Matthew 10 :: English Standard Version (ESV)

The Twelve Apostles

(Mar 3:13–19; Luk 6:12–16 )

Mat 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.

Mat 10:2

Mat 10:2The 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;

Mat 10:3

Mat 10:3Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;[fn]

Mat 10:4

Mat 10:4Simon the Zealot,[fn] and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Apostles

(Mar 6:7–13; Luk 9:1–6 )

Mat 10:5

Mat 10:5These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans,

Mat 10:6

Mat 10:6but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Mat 10:7

Mat 10:7And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’[fn]

Mat 10:8

Mat 10:8Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers,[fn] cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay.

Mat 10:9

Mat 10:9Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts,

Mat 10:10

Mat 10:10no bag for your journey, or two tunics[fn] or sandals or a staff, for the laborer deserves his food.

Mat 10:11

Mat 10:11And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart.

Mat 10:12

Mat 10:12As you enter the house, greet it.

Mat 10:13

Mat 10:13And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.

Mat 10:14

Mat 10:14And 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.

Mat 10:15

Mat 10:15Truly, 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.

Persecution Will Come

(Mar 13:9–13; Luk 21:12–17 )

Mat 10:16

Mat 10:16“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.

Mat 10:17

Mat 10:17Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues,

Mat 10:18

Mat 10:18and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles.

Mat 10:19

Mat 10:19When 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.

Mat 10:20

Mat 10:20For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

Mat 10:21

Mat 10:21Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death,

Mat 10:22

Mat 10:22and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

Mat 10:23

Mat 10:23When 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.

Mat 10:24

Mat 10:24“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant[fn] above his master.

Mat 10:25

Mat 10:25It 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[fn] those of his household.

Have No Fear

Mat 10:26

Mat 10:26“So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.

(Luk 12:3–7 )

Mat 10:27

Mat 10:27What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.

Mat 10:28

Mat 10:28And 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.[fn]

Mat 10:29

Mat 10:29Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?[fn] And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.

Mat 10:30

Mat 10:30But even the hairs of your head are all numbered.

Mat 10:31

Mat 10:31Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

(Luk 12:8, 9 )

Mat 10:32

Mat 10:32So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven,

Mat 10:33

Mat 10:33but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

Not Peace, but a Sword

(Luk 12:51–53; 14:26, 27 )

Mat 10:34

Mat 10:34“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.

Mat 10:35

Mat 10:35For 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.

Mat 10:36

Mat 10:36And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household.

Mat 10:37

Mat 10:37Whoever 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.

Mat 10:38

Mat 10:38And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

Mat 10:39

Mat 10:39Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Rewards

(Mar 9:41 )

Mat 10:40

Mat 10:40“Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me.

Mat 10:41

Mat 10:41The 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.

Mat 10:42

Mat 10:42And 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.”

See the ESV Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).

ESV Footnotes

(10:3)

Some manuscripts Lebbaeus, or Lebbaeus called Thaddaeus

(10:4)

Greek kananaios, meaning zealot

(10:7)

Or The kingdom of heaven has come near

(10:8)

Leprosy was a term for several skin diseases; see Leviticus 13

(10:10)

Greek chiton, a long garment worn under the cloak next to the skin

(10:24)

Or bondservant; also verse 25

(10:25)

Greek lacks will they malign

(10:28)

Greek Gehenna

(10:29)

Greek assarion, Roman copper coin (Latin quadrans) worth about 1/16 of a denarius (which was a day’s wage for a laborer)

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For more information on this translation, see the ESV Preface.