27
What I tell you now in the darkness, shout abroad when daybreak comes. What I whisper in your ear, shout from the housetops for all to hear!
28
“Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
29
What is the price of two sparrows—one copper coin ? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it.
30
And the very hairs on your head are all numbered.
31
So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.
32
“Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven.
33
But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven.
34
“Don’t imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came not to bring peace, but a sword.
35
‘I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
36
Your enemies will be right in your own household!’
37
“If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine.