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.
Study Helps
Interpretation
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.
Read with
This thought runs through Matthew 11:20-24.
Glossary
- Bethsaida Place
- House of fish. (1. ) A town in Galilee, on the west side of the sea of Tiberias, in the. Modern identification: At Tell.
- Chorazin Place
- Biblical settlement. Modern identification: Khirbet Karraza.
- Sackcloth People
- 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 ( Matt. 11:21 ).
- Sidon Place
- A fishery, a town on the Mediterranean coast, about 25 miles north of Tyre. It received its name from the “first-born” of Canaan, the grandson of Noah ( Gen. 10:15 , 19). Modern identification: Sandikli archaeological site in Sidon.
- Tyre Place
- Biblical settlement. Modern identification: Tyre.