1 He called to himself his twelve disciples, and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every sickness. 2 Now the names of the twelve apostles are these. The first, Simon, who is called Peter; Andrew, his brother; James the son of Zebedee; John, his brother; 3 Philip; Bartholomew; Thomas; Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus; Lebbaeus, who was also called Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot; and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him. 5 Jesus sent these twelve out and commanded them, saying, “Don’t go among the Gentiles, and don’t enter into any city of the Samaritans. 6 Rather, go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 As you go, preach, saying, ‘The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!’ 8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, and cast out demons. Freely you received, so freely give. 9 Don’t take any gold, silver, or brass in your money belts. 10 Take no bag for your journey, neither two coats, nor sandals, nor staff: for the laborer is worthy of his food. 11 Into whatever city or village you enter, find out who in it is worthy, and stay there until you go on. 12 As you enter into the household, greet it. 13 If the household is worthy, let your peace come on it, but if it isn’t worthy, let your peace return to you. 14 Whoever doesn’t receive you or hear your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake the dust off your feet. 15 Most certainly I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city. 16 “Behold, I send you out as sheep among wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. 17 But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils, and in their synagogues they will scourge you. 18 Yes, and you will be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony to them and to the nations. 19 But when they deliver you up, don’t be anxious how or what you will say, for it will be given you in that hour what you will say. 20 For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. 21 “Brother will deliver up brother to death, and the father his child. Children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. 22 You will be hated by all men for my name’s sake, but he who endures to the end will be saved. 23 But when they persecute you in this city, flee into the next, for most certainly I tell you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel until the Son of Man has come. 24 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his lord. 25 It is enough for the disciple that he be like his teacher, and the servant like his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more those of his household! 26 Therefore don’t be afraid of them, for there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 27 What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in the ear, proclaim on the housetops. 28 Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. Rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna. 29 “Aren’t two sparrows sold for an assarion coin? Not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Therefore don’t be afraid. You are of more value than many sparrows. 32 Everyone therefore who confesses me before men, I will also confess him before my Father who is in heaven. 33 But whoever denies me before men, I will also deny him before my Father who is in heaven. 34 “Don’t think that I came to send peace on the earth. I didn’t come to send peace, but a sword. 35 For I came to set a man at odds against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 A man’s foes will be those of his own household. 37 He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me isn’t worthy of me. 38 He who doesn’t take his cross and follow after me isn’t worthy of me. 39 He who seeks his life will lose it; and he who loses his life for my sake will find it. 40 “He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives him who sent me. 41 He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward. He who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward. 42 Whoever gives one of these little ones just a cup of cold water to drink in the name of a disciple, most certainly I tell you, he will in no way lose his reward.”
Matthew · World English Bible (Classic, with Deuterocanon)
Matthew 10 World English Bible (Classic, with Deuterocanon)
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
Notes on this text (1)
- "World English Bible" is a trademark of eBible.org; the text is shown unaltered.
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Alphaeus
Named as father of James, one of the Twelve (Matthew 10:3), and as the father of Levi the tax collector (Mark 2:14); the text does not say whether these are two different men…
Cited in the guide: Matthew 10:3; Mark 2:14; Mark 3:18
Andrew
Simon Peter's brother, a disciple of John the Baptist who first followed Jesus and brought Peter to him, from Bethsaida, and one of the Twelve.
Cited in the guide: Matthew 10:2; Mark 3:18; John 1:40
Bartholomew
Listed among the Twelve after Philip in Matthew 10:3, Mark 3:18 and Luke 6:14; the Gospels say nothing more of him by that name.
Cited in the guide: Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:14
James
One of the Twelve, named son of Alphaeus in every list of the apostles.
Cited in the guide: Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:15
James
A fisherman called by Jesus together with his brother John, one of the Twelve, to whom Jesus gave the name Boanerges, 'Sons of Thunder'.
Cited in the guide: Matthew 4:21; Matthew 10:2; Mark 3:17
John
A fisherman called together with his brother James, one of the Twelve, to whom Jesus gave the name Boanerges, 'Sons of Thunder'.
Cited in the guide: Matthew 4:21; Matthew 10:2; Mark 3:17
Judas Iscariot
One of the Twelve, son of Simon Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus.
Cited in the guide: Matthew 10:4; Mark 3:19; Luke 6:16
Matthew
A tax collector sitting at the tax booth whom Jesus told 'Follow Me'; Matthew calls him Matthew, while Mark and Luke tell the same call and name him Levi, and Mark 2:14 calls Levi…
Cited in the guide: Matthew 9:9; Matthew 10:3; Mark 2:14
Peter
Simon, whom Jesus named Peter (Cephas), a fisherman from Bethsaida and the first listed of the Twelve, who confessed Jesus as Christ, denied him three times, and was told to feed…
Cited in the guide: Matthew 10:2; Matthew 16:17; Mark 3:16
Philip
Found by Jesus and told 'Follow Me', from Bethsaida, the town of Andrew and Peter, who brought Nathanael to Jesus and is listed among the Twelve.
Cited in the guide: Matthew 10:3; John 1:43; John 1:44
Simon the Zealot
One of the Twelve, called the Zealot, listed next to Judas Iscariot in each list.
Cited in the guide: Matthew 10:4; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:15
Thaddaeus
Listed as Thaddaeus in Matthew 10:3 and Mark 3:18 (Lebbaeus in some KJV readings) and as Judas son of James in Luke 6:16 in the same place among the Twelve; John 14:22 names a…
Cited in the guide: Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:16
Thomas
One of the Twelve, called Didymus, who said 'Let us also go, so that we may die with Him', was absent when Jesus first appeared, and was among those who fished with the disciples…
Cited in the guide: Matthew 10:3; John 11:16; John 20:24
Cross references (42)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Luke 9:1–6; Mark 3:13–15; Mark 6:7–13; Luke 10:19; Mark 16:17–18
- 2 Acts 1:13; Matthew 4:21; John 6:8; Matthew 4:18; Luke 5:10
- 3 Acts 1:13; Mark 3:18; Matthew 9:9; John 1:43–46; Mark 2:14
- 4 Matthew 26:14; John 6:71; Mark 14:43; John 13:2; Matthew 26:47
- 5 John 4:9; Acts 22:21–23; 2 Kings 17:24–41; Romans 15:8–9; 1 Thessalonians 2:16
- 6 Jeremiah 50:6; Ezekiel 34:6; Isaiah 53:6; 1 Peter 2:25; Acts 13:46
- 7 Acts 28:31; Matthew 3:2; Matthew 4:17; Luke 9:60; Luke 16:16
- 8 Acts 3:6; Luke 10:9; Acts 4:30; Matthew 10:1; Acts 20:33–35
- 9 Luke 22:35; Luke 9:3–5; Mark 6:8–11; Luke 10:4–12; 1 Corinthians 9:7–27
- 10 1 Timothy 5:17–18; Luke 10:7–12; 1 Corinthians 9:4–14; Galatians 6:6–7; Luke 3:11
- 11 Luke 10:7–8; Acts 18:1–3; 1 Kings 17:9–24; Job 31:32; Luke 10:38–42
- 12 Luke 10:5–6; 1 Samuel 25:6; 2 Corinthians 5:20; Acts 10:36; 3 John 14
- 13 Luke 10:6; Psalm 35:13; 2 Corinthians 2:16
- 14 Luke 10:10–11; Acts 18:6; Nehemiah 5:13; Acts 13:51; Mark 6:11
- 15 John 15:22–24; 2 Peter 2:6; Matthew 11:22–24; Luke 10:11–12; Ezekiel 16:48–56
- 16 Philippians 2:15; Luke 10:3; 1 Corinthians 14:20; Colossians 4:5; Ephesians 5:15–17
- 17 Mark 13:9; Matthew 23:34; Luke 12:11; Matthew 5:22; Acts 26:11
- 18 Acts 5:25–27; Psalm 2:1–6; Matthew 8:4; Acts 24:1–26; Mark 13:9
- 19 Exodus 4:12; Mark 13:11–13; 2 Timothy 4:17; Luke 12:11; Luke 21:12–17
- 20 Luke 21:15; Acts 6:10; 2 Samuel 23:2; Luke 12:12; 2 Peter 1:21
- 21 Luke 21:16–17; Micah 7:5–6; Mark 13:12–13; Matthew 24:10; Luke 12:51–53
- 22 Matthew 24:13; James 1:12; Revelation 2:10; Mark 13:13; Matthew 10:39
- 23 Matthew 16:28; John 11:53–54; Mark 13:26; Acts 17:10; Acts 8:1
- 24 John 15:20; Luke 6:40; John 13:16; Hebrews 12:2–4; 2 Samuel 11:11
- 25 Luke 11:15; Matthew 9:34; Matthew 12:24; John 7:20; Mark 3:22
- 26 Luke 8:17; Mark 4:22; Jeremiah 1:8; 1 Corinthians 4:5; Isaiah 43:1–2
- 27 Acts 5:20; John 16:13; John 16:1; Proverbs 1:20–23; Luke 8:10
- 28 Luke 12:4–5; Isaiah 8:12–13; Revelation 2:10; James 4:12; Romans 8:35–39
- 29 Luke 12:6–7; Psalm 104:27–30
- 30 Luke 12:7; 1 Samuel 14:45; Acts 27:34; Luke 21:18; 2 Samuel 14:11
- 31 Luke 12:24; Psalm 8:5; Matthew 6:26; Matthew 12:11–12; 1 Corinthians 9:9–10
- 32 Revelation 3:5; Luke 12:8–9; Romans 10:9–10; 1 John 4:15; 2 Timothy 1:8
- 33 2 Timothy 2:12; Luke 9:26; Luke 12:9; 1 John 2:23; 2 Peter 2:1
- 34 Luke 12:49–53; Acts 14:4; Acts 13:45–50; Acts 14:2; John 7:40–52
- 35 Micah 7:5–6; Matthew 10:21; Luke 21:16; Matthew 24:10; Mark 13:12
- 36 Micah 7:6; Jeremiah 12:6; Psalm 41:9; Genesis 4:8–10; Job 19:13–19
- 37 Luke 14:26; Matthew 22:37; Philippians 3:7–9; 2 Corinthians 5:14–15; Deuteronomy 33:9
- 38 Luke 14:27; Mark 8:34; Matthew 16:24; Luke 9:23–24; John 19:17
- 39 John 12:25; Mark 8:35–36; Luke 17:33; Matthew 16:25–26; Luke 9:24
- 40 John 13:20; Luke 9:48; Luke 10:16; Matthew 18:5; Matthew 25:40
- 41 3 John 5–8; Hebrews 6:10; 2 Kings 4:16–17; 2 Kings 4:8–10; Luke 14:13–14
- 42 Hebrews 6:10; Matthew 25:40; Mark 9:41–42; 2 Corinthians 9:6–15; Matthew 18:10
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
When the Holy Gospel was read, Brethren, ye heard how our Lord Jesus Christ strengthened His Martyrs by His teaching, saying, "Behold, I send you forth as lambs in the midst of wolves." Now consider, my Brethren, what he does.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 6 (1888)
Having made them feel confident about their necessary food, and opened unto them all men's houses, and having invested their entrance with an appearance to attract veneration, charging them not to come in as wanderers, and beggars, but as much more venerable than those who received them (for this He signifies by His saying, "the workman is worthy of his …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)
… our Master Jesus Christ said, that "what is impossible with men is possible with God," and, "Fear not them that kill you, and after that can do no more; but fear Him who after death is able to cast both soul and body into hell." And hell is a place where those are to be punished who have lived wickedly, …
"For there is nothing hidden which shall not be revealed, nor secret that shall not be made known."
But Thou, by whom the very hairs of our heads are numbered, didst use for my good the error of all who pressed me to learn; and my own error in willing not to learn, didst Thou make use of for my punishment--of which I, being so small a boy and so great a sinner, was not unworthy.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 1 (1886)