Matthew 10

¹ He summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits with power to drivethem out and to cure all kinds of disease and all kinds of il ness.

² These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon who is known as Peter, and his brotherAndrew; James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John;

³ Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the tax col ector; James the son of Alphaeus, andThaddaeus;

⁴ Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who was also his betrayer.

⁵ These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them as fol ows: 'Do not make your way to gentile territory,and do not enter any Samaritan town;

⁶ go instead to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.

⁷ And as you go, proclaim that the kingdom of Heaven is close at hand.

⁸ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those suffering from virulent skin-diseases, drive out devils. Youreceived without charge, give without charge.

⁹ Provide yourselves with no gold or silver, not even with coppers for your purses,

¹⁰ with no haversack for the journey or spare tunic or footwear or a staff, for the labourer deserves hiskeep.

¹¹ 'Whatever town or vil age you go into, seek out someone worthy and stay with him until you leave.

¹² As you enter his house, salute it,

¹³ and if the house deserves it, may your peace come upon it; if it does not, may your peace come backto you.

¹⁴ And if anyone does not welcome you or listen to what you have to say, as you walk out of the houseor town shake the dust from your feet.

¹⁵ In truth I tel you, on the Day of Judgement it wil be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah than forthat town.

¹⁶ Look, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; so be cunning as snakes and yet innocent asdoves.

¹⁷ 'Be prepared for people to hand you over to sanhedrins and scourge you in their synagogues.

¹⁸ You will be brought before governors and kings for my sake, as evidence to them and to the gentiles.

¹⁹ But when you are handed over, do not worry about how to speak or what to say; what you are to saywil be given to you when the time comes,

²⁰ because it is not you who wil be speaking; the Spirit of your Father wil be speaking in you.

²¹ 'Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children wil come forward against theirparents and have them put to death.

²² You will be universally hated on account of my name; but anyone who stands firm to the end wil besaved.

²³ If they persecute you in one town, take refuge in the next; and if they persecute you in that, takerefuge in another. In truth I tel you, you wil not have gone the round of the towns of Israel before the Son of mancomes.

²⁴ 'Disciple is not superior to teacher, nor slave to master.

²⁵ It is enough for disciple to grow to be like teacher, and slave like master. If they have called themaster of the house "Beelzebul", how much more the members of his household?

²⁶ 'So do not be afraid of them. Everything now covered up wil be uncovered, and everything nowhidden wil be made clear.

²⁷ What I say to you in the dark, tel in the daylight; what you hear in whispers, proclaim from thehousetops.

²⁸ 'Do not be afraid of those who kil the body but cannot kill the soul; fear him rather who can destroyboth body and soul in hell.

²⁹ Can you not buy two sparrows for a penny? And yet not one falls to the ground without your Fatherknowing.

³⁰ Why, every hair on your head has been counted.

³¹ So there is no need to be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

³² 'So if anyone declares himself for me in the presence of human beings, I wil declare myself for him inthe presence of my Father in heaven.

³³ But the one who disowns me in the presence of human beings, I wil disown in the presence of myFather in heaven.

³⁴ 'Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth: it is not peace I have come to bring, buta sword.

³⁵ For I have come to set son against father, daughter against mother, daughter-in-law against mother-in-law;

³⁶ a person's enemies will be the members of his own household.

³⁷ 'No one who prefers father or mother to me is worthy of me. No one who prefers son or daughter tome is worthy of me.

³⁸ Anyone who does not take his cross and fol ow in my footsteps is not worthy of me.

³⁹ Anyone who finds his life wil lose it; anyone who loses his life for my sake wil find it.

⁴⁰ 'Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me; and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one whosent me.

⁴¹ 'Anyone who welcomes a prophet because he is a prophet wil have a prophet's reward; and anyonewho welcomes an upright person because he is upright wil have the reward of an upright person.

⁴² 'If anyone gives so much as a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is a disciple,then in truth I tel you, he wil most certainly not go without his reward.'