Matthew 10:16-33

Persecution Will Come

16 ¹"Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be ²wise as serpents and ³innocent as doves.

17 Beware of men, for ⁴they will deliver you over to courts and flog you ⁵in their synagogues,

18 ⁶and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, ⁷to bear witness before them and the Gentiles.

19 ⁸When ⁹they deliver you over, ¹⁰do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for ¹¹what you are to say will be given to you in that hour.

20 ¹²For it is not you who speak, but ¹³the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

21 ¹⁴Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death,

22 ¹⁵and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. ¹⁶But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

23 When they ¹⁷persecute you in one town, ¹⁸flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel ¹⁹before the Son of Man comes.

24 ²⁰"A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant^[a] above his master.

25 It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. ²¹If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign^[b] those of his household.

Have No Fear

26 "So have no fear of them, ²²for 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 ²³the housetops.

28 And ²⁴do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him ²⁵who can destroy both soul and body in hell.^[c]

29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?^[d] And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.

30 But ²⁶even the hairs of your head are all numbered.

31 Fear not, therefore; ²⁷you are of more value than many sparrows.

32 ²⁸So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven,

33 but ²⁹whoever denies me before men, ³⁰I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

Cross References

• 1. Luke 10:3; [John 17:18]
• 2. Genesis 3:1
• 3. Romans 16:19(Gk.); Philippians 2:15; [1 Corinthians 14:20]
• 4. See Mark 13:9, 11; Luke 12:11, 12
• 5. See Matthew 23:34
• 6. [See ver. 17 above]
• 7. See Matthew 8:4
• 8. [See ver. 17 above]
• 9. For ver. 19-22, [Mark 13:11-13; Luke 21:12-19; 2 Timothy 4:16, 17]
• 10. See Matthew 6:25
• 11. Deuteronomy 18:18; [Numbers 23:5]; See Exodus 4:12
• 12. Luke 12:12; Acts 4:8; Acts 6:10; Acts 13:9; 1 Corinthians 15:10; 2 Corinthians 13:3; [ver. 40; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; Hebrews 1:1]
• 13. [John 15:26]
• 14. ver. 35, 36
• 15. Matthew 24:9; John 15:18-21
• 16. Matthew 24:13; Mark 13:13; [Daniel 12:12, 13; James 5:11; Revelation 2:10]; See Hebrews 3:6
• 17. Matthew 23:34
• 18. [Matthew 12:15; Acts 8:1; Acts 9:25, 30; Acts 14:6; Acts 17:10, 14]
• 19. Matthew 16:28
• 20. Luke 6:40; John 13:16; John 15:20; [Hebrews 12:3]
• 21. Matthew 9:34; Matthew 12:24; Mark 3:22; Luke 11:15; See John 7:20
• 22. Mark 4:22; Luke 8:17; [1 Timothy 5:25]; For ver. 26-33, see Luke 12:2-9
• 23. See Luke 5:19
• 24. Isaiah 8:12, 13; Isaiah 51:12, 13; Jeremiah 1:8; 1 Peter 3:14
• 25. James 4:12
• 26. See 1 Samuel 14:45
• 27. Matthew 6:26; Matthew 12:12
• 28. [Romans 10:9, 10; Hebrews 10:35; Revelation 3:5]
• 29. 2 Timothy 2:12; 2 Peter 2:1; 1 John 2:23; [Mark 8:38]
• 30. Matthew 7:23; Matthew 25:12; Luke 13:25

Footnotes

• [a]. Greek bondservant; also verse 25
• [b]. Greek lacks will they malign
• [c]. Greek Gehenna
• [d]. Greek assarion, Roman copper coin (Latin quadrans) worth about 1/16 of a denarius (which was a day's wage for a laborer)