What Does Matthew 11:23 Mean in the King James?
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.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The verse overturns the city’s reputation: Sodom might have endured if it had received what Capernaum received.
THE MEANING
Sodom is imagined enduring if it had met the mighty works Capernaum receives. What reaches you carries weight: nearness to heaven is not proof of safety. The verse holds elevation and descent together, so privilege cannot be mistaken for wholeness.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that religious distinction guarantees safety, or that a place with a notorious past is beyond the possibility of responding.
THE ROOT
ὑψωθήσῃ
hypsōthēsē
GROWS FROM
ὑψ-
hyps-
height; raising or lifting up
“exalted” in this verse is hypsōthēsē. This root carries both height as a state and the act of raising, so the image is more than a high location: it is an elevation that can be reversed. The paired descent makes clear that being raised does not guarantee remaining above.
ALSO GROWS
hypsos: height, loftiness
ὕψος
The noun names the height that Capernaum is pictured as reaching.
hypsēlos: high, lofty
ὑψηλός
This adjective shares the same root and reinforces the image of a city elevated toward heaven.
hypsōō: raise, exalt
ὑψόω
This verb is the source of the verse’s word for being exalted and also appears in the connected verse about being lifted up.
δυνάμεις
dynameis
GROWS FROM
δυναμ-
dynam-
power, capacity, ability
The word translated “mighty works” belongs to the same family as words for power and ability. It presents the works as power made visible, whose presence makes the counterfactual about Sodom so striking.
ALSO GROWS
dynamis: power, capacity; an act displaying power
δύναμις
This is the singular form behind the verse’s “mighty works.”
dynamai: be able, have power
δύναμαι
It shows the root’s connection between power and the capacity to act.
dynatos: able, powerful
δυνατός
This related form describes what has power or ability, echoing the force of the works in the verse.
γενόμεναι
genomenai
GROWS FROM
γεν-
gen-
come into being, happen, become
“done” in this verse is genomenai. The Greek repeats this family: the works happened in Capernaum, and the same works might have happened in Sodom. The repeated root puts the places side by side through what comes to pass in them.
ALSO GROWS
ginomai: become, happen, come to pass
γίνομαι
This verb is the root family behind the verse’s two references to the works occurring.
genesis: birth, origin
γένεσις
This related noun uses the same root for something coming into being.
genos: kind, family, offspring
γένος
This related form names a kind or lineage that comes from a common origin.
THE PATTERN
The more a person or place receives, the more its response matters.
You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon, which have been done in you, they had a great while ago repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment, than for you.THE THREAD
For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.The Greek word translated “exalted” in Matthew and Luke comes from the same verb, ὑψόω (hypsōō, raise or exalt). Luke names self-lifting and humility; Matthew presses the image further by showing that elevation does not prevent descent.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us