EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Matthew 10:16
16Jesus then said to his disciples, ‘Listen well. I am sending you to people who will want to kill you. You will be like sheep among wild animals. You must watch carefully, like snakes do. But you must also be good and kind like doves.
Matthew 10:16 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
- New International Version (NIV)“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.
- English Standard Version (ESV)"Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.
Context of Matthew 10:16
14Sometimes you will go to some house or town and the people will not accept you there. They will not listen to your message. Then you should leave. Clean the dirt of that place off your feet. 15I tell you this: One day God will punish people like that. God will punish them even more than the people who lived in Sodom and Gomorrah long ago.’ Jesus then said to his disciples, ‘Listen well. I am sending you to people who will want to kill you. You will be like sheep among wild animals. You must watch carefully, like snakes do. But you must also be good and kind like doves. 17Be careful! People will be against you. They will take you to stand in front of their leaders. They will punish you with whips in their meeting places. 18They will take you to stand in front of kings and rulers. All this will happen because you are my disciples. You will tell all these important people and also the Gentiles the good news about me.
Read all of Matthew 10Matthew 10:16 word by word
ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἀποστέλλω ὑμᾶς ὡς πρόβατα ἐν μέσῳ λύκων· γίνεσθε οὖν φρόνιμοι ὡς οἱ ὄφεις καὶ ἀκέραιοι ὡς αἱ περιστεραί.¶Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Beholdὁράωhoraō · to see: seeG3708
- Iἐγώegō · I/weG1473
- sendἀποστέλλωapostellō · to sendG649
- youσύsu · youG4771
- asὡςhōs · as/whenG5613
- sheepπρόβατονprobaton · sheepG4263
- inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
- the midstμέσοςmesos · midstG3319
- of wolvesλύκοςlukos · wolfG3074
- be yeγίνομαιginomai · to beG1096
- thereforeοὖνoun · therefore/thenG3767
- wiseφρόνιμοςphronimos · thoughtfulG5429
- serpentsὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- serpentsὄφιςophis · snakeG3789
- andκαίkai · andG2532
- harmlessἀκέραιοςakeraios · innocentG185
- dovesπεριστεράperistera · doveG4058
Cross-references for Matthew 10:16
- Luke 10:3Jesus then said, ‘I am sending you out, so go! But listen! You will be like young sheep among wild animals.
- Acts 20:29I know that trouble will come to you after I leave. Bad people will come to teach you. They will cause trouble for the believers, like dangerous wild animals that attack sheep.
- Genesis 3:1The Lord God made many wild animals. But the snake was the most clever of them all. The snake asked the woman, ‘Did God say, “You must not eat the fruit from any tree in the garden”? Is that really true?’
- Luke 21:15I will give you the right words to speak at that time. I will help you to be wise. The people who are against you will not be able to argue with you. They will just be quiet.
- Romans 16:19Everyone knows that you obey God well. So I am very happy because of you. But I want you to understand clearly what things are good. And I want you to stay away from the things that are bad.
- 1 Corinthians 14:20My Christian friends, do not continue to think like children think. Instead, think properly like men and women should think. The only way you should be like babies is to keep away from evil things.
- 2 Corinthians 11:3Remember how the snake deceived Eve. Because he was clever, she believed his lies. I am afraid that the same thing might happen to you. False teachers may make you believe wrong things. Then you will no longer love Christ in a pure and honest way.
- Ephesians 5:15So you must be very careful how you live. Live like people who are wise. Do not live like fools.
- Colossians 1:9Because of all that, we have not stopped praying for you, ever since the day that we heard about you. We ask God that his Spirit will make you truly wise. He will help you to know clearly what he wants you to do. You will understand his true message.
- Colossians 4:5When you are with people who do not believe in Christ, be careful how you live. Use every chance to do good things.
- Romans 16:18People who are like that are not servants of our Lord Christ. Instead, they are doing the things which please themselves. They speak words that seem very nice, but they deceive people who easily accept a false message.
- 2 Corinthians 1:12We can be proud of how we have lived in this world. We have been careful to be honest and good with everyone. And we have been like that with you even more. We are sure in our own minds that this is true. We have not tried to be clever in a human way. But we have lived in the way that God has helped us to live.
- 2 Corinthians 8:20We want to be very careful about this large gift of money. That is why the other believer will come with us. We do not want anyone to say that we have done something wrong.
- Philippians 2:15Then you will not be guilty of anything that is wrong. You will be clean inside yourselves. You will be living in a completely good way, as God's children should. In this world, you are living among bad people who have turned away from what is good. But you must bring light into this dark place, like stars that shine in the night.
- 1 Thessalonians 2:10You know that we lived in a good way when we were with you. God also knows that. We were completely honest with you believers. Nobody could say that we did anything wrong.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:22But keep away from any kind of bad thing.
Commentaries on Matthew 10:16
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves - He who is called to preach the Gospel is called to embrace a state of constant labor, and frequent suffering. He who gets ease and pleasure, in consequence of embracing the ministerial office, neither preaches the Gospel, nor is sent of God. If he did the work of an evangelist, wicked men and demons would both oppose him. Wise ( prudent) as serpents, and harmless as doves - This is a proverbial…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 16As sheep in the midst of wolves - That is, I send you, inoffensive and harmless, into a cold, unfriendly, and cruel world. Your innocence will not be a protection. Be wise as serpents - Serpents have always been an emblem of wisdom and cunning, Genesis 3:1. The Egyptians used the serpent in their hieroglyphics as a symbol of wisdom. Probably the thing in which Christ directed his followers to imitate the serpent was in its caution in avoiding danger. No…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 16-42Verses 16-42 Our Lord warned his disciples to prepare for persecution. They were to avoid all things which gave advantage to their enemies, all meddling with worldly or political concerns, all appearance of evil or selfishness, and all underhand measures. Christ foretold troubles, not only that the troubles might not be a surprise, but that they might confirm their faith. He tells them what they should suffer, and from whom. Thus Christ has dealt fairly…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16Scripture often compares false leaders who exploit people’s spiritual weakness, instead of giving proper care, to wolves (Ezekiel 22:27; Zephaniah 3:3; compare Proverbs 28:15). be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves: This proverb means to be wise and careful, but not deceitful or violent.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1616. Behold, I send you forth--The "I" here is emphatic, holding up Himself as the Fountain of the Gospel ministry, as He is also the Great Burden of it. as sheep--defenseless. in the midst of wolves--ready to make a prey of you (Joh 10:12). To be left exposed, as sheep to wolves, would have been startling enough; but that the sheep should be sent among the wolves would sound strange indeed. No wonder this announcement begins with the exclamation…Read the comment
Topics related to Matthew 10:16
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Matthew 10
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Catena Aurea
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- John Lightfoot Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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