³³ “‘And when an alien dwells with you^[a] in your^[b] land, you^[c] shall not oppress him. ³⁴ The alien who is dwelling with you^[d] shall be like a native among you,^[e] and you^[f] shall love him like yourself, ^[g] because you^[h] were aliens in the land of Egypt; I am Yahweh your^[i] God.

The Twelve Commissioned and Sent Out

10 And summoning his twelve disciples, he gave them authority over unclean spirits, so that they could expel them^[a] and could heal every^[b] disease and every^[c] sickness. ² Now these are the names of the twelve apostles: first Simon who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, James^[d] the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, ³ Philip, and Bartholomew, Thomas, and Matthew the tax collector, James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, ⁴ Simon the Zealot,^[e] and Judas Iscariot—the one who also betrayed him.

⁵ Jesus sent out these twelve, instructing them saying, “Do not go on the road to the Gentiles, and do not enter into a city of the Samaritans, ⁶ but go instead to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. ⁷ And as you^[f] are going, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near!’ ⁸ Heal those who are sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, expel demons. Freely you have received; freely give. ⁹ Do not procure gold or silver or copper for your belts. ¹⁰ Do not take a traveler’s bag for the road, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff, for the worker is deserving of his provisions. ¹¹ And into whatever town or village you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there until you depart. ¹² And when you^[g] enter into the house, greet it. ¹³ And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. ¹⁴ And whoever does not welcome you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you^[h] are going out of that house or that^[i] town. ¹⁵ Truly I say to you, it will be more bearable for the region of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town!

Persecution of Disciples Predicted

¹⁶ “Behold, I am sending you out like sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. ¹⁷ But beware of people, because they will hand you over to councils, and they will flog you in their synagogues. ¹⁸ And you will be brought before both governors and kings because of me, for a witness to them and to the Gentiles. ¹⁹ But whenever they hand you over, do not be anxious how to speak^[j] or what you should say, for what you should say will be given to you at that hour. ²⁰ For you are not the ones who are speaking, but the Spirit of your Father who is speaking through you.

²¹ “And brother will hand over brother to death, and a father his children, and children will rise up against parents and have them put to death, ²² and you will be hated by everyone because of my name. But the one who endures to the end—this one will be saved. ²³ And whenever they persecute you in this town, flee to another, for truly I say to you, you will never finish going through the towns of Israel until the Son of Man comes.

²⁴ “A disciple is not superior to his teacher, nor a slave superior to his master. ²⁵ It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household?

Fear God Rather Than People

²⁶ “Therefore do not be afraid of them, because nothing is hidden that will not be revealed, and nothing secret that will not become known. ²⁷ What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light, and what you hear in your ear, proclaim on the housetops. ²⁸ And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul, but instead be afraid of the one who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. ²⁹ Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?^[k] And one of them will not fall to the ground without the knowledge and consent^[l] of your Father. ³⁰ And even the hairs of your head are all numbered! ³¹ Therefore do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

³² “Therefore everyone who acknowledges me before people, I also will acknowledge him before my Father who is in heaven. ³³ But whoever denies me before people, I also will deny him before my Father who is in heaven.

Not Peace, But a Sword of Divisiveness

³⁴ “Do not think that I have come to bring peace on the earth! I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. ³⁵ For I have come to turn a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. ³⁶ And the enemies of a man will be the members of his household.^{[m] 37} The one who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and the one who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. ³⁸ And whoever does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. ³⁹ The one who finds his life will lose it, and the one who loses his life because of me will find it.

On Rewards

⁴⁰ “The one who receives you receives me, and the one who receives me receives the one who sent me. ⁴¹ The one who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and the one who receives a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. ⁴² And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water to drink in the name of a disciple, truly I say to you, he will never lose his reward.”

The Vine and the Branches

15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. ² Every branch that does not bear fruit in me, he removes it, and every branch that bears fruit, he prunes it in order that it may bear more fruit. ³ You are already clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. ⁴ Remain in me, and I in you. Just as the branch is not able to bear fruit from itself unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you, unless you remain in me.

⁵ “I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him—this one bears much fruit, for apart from me you are not able to do anything. ⁶ If anyone does not remain in me, he is thrown out as a branch, and dries up, and they gather them and throw them^[a] into the fire, and they are burned. ⁷ If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want and it will be done for you. ⁸ My Father is glorified by this: that you bear much fruit, and prove to be my disciples.

⁹ “Just as the Father has loved me, I also have loved you. Remain in my love. ¹⁰ If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. ¹¹ I have spoken these things to you in order that my joy may be in you, and your joy may be made complete. ¹² This is my commandment: that you love one another just as I have loved you. ¹³ No one has greater love than this: that someone lay down his life for his friends. ¹⁴ You are my friends if you do what I command you. ¹⁵ No longer do I call you slaves, because the slave does not know what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because everything that I have heard from my Father I have revealed to you. ¹⁶ You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and your fruit should remain, in order that whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you. ¹⁷ These things I command you: that you love one another.

The World’s Hatred for the Disciples

¹⁸ If the world hates you, you know that it has hated me before it hated^[b] you. ¹⁹ If you were of the world, the world would love its own. But because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, for this reason the world hates you. ²⁰ Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will keep yours also. ²¹ But they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they do not know the one who sent me. ²² If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin. But now they do not have a valid excuse for their sin. ²³ The one who hates me hates my Father also. ²⁴ If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not have sin. But now they have both seen and hated both me and my Father. ²⁵ But this happened^[c] so that the word that is written in their law would be fulfilled, ‘They hated me without a reason.’

²⁶ “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father—that one will testify about me. ²⁷ And you also will testify, because you have been with me from the beginning.

Living in Love

⁹ Love must be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; be attached to what is good, ¹⁰ being devoted to one another in brotherly love, esteeming one another more highly in honor, ¹¹ not lagging in diligence, being enthusiastic in spirit, serving the Lord, ¹² rejoicing in hope, enduring in affliction, being devoted to prayer, ¹³ contributing to the needs of the saints, pursuing hospitality.

Serving to the Glory of God

⁷ Now the end of all things draws near. Therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for your prayers. ⁸ Above all, keep^[a] your love for one another constant, because love covers a large number of sins. ⁹ Be hospitable to one another without complaining. ¹⁰ Just as each one has received a gift, use it for serving one another, as good stewards of the varied grace of God. ¹¹ If anyone speaks, let it be as the oracles of God; if anyone serves, let it be as by the strength that God provides, so that in all things God will be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom is the glory and the power forever and ever^[b]. Amen.