14. And if a home or town refuses to welcome you or listen to you, then leave that place. Shake its dust off your feet.
15. I tell you the truth. On the Judgment Day it will be worse for that town than for the towns of Sodom and Gomorrah.
16. “Listen! I am sending you out, and you will be like sheep among wolves. So be as smart as snakes. But also be like doves and do nothing wrong.
17. Be careful of people. They will arrest you and take you to court. They will whip you in their synagogues.
18. Because of me you will be taken to stand before governors and kings. You will tell them and the non-Jewish people about me.
19. When you are arrested, don’t worry about what to say or how you should say it. At that time you will be given the things to say.
20. It will not really be you speaking. The Spirit of your Father will be speaking through you.
21. “Brothers will turn against their own brothers and give them over to be killed. Fathers will turn against their own children and give them to be killed. Children will fight against their own parents and have them killed.
22. All people will hate you because you follow me. But the person who continues strong until the end will be saved.
23. When you are treated badly in one city, go to another city. I tell you the truth. You will not finish going through all the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
24. “A student is not better than his teacher. A servant is not better than his master.
25. A student should be satisfied to become like his teacher. A servant should be satisfied to become like his master. If the head of the family is called Beelzebul, then the other members of the family will be called worse names!
26. “So don’t be afraid of those people. Everything that is hidden will be shown. Everything that is secret will be made known.
27. I tell you these things in the dark, but I want you to tell them in the light. I speak these things only to you, but you should tell them to everyone.