Matthew 10:16-25

New International Reader's Version

¹⁶ “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. So be as wise as snakes and as harmless as doves. ¹⁷ Watch out! You will be handed over to the local courts. You will be whipped in the synagogues. ¹⁸ You will be brought to governors and kings because of me. You will be witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. ¹⁹ But when they arrest you, don’t worry about what you will say or how you will say it. At that time you will be given the right words to say. ²⁰ It will not be you speaking. The Spirit of your Father will be speaking through you.

²¹ “Brothers will hand over brothers to be killed. Fathers will hand over their children. Children will rise up against their parents and have them put to death. ²² You will be hated by everyone because of me. But anyone who remains strong in the faith will be saved. ²³ When people attack you in one place, escape to another. What I’m about to tell you is true. You will not finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

²⁴ “The student is not better than the teacher. A slave is not better than his master. ²⁵ It is enough for students to be like their teachers. And it is enough for slaves to be like their masters. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebul, what can the others who live there expect?