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Prophecy

Chorazin, Bethsaida, Capernaum: “you will be brought down” (Matthew 11:20-24)

Ruins of the synagogue of Chorazin around 1900 (Matson Collection). They attest the abandonment of the site, not the cause of its decline.
Archaeological object Ruins of the synagogue of Chorazin around 1900 (Matson Collection). They attest the abandonment of the site, not the cause of its decline. — Matson Photo Service (G. Eric and Edith Matson Collection, Library of Congress), Wikimedia Commons · Domaine public

● Written before, according to historians

Written c. 27–30 AD according to tradition; c. 50–90 AD according to historians. Event: c. 330–1100 AD.

See the full entry: sources, objections, answers

In short

The announcement. Jesus, around AD 27–30, in the Gospel of Matthew (written around 80–90 according to scholars), reproaches three towns on the Sea of Galilee, Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum, for not changing their ways despite his deeds, and announces that Capernaum “will be brought down”.

What happened. In the 4th century, Chorazin is already described as “deserted and in ruins”. Capernaum still prospers for centuries, then is abandoned in the 11th century. The exact location of Bethsaida is itself debated, and these places are now only archaeological sites.

What is still debated. the text speaks of a judgment at the end of time, not of material ruin, and almost all the Galilean villages of the Roman period were abandoned.

Why it is striking

The saying was written centuries before these towns were abandoned, so not after the fact. But it has the final judgment in view, and seeing their ruin in it is a reading, all the more so since almost all the Galilean villages of the time have disappeared.

Main objection (in French for now)

Le texte place la sanction « au jour du jugement » (Mt 11:22, 24) : il s’agit d’un jugement eschatologique, non d’une annonce de destruction physique.

The text (World English Bible)

Then he began to denounce the cities in which most of his mighty works had been done, because they didn’t repent. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon which were done in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. You, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, you will go down to Hades. For if the mighty works had been done in Sodom which were done in you, it would have remained until today. But I tell you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment, than for you.”

Matt 11:20-24

Sources