 11:21“Woe to you, ! Woe to you, ! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in and , they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
  2. Matthew 11:22But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for and than for you.
  3. Matthew 11:23And you, , 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 , it would have remained until this day.
  4. Matthew 11:24But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of than for you.”