Matthew 11:23

Matthew 11:23. Capernaum, shalt thou be exalted unto heaven? The correct reading is a question anticipating a negative answer: Nay, thou shalt go down, etc. The place, as the centre of our Lord's activity, enjoyed special privileges. In wealth Capernaum could not be compared with Sodom; its lofty situation is uncertain, hence a reference to this is doubtful.

Shalt go down unto hell, or Hades, the ‘place of the dead,' not the place of future punishment. A figure of spiritual destitution and desolation, as ‘heaven' represented privilege. Nothing positive about ‘Hades' can be inferred from this verse, though it certainly hints at a disembodied state between death and the resurrection, which differs from ‘hell,' where both ‘soul and body' are punished (Matthew 10:28). Temporal judgments have been linked with the spiritual degradation here predicted; the very sites of these cities are disputed.

Sodom (compare its history in Genesis, chaps, 13 - 19) was the synonym for wickedness.

Remained until this day. As it was the oldest city of importance in Palestine, the language is the more striking.