OET interlinear MAT 11:21

11:21–22

Verses 11:21–22 contain a figure of speech called apostrophe.The name of this figure of speech is spelled and pronounced the same as the punctuation mark used to show contractions, but with a different meaning. For more information, see Translation Problems A to Z, Apostrophe. In this figure of speech, Jesus spoke to the towns of Chorazin and Bethsaida as if they were persons.

Here are some other ways to translate this verse:

• Keep the apostrophe as in the BSB.

  ^21aWoe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! ^21bFor if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, ^21cthey would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

• Translate it so that Jesus is speaking to the people of those towns. For example:

  ^21aYou people of Chorazin are in for trouble! You people of Bethsaida are in for trouble too! ^21bIf the miracles that took place in your towns had happened in Tyre and Sidon, ^21cthe people there would have turned to God long ago.

11:21a

Woe to you: The Greek word that the BSB translates as Woe expresses a warning. It is a warning of God’s coming judgment and a call to people to change the way that they are living. Jesus knew that God would punish the people who lived in the town of Chorazin. They had seen Jesus do miracles, but most people did not believe in him.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

How terrible it will be for you (GNT)

Great trouble awaits you

It will be bad for you

God will punish you

Chorazin: The word Chorazin is the name of a town in the northern region of Galilee. (Notice that some English versions spell this word Korazin.) By naming the town, Jesus was speaking to the people of the town. These people were Jews. In some languages, it will be natural to make some of this information explicit. For example:

people of Chorazin

Jews who live in the town of Korazin

In some languages, it will be natural to put the town before the word “woe.” For example:

People of Chorazin, woe to you!

Woe to you, Bethsaida!: The same words of woe are repeated for the Jewish town of Bethsaida. This is done to emphasize the woe to each of these two towns. If repeating the phrase Woe to you does not emphasize that phrase in your language, you may want to emphasize the phrase in another way. For example:

Chorazin and Bethsaida, you will certainly have trouble!

11:21b–c

For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes: This is a long sentence that begins with an if clause. It is further complicated because it contrasts two situations. The first situation is a real situation: Jesus did miracles in the Jewish towns of Chorazin and Bethsaida. It is implied that they did not repent. The second situation is a hypothetical situation: If Jesus had done those same miracles in the Gentile towns of Tyre and Sidon, the people there would have repented.

In some languages, it will be natural to divide this long sentence into several shorter sentences. For example:

I did miracles in your towns, but you did not repent. If, for example, I had done these same miracles in the towns of Tyre and Sidon, they would have put on sackcloth and ashes to show that they had repented.

I did miracles in your towns, but you did not repent. Suppose that I had done these same miracles in the towns of Tyre and Sidon. They are not Jews, but they would have repented long ago. They would have shown their repentance by putting on sackcloth and putting ashes on their heads.

11:21b

For: Verses 11:21b–22 explain the reason why Jesus warned the towns of Chorazin and Bethsaida (in 11:21a). The Greek introduces this explanation with a conjunction that the BSB translates as For.

Here is another way to introduce this explanation:

I say this because

Some English versions do not translate this conjunction. In some languages, it may not be necessary to translate this conjunction either.

if the miracles that were performed in you: The Greek word that the BSB translates as miracles can also be translated as “mighty works” (as in the ESV). Here Jesus referred to the miracles that he has done in the Jewish towns of Chorazin and Bethsaida. It is implied that even though he did miracles there, the Jewish people in those towns did not repent.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

if the miracles I did in you (NLT)

If the miracles that took place in your towns (CEV)

I did amazing deeds/acts in your towns, but you Jews did not repent

had been performed in Tyre and Sidon: This part of the “if” clause is hypothetical. This means that it refers to something that did not happen. Jesus did not do miracles in the towns of Tyre and Sidon. But if he had done miracles there, the people there would have repented.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

had been done in Tyre and Sidon but they were not done

I did not do miracles in Tyre and Sidon. But if I had done miracles there

If, for example, I had done these same miracles in the towns of Tyre and Sidon

in Tyre and Sidon: Tyre and Sidon were two towns where Gentile (non-Jewish) people lived. God had punished them for their sins. This happened about 700 years before Jesus was born. The Jews knew about this situation from Isaiah 23. So the Jews considered them bad people. But Jesus showed the Jews that they were even worse sinners than the people of Tyre and Sidon.

If it is not clear to your readers that the comparison is between Jews and Gentiles, you may want to:

• Include some implied information in the text. For example:

  in the non-Jewish towns of Tyre and Sidon

  in the Gentile/foreign towns of Tyre and Sidon

• Include a footnote. For example:

  Chorazin and Bethsaida were Jewish towns. Tyre and Sidon were Gentile towns. Jesus was showing that the Gentiles were more likely to repent and believe in him than the Jews were.

11:21c

they would have repented long ago: This clause is another part of the hypothetical statement. The Gentile people in the towns of Tyre and Sidon would have repented long ago if they had seen Jesus’ miracles. They would not have waited to repent. But Jesus did not do miracles there, and the people did not repent.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

they would have quickly repented

they would not have waited to turn from their sins

in sackcloth and ashes: This phrase indicates two ways that people at that time showed that they had repented. They wore an itchy cloth called sackcloth, and they put ashes on their heads.

The word sackcloth refers to a rough cloth made of animal hair and then made into clothing. Wearing such clothing was not comfortable because the cloth was scratchy. To add to their misery, people also either sat in ashes or they poured ashes on their heads.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

• Explain in the text that sackcloth and ashes were ways of showing they had sincerely repented. For example:

  They would have worn rough cloth and put ashes on themselves to show they had changed. (NCV)

  put on sackcloth and sprinkled ashes on themselves, to show that they had turned from their sins! (GNT)

• Explain this custom in a footnote. A sample footnote is:

  The custom of those people at that time was to put on rough cloth and to sprinkle ashes on themselves. This showed that they had turned from their sins.