Matthew 10:1-23

New American Standard Bible 1995

The Twelve Disciples; Instructions for Service

10 Jesus ^(A)summoned His twelve disciples and 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 ^[a](F)James the son of Zebedee, and ^[b]John his brother; ^3 (G)Philip and ^[c]Bartholomew; ^(H)Thomas and ^(I)Matthew the tax collector; ^[d](J)James the son of Alphaeus, and ^(K)Thaddaeus; ⁴ Simon the ^[e]Zealot, and ^(L)Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Him.

^5 (M)These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them: “Do not ^[f]go ^[g]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, ^[h]preach, saying, ‘^(P)The kingdom of heaven ^[i]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 ^[j]bag for your journey, or even two ^[k]coats, or sandals, or a staff; for ^(R)the worker is worthy of his ^[l]support. ¹¹ And whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it, and stay ^[m]at his house until you leave that city. ¹² As you enter the ^[n]house, ^(S)give it your ^[o]greeting. ¹³ If the house is worthy, ^[p]give it your blessing of peace. But if it is not worthy, ^[q]take back your blessing of peace. ¹⁴ Whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of 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.

A Hard Road before Them

¹⁶ “^(X)Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so ^[r]be ^(Y)shrewd as serpents and ^(Z)innocent as doves. ¹⁷ But beware of men, for they will hand you over to the ^(AA)courts and scourge 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 hand you over, ^(AD)do not worry about how or what you are to say; for it will be given you in that hour what you are to say. ²⁰ For ^(AE)it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.

²¹ “^(AF)Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and ^(AG)children will rise up against parents and ^[s]cause them to be put to death. ^22 (AH)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 ^[t]one city, flee to ^[u]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.