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The Twelve Apostles

^1 (a)And 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. ^2 (b)The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, ^(c)who is called Peter, and ^(d)Andrew his brother; ^(e)James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; ³ Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and ^(f)Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;^{[a] 4} Simon the Zealot,^[b] and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Apostles

^5 (g)These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, "Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of ^(h)the Samaritans, ^6 (i)but go rather to ^(j)the lost sheep of ^(k)the house of Israel. ⁷ And proclaim as you go, saying, ^(l)‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'^{[c] 8 (m)}Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers,^[d] cast out demons. ⁽ⁿ⁾You received without paying; give without pay. ^9 (o)Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, ¹⁰ no bag for your journey, or two tunics^[e] or sandals or a staff, for ^(p)the laborer deserves his food. ¹¹ And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart. ¹² As you enter the house, ^(q)greet it. ¹³ And if the house is ^(r)worthy, let ^(s)your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let ^(t)your peace return to you. ¹⁴ And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, ^(u)shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. ¹⁵ Truly, I say to you, ^(v)it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for ^(w)the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.

Persecution Will Come

^16 (x)"Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be ^(y)wise as serpents and ^(z)innocent as doves. ¹⁷ Beware of men, for ^(aa)they will deliver you over to courts and flog you ^(ab)in their synagogues, ^18 (ac)and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, ^(ad)to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. ^19 (ae)When ^(af)they deliver you over, ^(ag)do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for ^(ah)what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. ^20 (ai)For it is not you who speak, but ^(aj)the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. ^21 (ak)Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, ^22 (al)and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. ^(am)But the one who endures to the end will be saved. ²³ When they ^(an)persecute you in one town, ^(ao)flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel ^(ap)before the Son of Man comes.

^24 (aq)"A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant^[f] above his master. ²⁵ It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. ^(ar)If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign^[g] those of his household.

Have No Fear

²⁶ "So have no fear of them, ^(as)for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. ²⁷ What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on ^(at)the housetops. ²⁸ And ^(au)do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him ^(av)who can destroy both soul and body in hell.^{[h] 29} Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?^[i] And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. ³⁰ But ^(aw)even the hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹ Fear not, therefore; ^(ax)you are of more value than many sparrows. ^32 (ay)So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, ³³ but ^(az)whoever denies me before men, ^(ba)I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

Not Peace, but a Sword

^34 (bb)"Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. ^(bc)I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. ^35 (bd)For I have come ^(be)to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. ^36 (bf)And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. ^37 (bg)Whoever 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. ³⁸ And ^(bh)whoever does not take his cross and ^(bi)follow me is not worthy of me. ^39 (bj)Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Rewards

^40 (bk)"Whoever receives you receives me, and ^(bl)whoever receives me receives him who sent me. ^41 (bm)The 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. ⁴² And ^(bn)whoever gives one of ^(bo)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."