Matthew 11:21 (GNV)

Passage

Woe be to thee, Chorazin: Woe be to thee, Bethsaida: for if ye great workes, which were done in you, had bene done in Tyrus and Sidon, they had repented long agone in sackecloth and ashes.

Nearby Context

Matthew 11:19 The sonne of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Beholde a glutton and a drinker of wine, a friend vnto Publicanes and sinners: but wisedome is iustified of her children.

Matthew 11:20 Then began he to vpbraide the cities, wherein most of his great workes were done, because they repented not.

Matthew 11:21 Woe be to thee, Chorazin: Woe be to thee, Bethsaida: for if ye great workes, which were done in you, had bene done in Tyrus and Sidon, they had repented long agone in sackecloth and ashes.

Matthew 11:22 But I say to you, It shalbe easier for Tyrus and Sidon at the day of iudgement, then for you.

Matthew 11:23 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.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "thee", "chorazin", "bethsaida", "great", "workes", "done", and "bene". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "thee" and "chorazin", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 20's "Then began he to vpbraide the cities..." into verse 22's "But I say to you It shalbe...", so "thee" and "chorazin" belong inside that flow. In Matthew context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "thee" and "chorazin" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.