You, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, you will go down to Hades. For if the mighty works had been done in Sodom which were done in you, it would have remained until today.
Parallel Translations
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You, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, you will go down to Hades. For if the mighty works had been done in Sodom which were done in you, it would have remained until today.
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And thou Capernaum which art lift vp vnto heven shalt be brought doune to hell. For if the miracles which have bene done in the had bene shewed in zodom: they had remayned to this daye.
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And thou, Capernaum, which art lifted vp vnto heauen, shalt be brought downe to hell: for if the great workes, which haue bin done in thee, had bene done among them of Sodom, they had remained to this day.
Cross-references (20)
Passages linked to Matthew 11:23 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Isaiah 14:13-15 You said in your heart, “I will ascend into heaven! I will exalt my throne above the stars of God! I will sit on the mountain of assembly, in the far north! I will ascend above the heights of the clouds! I will make myself like the Most High!” Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the depths of the pit.
- John 4:46-54 Jesus came therefore again to Cana of Galilee, where he made the water into wine. There was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to him, and begged him that he would come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. Jesus therefore said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders, you will in no way believe.” The nobleman said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” Jesus said to him, “Go your way. Your son lives.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way. As he was now going down, his servants met him and reported, saying “Your child lives!” So he inquired of them the hour when he began to get better. They said therefore to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour, the fever left him.” So the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said to him, “Your son lives.” He believed, as did his whole house. This is again the second sign that Jesus did, having come out of Judea into Galilee.
- Genesis 13:13 Now the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinners against Yahweh.
- Matthew 4:13 Leaving Nazareth, he came and lived in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali,
- Revelation 11:8 Their dead bodies will be in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.
- Genesis 19:24-25 Then Yahweh rained on Sodom and on Gomorrah sulfur and fire from Yahweh out of the sky. He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew on the ground.
- Lamentations 2:1 How has the Lord covered the daughter of Zion with a cloud in his anger! He has cast the beauty of Israel down from heaven to the earth, and hasn’t remembered his footstool in the day of his anger.
- Ezekiel 16:48-50 As I live,” says the Lord Yahweh, “Sodom your sister has not done, she nor her daughters, as you have done, you and your daughters. “ ‘ “Behold, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: pride, fullness of bread, and prosperous ease was in her and in her daughters. She also didn’t strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. They were arrogant, and committed abomination before me. Therefore I took them away when I saw it.
- Ezekiel 28:12-19 “Son of man, take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and tell him, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “You were the seal of full measure, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz, emerald, chrysolite, onyx, jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and beryl. Gold work of tambourines and of pipes was in you. They were prepared in the day that you were created. You were the anointed cherub who covers. Then I set you up on the holy mountain of God. You have walked up and down in the middle of the stones of fire. You were perfect in your ways from the day that you were created, until unrighteousness was found in you. By the abundance of your commerce, your insides were filled with violence, and you have sinned. Therefore I have cast you as profane out of God’s mountain. I have destroyed you, covering cherub, from the middle of the stones of fire. Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty. You have corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor. I have cast you to the ground. I have laid you before kings, that they may see you. By the multitude of your iniquities, in the unrighteousness of your commerce, you have profaned your sanctuaries. Therefore I have brought out a fire from the middle of you. It has devoured you. I have turned you to ashes on the earth in the sight of all those who see you. All those who know you among the peoples will be astonished at you. You have become a terror, and you will exist no more.” ’ ”
- Ezekiel 31:16-17 I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to Sheol with those who descend into the pit. All the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, were comforted in the lower parts of the earth. They also went down into Sheol with him to those who are slain by the sword; yes, those who were his arm, who lived under his shadow in the middle of the nations.
- Obadiah 1:4 Though you mount on high as the eagle, and though your nest is set among the stars, I will bring you down from there,” says Yahweh.
- Matthew 8:5 When he came into Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking him,
- Matthew 16:18 I also tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my assembly, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.
- Luke 14:11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
- Acts 2:27 because you will not leave my soul in Hades, neither will you allow your Holy One to see decay.
- 2 Peter 2:4-9 For if God didn’t spare angels when they sinned, but cast them down to Tartarus, and committed them to pits of darkness to be reserved for judgment; and didn’t spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah with seven others, a preacher of righteousness, when he brought a flood on the world of the ungodly; and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, having made them an example to those who would live in an ungodly way; and delivered righteous Lot, who was very distressed by the lustful life of the wicked (for that righteous man dwelling among them was tormented in his righteous soul from day to day with seeing and hearing lawless deeds): the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment,
- Jude 1:7 Even as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, having in the same way as these given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are shown as an example, suffering the punishment of eternal fire.
- Matthew 17:24 When they had come to Capernaum, those who collected the didrachma coins came to Peter, and said, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the didrachma?”
- Luke 4:23 He said to them, “Doubtless you will tell me this parable, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done at Capernaum, do also here in your hometown.’ ”
- Luke 16:23 In Hades, he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far off, and Lazarus at his bosom.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 23 And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven,…
23 And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.
Ver. 23. Which art exalted unto heaven] viz. In the abundance of the means of grace, many times called the kingdom of heaven: for as the harvest is potentially in the seed, so is eternal life potentially in the ordinances. God sends up and down the world to offer salvation. Hence that phrase, My salvation is gone forth; hence they that reject the word preached are said to judge themselves "unworthy of everlasting life," Act 13:46; hence, while Israel was without a teaching priest, they are said to have been "without the true God," 2Ch 15:3; hence the Psalmist makes the blessings that come out of Sion to be better than any other that come out of heaven and earth, Psa 134:3.
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Shalt be brought down to hell] With a violence, with a vengeance. As Ahasuerus said of Haman, that so much abused his favour, Hang him on the gallows that is fifty cubits high: so shall God say of such, Plunge them into hell much deeper than others, that while they were on earth set so light by my grace, though it even kneeled unto them, wooing acceptance, 2Co 5:20.
It would have remained until this day] But God rained down hell from heaven upon them, and turned them into ashes, saith Peter; yea, their fire burned to hell, saith Jude. 2Pe 2:6; Jdg 1:7. Some footsteps of it are yet to be found in the place, as Josephus relateth (B. J. S.), and something also may be read of it in Tacitus and Solinus. Both St Peter and St Jude say, they were set forth for an example, Alterius perditio tua sit cautio. Let their destruction be our instruction; lest heathen Herodotus rise up in judgment against us, who said that the coals and ashes of Troy burned by the Greeks were purposely set before the eyes of men for an example of this rule, that national and notorious sins bring down national and notorious plagues from a sin revenging God, των μεγαλων αδικηματων μεγαλαι εισι και αι τιμωριαι παρα τω θεω..
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain This speech of our Saviour is much of the…
This speech of our Saviour is much of the same import with the other. The scope and sense of it is the same, to let the Capernaites know that the hardness of their heart was greater in contempt of the gospel, confirmed by so many miraculous operations, and their guilt greater, than the guilt of Sodom, long since destroyed by fire and brimstone, Gen 19:1-38, for though they were guilty of prodigious sinning, yet they had not such means to convince, reclaim, and reform them. God had not sent his Son amongst them, nor given them such testimonies of that act of grace as he had given these, by vouchsafing to confirm the doctrine of his Son by miracles; and therefore they must expect that God, in the day of judgment, should deal more severely with them than with the filthy and impure Sodomites. Our Saviour here speaketh not as an all knowing God, but as the Son of man to the sons of men, who speak upon probabilities and rational conjectures. If we should say that Christ spake this as an all knowing God, all that can be inferred is this, that an external reformation may be a lengthening out of persons’ tranquillity. In the mean time God was just to both in not giving them such means, they sinning notoriously against the light of nature, which they had, and the light of Lot’s holy example, whose righteous soul they vexed with their filthy conversation and unrighteous deeds, 2Pe 2:7,8; and he was also just in destroying of them. Capernaum is here said to have been
exalted to heaven, either with respect to their trading and outward prosperity, or with respect to the means of grace they enjoyed in hearing Christ’s sermons and seeing his miracles. The casting down to hell, seems to be meant of a temporal destruction, the word αδης not signifying the place of the damned, but the state of the dead; but Mat 11:24 must be understood of eternal condemnation, which shall be
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in the day of judgment.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain This city lying under greater guilt than the rest,…
This city lying under greater guilt than the rest, Christ names it by itself, without the rest; nay he doth not only name it, but notify it, as being lifted up to heaven by signal favours and privileges, namely, Christ’s presence, Christ’s preaching and miracles.
Observe, 1. Capernaum’s privileges enjoyed, though a poor obscure place in itself, yet she was by the person, ministry, and miracles of Christ, lifted up to heaven.
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Learn thence, That gospel ordinances and church privileges enjoyed are a mighty honour and advancement to the poorest persons and obscurest places.
Observe, 2. An heavy doom denounced, Thou shalt be brought down to hell: that is, thy condition shall be as sad as that of the worst of men, for thy non-proficiency under the means enjoyed.
Learn thence, That gospel-ordinances and church-privileges enjoyed but not improved, provoke Almighty God to inflict the sorest of judgment upon a people. Thou, Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven, shall be brought down to hell.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain But I say unto you,.... Capernaum, and the inhabitants…
But I say unto you,.... Capernaum, and the inhabitants thereof, as before, to Chorazin and Bethsaida.
It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom, in the day of judgment, than for thee: though the punishment of the men of Sodom will be very great, their iniquities being horribly dreadful and enormous, yet more easy to be borne than the vengeance, which, in the last and general judgment, will fall upon such, who have had the means of grace, and have despised them; especially such as had the personal presence, ministry, and miracles of Christ among them, as the Capernaites had. Such a way of expressing and setting forth the severer punishment of others, by that of Sodom, is not unusual in the Old Testament; see Lam 4:6 nor in Jewish writers, who say (r), that
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"the Israelites were fit for, or deserved, , "a far more heavy punishment than the punishment of Sodom": because they abounded with prophets, rising early, and sending them, but they did not hearken; whereas Sodom had no hands stayed on her, or prophets to warn them.''
(r) Tzeror Hammor, fol. 82. 1.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Thou Capernaum, who hast been exalted to heaven -…
Thou Capernaum, who hast been exalted to heaven - That is, highly honoured by my presence and miracles.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 23. Thou, Capernaum - exalted unto heaven] A…
Verse 23. Thou, Capernaum - exalted unto heaven] A Hebrew metaphor, expressive of the utmost prosperity, and the enjoyment of the greatest privileges. This was properly spoken of this city, because that in it our Lord dwelt, and wrought many of his miraculous works.
Shalt be brought down to hell] Perhaps not meaning, here, the place of torment, but rather a state of desolation. The original word is Hades, αδης, from α, not, and ιδειν, to see; the invisible receptacle or mansion of the dead, answering to שאול sheol, in Hebrew; and implying often, 1st. the grave; 2dly. the state of separate souls, or unseen world of spirits, whether of torment, Lu 16:23, or, in general, Re 1:18; Re 6:8; Re 20:13-14. The word hell, used in the common translation, conveys now an improper meaning of the original word; because hell is only used to signify the place of the damned. But, as the word hell comes from the Anglo-Saxon, helan, to cover, or hide, hence the tiling or slating of a house is called, in some parts of England (particularly Cornwall) heling, to this day; and the covers of books (in Lancashire) by the same name: so the literal import of the original word αδης was formerly well expressed by it. Here it means a state of the utmost wo, and ruin, and desolation, to which these impenitent cities should be reduced. This prediction of our Lord was literally fulfilled; for, in the wars between the Romans and the Jews, these cities were totally destroyed, so that no traces are now found of Bethsaida, Chorazin, or Capernaum. See Bp. PEARCE.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain And thou, Capernaum - See the notes at Mat…
And thou, Capernaum - See the notes at Mat 4:13.
Which art exalted to heaven - This is an expression used to denote great privileges. He meant that they were especially favored with instruction. The city was prosperous. It was signally favored by its wealth. Most of all, it was signally favored by the presence, the preaching, and the miracles of the Lord Jesus Christ. Here he spent a large portion of his time in the early part of his ministry, and in Capernaum and its neighborhood he performed his chief miracles.
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Shalt be brought down to hell - This does not mean that all the people would go to hell, but that the city which had flourished so prosperously would lose its prosperity, and occupy the “lowest place” among cities. The word “hell” is used here, not to denote a place of punishment in the future world, but a state of “desolation and destructions.” It stands in contrast with the word “heaven.” As their being exalted to heaven did not mean that the “people” would all be saved or dwell in heaven, so their being brought down to “hell” refers to the desolation of the “city.” Their privileges, honors, wealth, etc., would be taken away, and they would sink as low among cities as they had been before exalted. This has been strictly fulfilled. In the wars between the Jews and the Romans, Chorazin, Bethsaida, Capernaum, etc., were so completely desolated that it is difficult to determine their former situation. See the notes at Mat 4:13. It is not to be denied, also, that he threatened future punishment on those who rejected him. The truth inculcated is, that those who are especially favored will be punished accordingly if they abuse their privileges.
If the mighty works ...had been done in Sodom - See the notes at Mat 10:15. Sodom was destroyed on account of its great wickedness. Christ says if his miracles had been performed there, they would have repented, and consequently the city would not have been destroyed. As it was, it would be better for Sodom in the day of judgment than for Capernaum, for its inhabitants would not be called to answer for the abuse of so great privileges.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain If we compare this with Luke x. 15, it…
If we compare this with Luke x. 15, it will appear that Jesus Christ made twice this reproach to these two impenitent cities. (Bible de Vence)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain And thou, Capernaum--(See on Mat 4:13).
And thou, Capernaum--(See on Mat 4:13).
which art exalted unto heaven--Not even of Chorazin and Bethsaida is this said. For since at Capernaum Jesus had His stated abode during the whole period of His public life which He spent in Galilee, it was the most favored spot upon earth, the most exalted in privilege.
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shall be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom--destroyed for its pollutions.
it would have remained until this day--having done no such violence to conscience, and so incurred speakably less guilt.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 23. Exalted unto heaven — The heaven here spoken…
23. Exalted unto heaven — The heaven here spoken of is the literal abode of the blest, and the word is used in the literal sense. The figure, if there be any, is in the exaltation. Figuratively, they are said to be exalted to a prospective and possible heaven by the offer of the Gospel. Its forfeiture by impenitence opens before them a prospective hell. It would have remained — Our Lord here denies the doctrine of fatalism. Events can result differently from what they do.
This text illustrates also that true view of God’s foreknowledge which is implied in his attribute of omniscience. God foreknows not only all things actually future, but all things possible. And he knows all the results, both possible and certain, of all possible future events; and this not as weak man knows futurities, by experience of the past, and by inferences and reasonings from cause to effect. He foreknows all future actualities and possibilities by his own perfect attribute of infinite knowledge, which is eternal, uncaused, and independent.
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Nor does God’s knowledge, as predestinarianism affirms, depend on his determination or decree. For God’s knowledge is his own divine faculty or attribute of omniscience, while his determination is an act. To say that God’s knowledge depends upon his determination, is to say that his attribute depends upon his action. The act of God presupposes the attribute as being before it. For to suppose God to determine antecedent to his knowledge is to suppose that he determines without knowledge and in the dark. God’s foreknowledge is antecedent to his predetermination, and is the ground of it.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 23. Capernaum] See map. Although Capernaum was truly exalted…
23. Capernaum] See map. Although Capernaum was truly exalted unto heaven in being our Lord’s “own city,” the thought is rather of self-exaltation. The expressions recall Isa_14:13-15. Capernaum has exalted herself like Babylon—like Babylon she shall be brought low. Possibly too Capernaum was on a height at Tell Hum or Khan Minyeh. This would give force to the expression in the text.
According to the Sinaitic and Vatican MSS. this verse should be read: “Capharnaum, shalt thou be exalted unto heaven? Thou shalt be brought down to hell.”
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (23) And thou, Capernaum.—This city had already witnessed more…
(23) And thou, Capernaum.—This city had already witnessed more of our Lord’s recorded wonders than any other. That of the nobleman’s son (Joh_4:46-54), of the demoniac (Mar_1:21-28), the man sick of the palsy (Mat_9:1-8), of Peter’s wife’s mother and the many works that followed (Mat_8:1-14), of the woman with the issue of blood, and of Jairus’s daughter (Mat_9:18-26), of the centurion’s servant (Mat_8:5-13), had all been wrought there, besides the unrecorded “signs” implied in Luk_4:23. In this sense, and not in any outward prosperity, had Capernaum been “exalted unto heaven.” All this, however, had been in vain, and therefore the sentence was passed on it that it should be “brought down to hell,” i.e., to Hades, the grave, not Gehenna. The words point, as the next verse shows, to the ultimate abasement of the guilty city in the day of judgment, but the words have had an almost literal fulfilment. A few ruins conjecturally identified mark the site of Capernaum. Not one stone is left upon the other in Chorazin and Bethsaida.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain And thou, Capernaum, (Mat_4:13, note) which art exalted unto…
And thou, Capernaum, (Mat_4:13, note) which art exalted unto heaven; Shalt thou be exalted unto heaven? (Revised Version); Mh ewv ouranou uqwyhsh ; i.e. Shalt thou be raised high in public estimation, as thou thinkest, who art so proud of thy share in the busy and gay life on the lakeside? Shalt be brought down to hell; thou shalt go down unto Hades (Revised Version). The change of voice in the two clauses (uqwyhsh ... katabhsh) may imply that if thou "art indeed raised, it will be by Another; but if thou fallest, it will be by thyself.
Observe that our Lord"s words are an adaptation of Isaiah"s address to the King of Babylon. (Isa_14:13-15) For if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom (transposed in the Revised Version, as in ver. 21), it would have remained until this day. In this verso the stress lies on the effect of the moral attitude; in ver. 21, on the moral attitude itself.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 23. And thou, Capernaum. Capernaum was at that time…
23. And thou, Capernaum. Capernaum was at that time a city of 30,000 inhabitants. Its site also is disputed. Most locate it on the lake shore, at the ruins called Tell-Hum, but others locate it about three miles north of the ruins of Tell-Hum. It enjoyed signal advantages as being the Galilean home of Christ, who taught in its streets, houses and synagogue, and worked many miracles there. Art exalted unto heaven. By the privilege of having Christ as an inhabitant. Shalt be brought down to hell. Not hell, but hades, the unseen. Capernaum shall disappear from human view. Within less than forty years Capernaum was destroyed by the Romans, and for many centuries has not had an existence. And remained until this day. Note the inference: 1. Sodom was destroyed for its sins. 2. Had it not been sinful it would have “remained.” 3. Therefore it is sins that destroy cities and nations. Jerusalem, Babylon, Sodom, Capernaum, and other extinct ancient cities have perished on account of their sins. 4. Modern cities which scoff at God and revel in iniquity will “be brought down to hades” also. Permanent temporal prosperity depends on righteousness.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain (See Scofield "Luk 16:23").
hell
(See Scofield "Luk 16:23").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain The curse upon Capernaum:
The curse upon Capernaum:
v. 23. And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell; for if the mighty works which have been done in thee had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.
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v. 24. But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the Day of Judgment than for thee.
Capernaum, the commercial metropolis of northern Palestine, had been signally marked and blessed by Christ in that He made His home there during the Galilean ministry, and had performed some notable miracles there, and because its inhabitants heard some of His mightiest sermons: Most prosperous, with the greatest spiritual privileges, but the people, as a whole, most unsympathetic toward Christ. Exalted most high, degraded most deeply! Such is its curse. For even Sodom, representing the essence of bestial filth and immorality, would have responded to such evidences of special divine love and mercy. On the Day of Judgment, therefore, Sodom also will be preferred above Capernaum. It is a terrible thing to despise God’s visitation of grace. All those that have had an opportunity to learn about Christ and His work, but refuse repentance and faith, will receive a severer judgment on the last day and will be condemned to greater damnation than other sinners that were not so signally blessed with the revelation of truth.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Connecting Statement:
Connecting Statement:
Jesus continues to rebuke the people of the cities where he previously did miracles.
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You, Capernaum
Jesus now speaks to the people in the city of Capernaum as if they were listening to him, but they were not. The pronoun "you" is singular and refers to Capernaum throughout these two verses. (See: Apostrophe)
You
All occurrences of "you" are singular. If it is more natural to refer to the people of the city, you could translate with a plural "you." (See: Forms of You)
Capernaum ... Sodom
The names of these cities refer to the people living in Capernaum and in Sodom. (See: Metonymy)
do you think you will be exalted to heaven?
"do you think you will be raised up to heaven?" Jesus uses a rhetorical question to rebuke the people of Capernaum for their pride. It can be stated in active form: AT: "you cannot raise yourself up to heaven!" or "the praise of other people will not raise you up to heaven!" or "God will not bring you up to heaven like you think he will!" (See: Rhetorical Question and Active or Passive)
you will be brought down to Hades
This can be stated in active form. AT: "God will send you down to Hades" (See: Active or Passive)
For if in Sodom ... it would still have remained until today
Jesus is describing a hypothetical situation that could have happened in the past, but it did not. (See: Hypothetical Situations)
if in Sodom there had been done the mighty deeds that were done in you
This can be stated in active form. AT: "if I had done the mighty deeds among the people of Sodom that I have done among you" (See: Active or Passive)
mighty deeds
"mighty works" or "works of power" or "miracles"
it would still have remained
The pronoun "it" refers to the city of Sodom.
I say to you
This phrase adds emphasis to what Jesus says next.
it shall be easier for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you
Here "land of Sodom" refer to the people who lived there. AT: "God will show more mercy to the people of Sodom in the day of judgment than to you" or "God will punish you more severely in the day of judgment than the people of Sodom" (See: Metonymy)
than for you
The implicit information can be made explicit. AT: "than for you, because you did not repent and believe in me, even though you saw me do miracles" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
translationWords
Capernaum
exalt
heaven
Hades
Sodom
might
works
judgment day
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 11:23 the place of the dead: Greek Hades, which…
11:23 the place of the dead: Greek Hades, which corresponds to the Hebrew term Sheol (see study note on Ps 6:5).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.