Matthew 10
Legacy Standard Bible
Jesus Appoints the Twelve
10 (A)And summoning His twelve disciples, Jesus gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to (B)heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.
2 (C)Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: The first, (D)Simon, who is called Peter, and (E)Andrew his brother; and (F)James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3 (G)Philip and [a]Bartholomew; (H)Thomas and (I)Matthew the tax collector; (J)James the son of Alphaeus, and (K)Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the [b]Zealot, and (L)Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Him.
The Twelve Disciples Sent Out
5 (M)These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them, saying, “Do not [c]go [d]in the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter any city of the (N)Samaritans; 6 but rather go to (O)the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And as you go, [e]preach, saying, ‘(P)The kingdom of heaven [f]is at hand.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give. 9 (Q)Do not acquire gold, or silver, or copper for your money belts, 10 or a [g]bag for your journey, or even two [h]tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for (R)the worker is worthy of his [i]support. 11 And whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it, and stay there until you leave. 12 Now as you enter the [j]house, (S)give it your [k]greeting. 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 receive you, nor heed your words, as you leave that house or that city, (T)shake the dust off your feet. 15 Truly I say to you, (U)it will be more tolerable for the land of (V)Sodom and Gomorrah in (W)the day of judgment than for that city.
The Promise of Persecution
16 “(X)Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so [l]be (Y)shrewd as serpents and (Z)innocent as doves. 17 But beware of men, for they will deliver you over to the (AA)courts and flog you (AB)in their synagogues; 18 and you will even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. 19 (AC)But when they deliver you over, (AD)do not worry about how or what you are to say; for it will be given to you in that hour what you are to say. 20 For (AE)it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.
21 “(AF)And brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and (AG)children will rise up against parents and [m]cause them to be put to death. 22 (AH)And you will be hated by all because of My name, but (AI)it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.
23 “But whenever they (AJ)persecute you in this city, flee to [n]the next; for truly I say to you, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel (AK)until the Son of Man comes.
The Meaning of Discipleship
24 “(AL)A [o]disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. 25 It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. (AM)If they have called the head of the house [p](AN)Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household!
26 “Therefore do not (AO)fear them, (AP)for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. 27 (AQ)What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim (AR)upon the housetops. 28 And do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather (AS)fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in [q](AT)hell. 29 (AU)Are not two sparrows sold for an [r]assarion? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But (AV)the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So do not fear; (AW)you are more valuable than many sparrows.
32 “Therefore (AX)everyone who [s]confesses Me before men, I will also confess [t]him before My Father who is in heaven. 33 But (AY)whoever [u]denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.
34 “(AZ)Do not think that I came to [v]bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I came to (BA)set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; 36 and (BB)a man’s enemies will be the members of his household.
37 “(BC)He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 And (BD)he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 (BE)He who has found his [w]life will lose it, and he who has lost his [x]life for My sake will find it.
The Reward of Service
40 “(BF)He who receives you receives Me, and (BG)he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. 41 (BH)He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. 42 And (BI)whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these [y]little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.”
Footnotes
- Matthew 10:3 Son of Talmai (Aram)
- Matthew 10:4 Or Cananaean
- Matthew 10:5 Or go off
- Matthew 10:5 Or on the road of
- Matthew 10:7 Or proclaim
- Matthew 10:7 Lit has come near
- Matthew 10:10 Or knapsack, beggar’s bag
- Matthew 10:10 Gr khiton, the garment worn next to the skin
- Matthew 10:10 Lit nourishment
- Matthew 10:12 Or household
- Matthew 10:12 The familiar Heb blessing, “Peace be to this house!”
- Matthew 10:16 Or show yourselves to be
- Matthew 10:21 Lit put them to death
- Matthew 10:23 Lit the other
- Matthew 10:24 Or student
- Matthew 10:25 Ruler of demons; or Beezebul
- Matthew 10:28 Gr Gehenna
- Matthew 10:29 A Roman copper coin, approx. 1/16 of a laborer’s daily wage
- Matthew 10:32 Lit will confess in Me
- Matthew 10:32 Lit in him
- Matthew 10:33 Lit will deny
- Matthew 10:34 Lit cast
- Matthew 10:39 Or soul
- Matthew 10:39 Or soul
- Matthew 10:42 Possibly someone of low social standing
Matthew 10
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Twelve Apostles
10 Then Jesus[a] summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness.(A) 2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee and his brother John; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus and Thaddaeus;[b] 4 Simon the Cananaean and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him.(B)
The Mission of the Twelve
5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not take a road leading to gentiles, and do not enter a Samaritan town,(C) 6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.(D) 7 As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’[c](E) 8 Cure the sick; raise the dead; cleanse those with a skin disease; cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment. 9 Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts, 10 no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff, for laborers deserve their food.(F) 11 Whatever town or village you enter, find out who in it is worthy, and stay there until you leave. 12 As you enter the house, greet it. 13 If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14 If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town.(G) 15 Truly I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.(H)
Coming Persecutions
16 “I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.(I) 17 Beware of them, for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues, 18 and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them and the gentiles.(J) 19 When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you at that time, 20 for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.(K) 21 Sibling will betray sibling to death and a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, 22 and you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.(L) 23 When they persecute you in this town, flee to the next, for truly I tell you, you will not have finished going through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
24 “A disciple is not above the teacher nor a slave above the master;(M) 25 it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household!(N)
Whom to Fear
26 “So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered and nothing secret that will not become known.(O) 27 What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. 28 Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, fear the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell.[d] 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 And even the hairs of your head are all counted.(P) 31 So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.
32 “Everyone, therefore, who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven,(Q) 33 but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.
Not Peace, but a Sword
34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace but a sword.(R)
35 For I have come to set a man against his father,
and a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law,(S)
36 and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household.(T)
37 “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me,(U) 38 and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me.(V) 39 Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.(W)
Rewards
40 “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.(X) 41 Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous, 42 and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.”(Y)
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New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.