The Twelve Apostles

1 ^uAnd he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them ^vauthority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. 2 The names of the ^wtwelve apostles are these: first, ^xSimon, who is called Peter, and ^yAndrew his brother; ^zJames the son of Zebedee, and ^aJohn his brother; 3 ^bPhilip and ^cBartholomew; ^dThomas and ^eMatthew the tax collector; ^fJames the son of Alphaeus, and ^gThaddaeus;¹ 4 ^hSimon the Zealot,² and ⁱJudas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Apostles

5 ^jThese twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere ^kamong the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, 6 but go rather to the ^llost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And ^mproclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is ⁿat hand.’³ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers,⁴ cast out demons. You received ^owithout paying; give ^pwithout pay. 9 Acquire ^qno gold or silver or copper for your belts, 10 no bag for your journey, or two tunics⁵ or sandals or a staff, for ^rthe laborer deserves his food. 11 And ^swhatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart. 12 As you enter the house, greet it. 13 And if the house is worthy, let your ^tpeace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14 And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, ^ushake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. 15 Truly, I say to you, it will be ^vmore bearable on the day of judgment for ^wthe land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.

Persecution Will Come

16 “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of ^xwolves, so be ^ywise as serpents and ^zinnocent as doves. 17 Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their ^asynagogues, 18 and you will be dragged before ^bgovernors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. 19 When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. 20 For it is not you who speak, but the ^cSpirit of your Father speaking through you. 21 ^dBrother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, 22 and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. ^eBut the one who endures to the end will be saved. 23 When they ^fpersecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

24 ^g“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant⁶ above his master. 25 It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. ^hIf they have called the master of the house ⁱBeelzebul, ^jhow much more will they malign⁷ those of his household.

Have No Fear

26 ^k“So have no fear of them, for ^lnothing 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 the housetops. 28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather ^mfear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.⁸ 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?⁹ And ⁿnot one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. 32 So everyone who ^oacknowledges me before men, I also will ^packnowledge before my Father who is in heaven, 33 but whoever ^qdenies me before men, I also will ^rdeny before my Father who is in heaven.

Not Peace, but a Sword

34 ^s“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set ^ta man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. 37 ^uWhoever loves ^vfather 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 whoever does not ^wtake his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 ^xWhoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Rewards

40 ^y“Whoever receives you receives me, and ^zwhoever receives me receives him who sent me. 41 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 ^awhoever gives one of 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.”

Messengers from John the Baptist

1 ^bWhen Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities.

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Apostles

7 ^qAnd he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and ^rgave them authority over the unclean spirits. 8 He charged them to take ^snothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts— 9 but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics.¹ 10 And he said to them, ^t“Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. 11 And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, ^ushake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” 12 So they went out and proclaimed that people should ^vrepent. 13 And they ^wcast out many demons and ^xanointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Apostles

1 ^fAnd he called the twelve together and ^ggave them power and authority over all demons and to ^hcure diseases, 2 and he sent them out to ⁱproclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. 3 And he said to them, “Take nothing for your journey, ^jno staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics.¹ 4 And ^kwhatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. 5 And wherever they do not receive you, when you leave that town ^lshake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them.” 6 And they departed and went through the villages, ^mpreaching the gospel and ⁿhealing everywhere.

The Death of John the Baptist

1 ^uAt that time Herod the tetrarch heard about the fame of Jesus, 2 and he said to his servants, ^v“This is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” 3 For Herod had seized John and bound him and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife,¹ 4 because John had been saying to him, “It is not ^wlawful for you to have her.” 5 And though he wanted to put him to death, he feared the people, because they held him to be a ^xprophet. 6 But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company and pleased Herod, 7 so that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask. 8 Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” 9 And ^ythe king was sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he commanded it to be given. 10 He sent and had John beheaded in the prison, 11 and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. 12 And his disciples came and took the body and buried it, and they went and told Jesus.

The Death of John the Baptist

14 ^yKing Herod heard of it, for Jesus’¹ name had become known. Some² said, ^z“John the Baptist³ has been raised from the dead. That is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” 15 But others said, ^a“He is Elijah.” And others said, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” 16 But when Herod heard of it, he said, “John, whom I ^bbeheaded, has been raised.” 17 For it was Herod who had sent and seized John and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because he had married her. 18 For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not ^clawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 19 And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death. But she could not, 20 for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly.

21 But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday ^dgave a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. 22 For when Herodias’s daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. And the king said to the girl, “Ask me for ^ewhatever you wish, and I will give it to you.” 23 And he vowed to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, ^fup to half of my kingdom.” 24 And she went out and said to her mother, “For what should I ask?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.” 25 And she came in immediately with haste to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” 26 And ^gthe king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her. 27 And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s⁴ head. He went and beheaded him in the prison 28 and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. 29 When his disciples heard of it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

30 ^hThe apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught.

Herod Is Perplexed by Jesus

7 ^oNow Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening, and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that ^pJohn had been raised from the dead, 8 by some that ^qElijah had appeared, and by others that one of the ^rprophets of old had risen. 9 Herod said, “John I beheaded, but who is this about whom I hear such things?” And he sought to see him.