16. “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.
17. But beware of men, for they will hand you over to the courts and flog you in their synagogues.
18. You will be brought before governors and kings because of Me, as a witness to them and to the Gentiles.
19. But when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you should say, for it shall be given to you in that hour what you should say.
20. For it is not you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
21. “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against their parents and have them put to death.
22. And you will be hated by all because of My name, but the one who endures to the end shall be saved.
23. Whenever they persecute you in one city, flee to the next. Amen, I tell you, you will never finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
24. “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master.
25. It is enough for the disciple to become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house beelzebul, how much more the members of his household!
26. “So do not fear them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed and nothing hidden that will not be made known.
27. What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear in your ear, proclaim from the housetops!
28. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the One who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.
29. “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them shall fall to the ground apart from your Father’s consent.
30. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered.
31. So do not fear; you are worth more than many sparrows.
32. “Therefore whoever acknowledges Me before men, I will also acknowledge him before My Father who is in heaven.
33. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.
34. “Do not think that I came to bring shalom on the earth; I did not come to bring shalom, but a sword.