Matthew 10

¹And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits , to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction .

²The names of the twelve apostles are these : first , Simon , who is called Peter , and Andrew his brother ; James the son of Zebedee , and John his brother ;

³Philip and Bartholomew ; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector ; James the son of Alphaeus , and Thaddaeus ;

⁴Simon the Zealot , and Judas Iscariot , who betrayed him .

⁵These twelve Jesus sent out , instructing them , Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans ,

⁶but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel .

⁷And proclaim as you go , saying , The kingdom of heaven is at hand .

⁸Heal the sick , raise the dead , cleanse lepers , cast out demons . You received without paying ; give without pay .

⁹Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts ,

¹⁰no bag for your journey , or two tunics or sandals or a staff , for the laborer deserves his food .

¹¹And whatever town or village you enter , find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart .

¹²As you enter the house , greet it .

¹³And if the house is worthy , let your peace come upon it , but if it is not worthy , let your peace return to you .

¹⁴And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words , shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town .

¹⁵Truly , I say to you , it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town .

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

²⁴A disciple is not above his teacher , nor a servant above his master .

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

²⁶So have no fear of them , for nothing is covered that will not be revealed , or hidden that will not be known .

²⁷What I tell you in the dark , say in the light , and what you hear whispered , proclaim on the housetops .

²⁸And 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 .

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

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

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

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

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

³⁴Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth . I have not come to bring peace , but a sword .

³⁵For 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 .

³⁶And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household .

³⁷Whoever 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 .

³⁸And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me .

³⁹Whoever finds his life will lose it , and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it .

⁴⁰Whoever receives you receives me , and whoever receives me receives him who sent me .

⁴¹The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward , and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward .

⁴²And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple , truly , I say to you , he will by no means lose his reward .