¹⁶^aBehold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore ^bwise as serpents, and ^||harmless as doves. ¹⁷But beware of men: for ^cthey will deliver you up to the ^d^gcouncils, and ^ethey will scourge you in their ^gsynagogues; ¹⁸And ye shall be brought before ^fgovernors and kings for my sake, ^fffor a testimony against them and the Gentiles. ¹⁹^gBut when they deliver you up, ^htake no thought how or what ye shall speak: ⁱfor it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. ²⁰^kFor it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you. ²¹^lAnd the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. ²²^mAnd ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: ⁿbut he that endureth to the end shall be saved. ²³But when they ⁿⁿpersecute you in this city, ^oflee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not ^||have gone over the cities of Israel, ^ptill the Son of man be come.

Read in Logos

Footnotes

b Gen. 3:1. See ch. 25:2.
||Or, simple. Rom. 16:19. Phil. 2:15 (Gk.).
cSee ch. 24:9.
dSee ch. 5:22.
g Luke 12:11. To ver. 22, Mark 13:9, 11–13. Luke 21:12–17.
ech. 23:34. Acts 22:19. & 26:11. Comp. Acts 5:40.
g Luke 12:11. To ver. 22, Mark 13:9, 11–13. Luke 21:12–17.
ffSee ch. 8:4.
g Luke 12:11. To ver. 22, Mark 13:9, 11–13. Luke 21:12–17.
hSee ch. 6:25.
iSee Ex. 4:12.
lSo Mic. 7:6. ver. 35, 36. ch. 24:10. Luke 12:53.
mch. 24:9.
nch. 24:13. Mark 13:13. So Dan. 12:12, 13. Rev. 2:10. See Heb. 3:6.
nnch. 23:34.
oComp. ch. 2:13. & 12:15. & 14:13. Acts 8:1. & 9:25. & 14:6.
||Or, end, or, finish. So Josh. 3:17. & 4:1 (Heb. & Gk.).
pSee ch. 16:28.

Cross references

a Luke 10:3.
f Acts 12:1. & 24:10. & 25:7, 23. 2 Tim. 4:16.
k Luke 12:12. Acts 4:8. & 6:10. 2 Tim. 4:17.

Public Domain

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. 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. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute 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.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

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

“Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 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.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

“Look, I’m sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as serpents and as innocent as doves. Beware of them, because they will hand you over to local courts and flog you in their synagogues. You will even be brought before governors and kings because of me, to bear witness to them and to the Gentiles. But when they hand you over, don’t worry about how or what you are to speak. For you will be given what to say at that hour, because it isn’t you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father is speaking through you.

“Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by everyone because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to another. For truly I tell you, you will not have gone through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

NLTNew Living Translation

“Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves. But beware! For you will be handed over to the courts and will be flogged with whips in the synagogues. You will stand trial before governors and kings because you are my followers. But this will be your opportunity to tell the rulers and other unbelievers about me. When you are arrested, don’t worry about how to respond or what to say. God will give you the right words at the right time. For it is not you who will be speaking—it will be the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

“A brother will betray his brother to death, a father will betray his own child, and children will rebel against their parents and cause them to be killed. And all nations will hate you because you are my followers. But everyone who endures to the end will be saved. When you are persecuted in one town, flee to the next. I tell you the truth, the Son of Man will return before you have reached all the towns of Israel.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

“Behold, I am sending you out like sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. But beware of people, because they will hand you over to councils, and they will flog you in their synagogues. And you will be brought before both governors and kings because of me, for a witness to them and to the Gentiles. But whenever they hand you over, do not be anxious how to speak or what you should say, for what you should say will be given to you at that hour. For you are not the ones who are speaking, but the Spirit of your Father who is speaking through you.

“And brother will hand over brother to death, and a father his children, and children will rise up against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by everyone because of my name. But the one who endures to the end—this one will be saved. And whenever they persecute you in this town, flee to another, for truly I say to you, you will never finish going through the towns of Israel until the Son of Man comes.