Matthew 10:16-31

New International Version

¹⁶ “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves.^(A) Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.^{(B) 17} Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils^(C) and be flogged in the synagogues.^{(D) 18} On my account you will be brought before governors and kings^(E) as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. ¹⁹ But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it.^(F) At that time you will be given what to say, ²⁰ for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father^(G) speaking through you.

²¹ “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents^(H) and have them put to death.^{(I) 22} You will be hated by everyone because of me,^(J) but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.^{(K) 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.^(L)

²⁴ “The student is not above the teacher, nor a servant above his master.^{(M) 25} It is enough for students to be like their teachers, and servants like their masters. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebul,^(N) how much more the members of his household!

²⁶ “So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known.^{(O) 27} What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. ²⁸ Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One^(P) 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.^{[a] 30} And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.^{(Q) 31} So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.^(R)