Matthew 10:8-12:20

English Standard Version

^8 (A)Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers,^[a] cast out demons. ^(B)You received without paying; give without pay. ^9 (C)Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, ¹⁰ no bag for your journey, or two tunics^[b] or sandals or a staff, for ^(D)the laborer deserves his food. ¹¹ And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart. ¹² As you enter the house, ^(E)greet it. ¹³ And if the house is ^(F)worthy, let ^(G)your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let ^(H)your peace return to you. ¹⁴ And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, ^(I)shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. ¹⁵ Truly, I say to you, ^(J)it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for ^(K)the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.

Persecution Will Come

^16 (L)“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be ^(M)wise as serpents and ^(N)innocent as doves. ¹⁷ Beware of men, for ^(O)they will deliver you over to courts and flog you ^(P)in their synagogues, ^18 (Q)and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, ^(R)to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. ^19 (S)When ^(T)they deliver you over, ^(U)do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for ^(V)what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. ^20 (W)For it is not you who speak, but ^(X)the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. ^21 (Y)Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, ^22 (Z)and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. ^(AA)But the one who endures to the end will be saved. ²³ When they ^(AB)persecute you in one town, ^(AC)flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel ^(AD)before the Son of Man comes.

^24 (AE)“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant^[c] above his master. ²⁵ It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. ^(AF)If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign^[d] those of his household.

Have No Fear

²⁶ “So have no fear of them, ^(AG)for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. ²⁷ What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on ^(AH)the housetops. ²⁸ And ^(AI)do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him ^(AJ)who can destroy both soul and body in hell.^{[e] 29} Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?^[f] And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. ³⁰ But ^(AK)even the hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹ Fear not, therefore; ^(AL)you are of more value than many sparrows. ^32 (AM)So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, ³³ but ^(AN)whoever denies me before men, ^(AO)I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

Not Peace, but a Sword

^34 (AP)“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. ^(AQ)I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. ^35 (AR)For I have come ^(AS)to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. ^36 (AT)And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. ^37 (AU)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. ³⁸ And ^(AV)whoever does not take his cross and ^(AW)follow me is not worthy of me. ^39 (AX)Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Rewards

^40 (AY)“Whoever receives you receives me, and ^(AZ)whoever receives me receives him who sent me. ^41 (BA)The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person's reward. ⁴² And ^(BB)whoever gives one of ^(BC)these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”

Messengers from John the Baptist

11 When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities.

^2 (BD)Now when John heard ^(BE)in prison about the deeds of ^(BF)the Christ, he sent word by ^(BG)his disciples ³ and said to him, “Are you ^(BH)the one who is to come, or shall we ^(BI)look for another?” ⁴ And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: ^5 (BJ)the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers^[g] are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and ^(BK)the poor have good news preached to them. ⁶ And blessed is the one who ^(BL)is not offended by me.”

⁷ As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out ^(BM)into the wilderness to see? ^(BN)A reed shaken by the wind? ⁸ What then did you go out to see? A man^[h] dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. ⁹ What then did you go out to see? ^(BO)A prophet?^[i] Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. ¹⁰ This is he of whom it is written,

¹¹ Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. ^12 (BQ)From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence,^[j] and the violent take it by force. ^13 (BR)For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, ¹⁴ and if you are willing to accept it, he is ^(BS)Elijah who is to come. ^15 (BT)He who has ears to hear,^[k] let him hear.

¹⁶ “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates,

¹⁸ For John came ^(BU)neither eating ^(BV)nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ ¹⁹ The Son of Man came ^(BW)eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, ^(BX)a friend of ^(BY)tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.”^[l]

Woe to Unrepentant Cities

^20 (BZ)Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. ^21 (CA)“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in ^(CB)Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. ^22 (CC)But I tell you, it will be more bearable on ^(CD)the day of judgment for ^(CE)Tyre and Sidon than for you. ²³ And you, ^(CF)Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to ^(CG)Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. ^24 (CH)But I tell you that ^(CI)it will be more tolerable on ^(CJ)the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.”

Come to Me, and I Will Give You Rest

^25 (CK)At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, ^(CL)Lord of heaven and earth, that ^(CM)you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and ^(CN)revealed them to little children; ²⁶ yes, Father, for such was your ^(CO)gracious will.^{[m] 27 (CP)}All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son ^(CQ)except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone ^(CR)to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. ^28 (CS)Come to ^(CT)me, all who labor and are ^(CU)heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you, and ^(CV)learn from me, for I am ^(CW)gentle and lowly in heart, and ^(CX)you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For ^(CY)my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

12 At that time ^(CZ)Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and ^(DA)they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. ² But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, ^(DB)“Look, your disciples are doing ^(DC)what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” ³ He said to them, ^(DD)“Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: ⁴ how he entered the house of God and ate ^(DE)the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? ⁵ Or have you not read ^(DF)in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? ⁶ I tell you, ^(DG)something greater than the temple is here. ⁷ And if you had known ^(DH)what this means, ^(DI)‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. ⁸ For ^(DJ)the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”

A Man with a Withered Hand

⁹ He went on from there and ^(DK)entered their synagogue. ¹⁰ And a man was there with a withered hand. And they asked him, ^(DL)“Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—^(DM)so that they might accuse him. ¹¹ He said to them, “Which one of you who has a sheep, ^(DN)if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? ^12 (DO)Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So ^(DP)it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” ¹³ Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And ^(DQ)the man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other. ¹⁴ But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.

God's Chosen Servant

¹⁵ Jesus, aware of this, ^(DR)withdrew from there. And ^(DS)many followed him, and he healed them all ¹⁶ and ^(DT)ordered them not to make him known. ^17 (DU)This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: