And as you go, [a]preach, saying, ‘(A)The kingdom of heaven [b]has come near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with leprosy, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give. (B)Do not acquire gold, or silver, or copper for your money belts, 10 or a [c]bag for your journey, or even two [d]tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for (C)the worker is deserving of his [e]support. 11 And whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it, and stay [f]at his house until you leave that city. 12 As you enter the [g]house, (D)give it your [h]greeting. 13 If the house is worthy, see that your blessing of peace comes upon it. But if it is not worthy, [i]take back your blessing of peace. 14 And whoever does not receive you nor listen to your words, as you leave that house or city, (E)shake the dust off your feet.

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 10:7 Or proclaim
  2. Matthew 10:7 Or is at hand
  3. Matthew 10:10 Or knapsack; or beggar’s bag
  4. Matthew 10:10 A long shirt worn next to the skin
  5. Matthew 10:10 Lit nourishment
  6. Matthew 10:11 Lit there until
  7. Matthew 10:12 Or household
  8. Matthew 10:12 I.e., the familiar Heb blessing, “Peace be to this house!”
  9. Matthew 10:13 Lit your peace is to return to you

As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near!’ Heal the sick, raise the dead,[a] cleanse lepers,[b] cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give. Do not take gold, silver, or copper[c] in your belts, 10 no bag[d] for the journey, or an extra tunic,[e] or sandals or staff,[f] for the worker deserves his provisions. 11 Whenever[g] you enter a town or village,[h] find out who is worthy there[i] and stay with them[j] until you leave. 12 As you enter the house, greet those within it.[k] 13 And if the house is worthy, let your peace come on it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.[l] 14 And if anyone will not welcome you or listen to your message, shake the dust off[m] your feet as you leave that house or that town.

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 10:8 tc The majority of Byzantine minuscules, along with a few other witnesses (C3 K L Γ Θ 579 700txt* 1424c sa mae), lack νεκροὺς ἐγείρετε (nekrous egeirete, “raise the dead”), most likely because of oversight due to a string of similar endings (-ετε in the second person imperatives, occurring five times in v. 8). The longer version of this verse is found in several diverse and ancient witnesses such as א B C* (D) N 0281vid ƒ1, 13 33 565 579mg lat bo; P W Δ 348 syh have a word-order variation, but nevertheless include νεκροὺς ἐγείρετε. Although some Byzantine-text proponents charge the Alexandrian witnesses with theologically-motivated alterations toward heterodoxy, it is interesting to find a variant such as this in which the charge could be reversed (do the Byzantine scribes have something against the miracle of resurrection?). In reality, such charges of wholesale theologically-motivated changes toward heterodoxy are immediately suspect due to lack of evidence of intentional changes (here the change is evidently due to accidental omission).
  2. Matthew 10:8 sn See the note on leper in Matt 8:2.
  3. Matthew 10:9 sn The gold, silver, and copper probably represent varying degrees of provision, with gold the most valuable and copper the least. Jesus’ point appears to be that not even minimal provision (copper) was to be taken along, forcing the disciple to be totally dependent on God.
  4. Matthew 10:10 tn Or “no traveler’s bag”; or possibly “no beggar’s bag” (L&N 6.145; BDAG 811 s.v. πήρα).
  5. Matthew 10:10 tn Grk “two tunics,” that is, wearing one and carrying one as a spare. See the note on the word “tunic” in Matt 5:40.
  6. Matthew 10:10 tn Mark 6:8 allows one staff. It is possible that Matthew’s “two” with regard to the tunics (NET “an extra tunic”) extends to cover the sandals and staff as well (although “staff” is singular), making this a summary (cf. Luke 9:3) meaning not taking an extra pair of sandals or an extra staff (like the tunics). It is also possible the expression is merely rhetorical for “traveling light” which has been rendered in two slightly different ways.sn The point of the prohibitions seems to be not so much urgency as total dependence on God. Lack of a staff, in particular, would leave the traveler extremely vulnerable to wild animals and robbers.
  7. Matthew 10:11 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
  8. Matthew 10:11 tn Grk “Into whatever town or village you enter.” This acts as a distributive, meaning every town or village they enter; this is expressed more naturally in English as “whenever you enter a town or village.”
  9. Matthew 10:11 tn Grk “in it” (referring to the city or village).
  10. Matthew 10:11 tn Grk “there.” This was translated as “with them” to avoid redundancy in English and to clarify where the disciples were to stay.sn Jesus telling his disciples to stay with them in one house contrasts with the practice of religious philosophers in the ancient world who went from house to house begging. Staying in one location would give the disciples a base of operations for mission in the area as long as they were there.
  11. Matthew 10:12 tn Grk “give it greetings.” The expression “give it greetings” is a metonymy; the “house” is put for those who live in it. The translation clarifies this because it sounds odd in contemporary English to speak of greeting a building.
  12. Matthew 10:13 sn The response to these messengers determines how God’s blessing is bestowed—if the messengers are not welcomed, their blessing will return to them. Jesus shows just how important their mission is by this remark.
  13. Matthew 10:14 sn To shake the dust off represented, on one level, shaking off the uncleanness from one’s feet; see Luke 10:11; Acts 13:51; 18:6. At another level, however, it is similar to a prophetic sign, representing the termination of all fellowship with those individuals or localities that have rejected the messengers along with their message of the coming kingdom of heaven. This in essence constitutes a sign of eschatological judgment, as confirmed in the following verse.

And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.

Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses,

10 Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat.

11 And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, enquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence.

12 And when ye come into an house, salute it.

13 And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.

14 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.

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