Matthew 10
New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised
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. 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.
The Mission of the Twelve
5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: ‘Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, 6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 As you go, proclaim the good news, “The kingdom of heaven has come near.”[c] 8 Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers,[d] 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 labourers deserve their food. 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. 15 Truly I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgement than for that town.
Coming Persecutions
16 ‘See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. 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. 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. 21 Brother will betray brother 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. 23 When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next; for truly I tell you, you will not have gone 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; 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!
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. 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 him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.[e] 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground unperceived by your Father. 30 And even the hairs of your head are all counted. 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; 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.
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;
36 and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household.
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; 38 and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.
Rewards
40 ‘Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. 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.’
Footnotes
- Matthew 10:1 Gk he
- Matthew 10:3 Other ancient authorities read Lebbaeus, or Lebbaeus called Thaddaeus
- Matthew 10:7 Or is at hand
- Matthew 10:8 The terms leper and leprosy can refer to several diseases
- Matthew 10:28 Gk Gehenna
Matthew 10
Expanded Bible
Jesus Sends Out His Apostles(A)
10 Jesus called his twelve ·followers [disciples] together and gave them authority to drive [force; cast] out ·evil [defiling; L unclean] spirits and to heal every kind of disease and sickness. 2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (also called 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; 4 Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who ·turned against [betrayed] Jesus.
5 Jesus sent out these twelve men with the following ·order [instructions]: “Don’t go ·to [L on the way/road of] the ·Gentiles [non-Jewish people] or ·to [L enter] any town where the Samaritans live. 6 But go to the ·people of Israel, who are like lost sheep [L lost sheep of the house of Israel]. 7 When you go, ·preach [announce; proclaim] this: ‘The kingdom of heaven is ·near [at hand].’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead to life again, ·heal [L cleanse] ·those who have skin diseases [T the lepers; see 8:2], and ·force demons out of people [L cast out demons]. ·I give you these powers freely, so help other people freely [L Freely you have received, freely give]. 9 Don’t ·carry [or acquire] any money ·with you [L in your belts]—gold or silver or copper. 10 Don’t carry a ·bag [traveler’s bag; or beggar’s purse] or ·extra clothes [L two tunics] or sandals or a ·walking stick [staff]. Workers ·should be given what they need [deserve to be supported; L deserve their food/sustenance].
11 “When you enter a city or town, ·find [seek out] some ·worthy [honorable; respected] person there and stay in that home until you leave. 12 When you enter that home, ·give it your blessing [L greet it; C typically, “Peace be with you”; see Luke 10:5]. 13 If the ·people there welcome you [L house is worthy], let your peace ·stay there [L come upon it]. But if ·they don’t welcome you [L it is not worthy], ·take back the peace you wished for them [L let your peace return to you]. 14 And if ·a home or town [L anyone] refuses to welcome you or ·listen to you [heed your words/message], leave that ·place [L home or town] and shake its dust off your feet [C in protest and as a warning of judgment]. 15 I tell you the truth, on the judgment day it will be ·better [more bearable/tolerable] for the ·towns [L land] of Sodom and Gomorrah [C evil cities destroyed by God; Gen. 19] than for the people of that town.
Jesus Warns His Apostles(B)
16 “·Listen [L Look; T Behold], I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. So be as ·clever [wise; shrewd; cunning] as ·snakes [serpents] and as ·innocent [harmless] as doves. 17 ·Be careful of [Beware of; Watch out for] people, because they will ·arrest you and take you to court [hand you over to the courts/councils; C local councils associated with Jewish synagogues] and ·whip [flog; scourge] you in their synagogues. 18 ·Because of me [On my account; For my sake] you will be taken to stand before governors and kings, ·and you will tell them and the Gentiles about me [L as a witness/testimony to them and to the Gentiles]. 19 When you are arrested, don’t worry about what to say or how to say it. [L For] At that time you will be given the things to say. 20 It will not really be you speaking but the Spirit of your Father speaking ·through [in] you.
21 “Brothers will ·give [betray; hand over] their own brothers to ·be killed [death], and fathers will give their own children to ·be killed [death]. Children will ·fight [rebel; rise up] against their own parents and have them put to death. 22 All people will hate you because ·you follow me [L of my name], but those people who ·keep their faith [endure; stand firm; persevere] until the end will be saved. 23 When you are ·treated badly [persecuted] in one city, ·run [flee] to ·another city [the next]. I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through all the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes [Dan. 7:13–14].
24 “A ·student [disciple; follower] is not ·better than [superior to; L above] his teacher, and a ·servant [slave] is not ·better than [superior to; L above] his ·master [lord]. 25 ·A student should be satisfied [L It is enough for a student/disciple/follower] to become like his teacher; ·a servant should be satisfied to become [L and a servant/slave] like his master. If the head of the family [C here referring to Jesus] is called Beelzebul [C another name for Satan], ·then the other members of the family will be called worse names [L how much more the members of his household]!
Fear God, Not People(C)
26 “So don’t be afraid of those people, because everything that is ·hidden [concealed; covered up] will be ·shown [revealed; uncovered; disclosed]. Everything that is ·secret [hidden] will be made ·known [clear]. 27 I tell you these things in the dark, but I want you to tell them in the ·light [daylight]. What you hear whispered in your ear you should ·shout [proclaim] from the housetops. 28 Don’t be afraid of people, who can kill the body but cannot kill the soul. The only one you should fear is the one who can destroy [L both] the soul and the body in ·hell [L Gehenna; 5:22]. 29 Two sparrows are sold [L Are not two sparrows sold…?] for only a penny [C Greek: assarion; a copper coin of very low value], but not even one of them can ·die [L fall to the ground] ·without your Father’s knowing it [or apart from your Father’s will]. 30 God even ·knows [numbers; counts] how many hairs are on your head. 31 So don’t be afraid. You are ·worth much more [more valuable] than many sparrows.
32 “All those who ·stand before others and say they believe in me [L confess/acknowledge me before people], I will ·say before my Father in heaven that they belong to me [L confess/acknowledge them before my Father in heaven]. 33 But all who ·stand before others and say they do not believe in me [L deny/disown me before people] I will ·say before my Father in heaven that they do not belong to me [L also deny/disown them before my Father in heaven].
Divisions Within Households(D)
34 “Don’t ·think [suppose] that I came to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 [L For] I have come ·so that
‘a son will be [L to turn a man] against his father,
a daughter ·will be against [against] her mother,
a daughter-in-law ·will be against [against] her mother-in-law.
36 A person’s enemies will be members of his own ·family [household; Mic. 7:6].’
Conditions and Rewards of Discipleship(E)
37 “·Those who love [L The one who loves…] their father or mother more than they love me are not worthy ·to be my followers [L of me]. Those who love their son or daughter more than they love me are not worthy ·to be my followers [L of me]. 38 Whoever ·is not willing to carry the [L does not take up his] cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Those who ·try to hold on to [cling to; seek to preserve; L find] their lives will ·give up true life [lose them]. Those who ·give up [lose] their lives for ·me [my sake] will ·hold on to true life [L find them]. 40 Whoever ·accepts [receives; welcomes] you also ·accepts [receives; welcomes] me, and whoever ·accepts [receives; welcomes] me also ·accepts [receives; welcomes] the One who sent me. 41 Whoever ·accepts [receives; welcomes] a prophet ·because he is a prophet [L in the name of a prophet] will receive the ·reward of [same reward as] a prophet. And whoever ·accepts [receives; welcomes] a ·good [righteous; upright] person because that person is ·good [righteous; upright] will receive the ·reward of [same reward as] a ·good [righteous; upright] person. 42 Those who give one of these little ones [even; so much as] a cup of cold water because they are my ·followers [disciples] will ·truly get [L certainly not lose] their reward.”
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.