Matthew 10
The full text of Matthew 10 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Greek. Free to read.
1 Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.
2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee and his brother John;
3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;
4 Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: "Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans.
6 Go instead to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
7 As you go, proclaim this message: 'The kingdom of heaven has come near.'
8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.
9 Do not take any gold or silver or copper to carry in your belts—
10 no bag for the journey, no extra shirt, no sandals or staff—for the worker is worth his keep.
11 Whatever town or village you enter, find out who in it is worthy, and stay at their house until you leave.
12 As you enter the home, greet its household.
13 If the household is worthy, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you.
14 If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet.
15 Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.
16 Look, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.
17 Be on your guard against people, for they will hand you over to the local councils and flog you in their synagogues.
18 You will be brought before governors and kings because of me, as a witness to them and to the Gentiles.
19 But when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you should say. At that time you will be given what to say,
20 for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
21 Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rise against their parents and have them put to death.
22 Everyone will hate you because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.
23 When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. Truly I tell you, you will not finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
24 The student is not above the teacher, nor the servant above his master.
25 It is enough for students to be like their teacher, and servants like their master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household!
26 So do not be afraid of them. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, and nothing hidden that will not be made known.
27 What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the rooftops.
28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father's care.
30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
31 So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
32 Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven.
33 But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.
34 Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.
35 For I have come to turn
"'a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—
36 a man's enemies will be the members of his own household.'
37 Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;
38 and whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
39 Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.
40 Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.
41 Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person's reward.
42 And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because they are my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward."
Translation notes (10)
- Matthew 10:4a The Greek phrase ho Kananaios, "the Cananaean," comes from an Aramaic term meaning "zealous one"; it is not a reference to the land of Canaan. It is rendered "the Zealot" here to convey its meaning.
- Matthew 10:14a Shaking dust from the feet was a symbolic gesture of disassociation, signaling that responsibility had been discharged and left with those who refused the message.
- Matthew 10:23a The precise meaning of "before the Son of Man comes" is one of the most debated sayings in the Gospels, with interpretations including imminent end-times events, the resurrection, the fall of Jerusalem, or the ongoing mission of the church. The Greek wording is left open and not resolved here.
- Matthew 10:25a The Greek word Beelzeboul is a name for the prince of demons or Satan; it is spelled Beelzebub in some traditions.
- Matthew 10:28a The Greek word geenna ("Gehenna") refers to the Valley of Hinnom outside Jerusalem, which is used as an image for final judgment; it is rendered "hell" here to convey its meaning. The identity of "the One" (God) is implied, not stated, and is left as the Greek has it.
- Matthew 10:29a The Greek phrase aneu tou patros humon, literally "apart from your Father," implies God's knowledge or care, which is supplied for clarity. An assarion was a small coin of little value.
- Matthew 10:34a The "sword" here is an image for the division and conflict that the message provokes within families and society (see the next verses), not a call to violence.
- Matthew 10:35a This verse echoes Micah 7:6. The poetic triad describes the division that the gospel provokes within a household.
- Matthew 10:38a The Greek word stauros means "cross"; taking up one's cross evokes the image of a condemned person carrying the crossbeam to execution, signifying total self-surrender rather than merely hardship.
- Matthew 10:39a The Greek word psyche means both "life" and "soul"; the saying relies on this paradox, and both senses are intended.
About this translation
The Trinity Bible Version (TBV) is Trinity Bible's own modern English translation, worked directly from the original Greek and honest to the earliest manuscripts. It was completed in 2026 — the most modern English Bible translation — and is exclusive to Trinity Bible. Every chapter, including all of Matthew, is free to read here on the web.
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