Matthew 11:12-24

English Standard Version

¹²^(A)From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence,^[a] and the violent take it by force. ¹³^(B)For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, ¹⁴and if you are willing to accept it, he is ^(C)Elijah who is to come. ¹⁵^(D)He who has ears to hear,^[b] let him hear.

¹⁶“But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates,

¹⁷“‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’

¹⁸For John came ^(E)neither eating ^(F)nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ ¹⁹The Son of Man came ^(G)eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, ^(H)a friend of ^(I)tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.”^[c]

Woe to Unrepentant Cities

²⁰^(J)Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. ²¹^(K)“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in ^(L)Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. ²²^(M)But I tell you, it will be more bearable on ^(N)the day of judgment for ^(O)Tyre and Sidon than for you. ²³And you, ^(P)Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to ^(Q)Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. ²⁴^(R)But I tell you that ^(S)it will be more tolerable on ^(T)the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.”