Matthew 11:23

Matthew 11:23 mh. e[wj ouvranou/ u`ywqh,sh| {B}

Palaeographically it is easy to see how the reading preserved in the earliest witnesses, which represent all the pre-Byzantine types of text, was accidentally modified. After Kafarnaou,m the first letter of mh, was accidentally dropped, with the consequent alteration of the verb to either u`ywqei/sa or u`yw,qhj depending on whether y was taken as the article h` or the relative h[. The strong external attestation for the presence of mh, is supported also by intrinsic and transcriptional probability. The unexpected turn of expression, “And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven?” is a sharp and startling interrogation, entirely in the manner of Jesus’ use of vivid language. On the other hand, most copyists were likely to prefer the more commonplace statement, “And you, Capernaum, that are exalted to heaven …”