Matthew 10:16-25

Common English Bible

Response to harassment

¹⁶ “Look, I’m sending you as sheep among wolves. Therefore, be wise as snakes and innocent as doves. ¹⁷ Watch out for people—because they will hand you over to councils and they will beat you in their synagogues. ¹⁸ They will haul you in front of governors and even kings because of me so that you may give your testimony to them and to the Gentiles. ¹⁹ Whenever they hand you over, don’t worry about how to speak or what you will say, because what you can say will be given to you at that moment. ²⁰ You aren’t doing the talking, but the Spirit of my Father is doing the talking through you. ²¹ Brothers and sisters will hand each other over to be executed. A father will turn his child in. Children will defy their parents and have them executed. ²² Everyone will hate you on account of my name. But whoever stands firm until the end will be saved. ²³ Whenever they harass you in one city, escape to the next, because I assure that you will not go through all the cities of Israel before the Human One^[a] comes.

²⁴ “Disciples aren’t greater than their teacher, and slaves aren’t greater than their master. ²⁵ It’s enough for disciples to be like their teacher and slaves like their master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, it’s certain that they will call the members of his household by even worse names.