Acts 13:51

13:51 So after they shook¹ the dust off their feet² in protest against them, they went to Iconium.³

Nehemiah 5:13

5:13 I also shook out my garment,⁴ and I said, “In this way may God shake out from his house and his property every person who does not carry out⁵ this matter. In this way may he be shaken out and emptied!” All the assembly replied, “So be it!” and they praised the LORD. Then the people did as they had promised.⁶

Matthew 10:14

10:14 And if anyone will not welcome you or listen to your message, shake the dust off⁷ your feet as you leave that house or that town.

Luke 9:5

9:5 Wherever⁸ they do not receive you,⁹ as you leave that town,¹⁰ shake the dust off¹¹ your feet as a testimony against them.”

Luke 10:10-11

10:10 But whenever¹² you enter a town¹³ and the people¹⁴ do not welcome¹⁵ you, go into its streets¹⁶ and say, 10:11 ‘Even the dust of your town¹⁷ that clings to our feet we wipe off¹⁸ against you.¹⁹ Nevertheless know this: The kingdom of God has come.’²⁰

¹tn The participle ἐκτιναξάμενοι (ektinaxamenoi) is taken temporally. It could also be translated as a participle of attendant circumstance (“So they shook…and went”).

²sn Shaking the dust off their feet was a symbolic gesture commanded by Jesus to his disciples, Matt 10:14; Mark 6:11; Luke 9:5. It shows a group of people as culpable before God.

³sn Iconium was a city in Lycaonia about 90 mi (145 km) east southeast of Pisidian Antioch. It was the easternmost city of Phrygia.

⁴tn Heb “my bosom.”

⁵tn Heb “cause to stand.”

⁶tn Heb “according to this word.”

⁷sn To shake the dust off represented shaking off the uncleanness from one’s feet; see Luke 10:11; Acts 13:51; 18:6. It was a sign of rejection.

⁸tn Grk “And wherever.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

⁹tn Grk “all those who do not receive you.”

¹⁰tn Or “city.”

¹¹sn To shake the dust off represented shaking off the uncleanness from one’s feet; see Luke 10:11; Acts 13:51; 18:6. It was a sign of rejection.

¹²tn Grk “whatever town you enter,” but this is more often expressed in English as “whenever you enter a town.”

¹³tn Or “city.”

¹⁴tn Grk “and they”; the referent (the people who live in the town) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁵sn More discussion takes place concerning rejection (the people do not welcome you), as these verses lead into the condemnation of certain towns for their rejection of God’s kingdom.

¹⁶tn The term πλατεῖα (plateia) refers to the “broad street,” so this refers to the main roads of the town.

¹⁷tn Or “city.”

¹⁸sn See Luke 9:5, where the verb is different but the meaning is the same. This was a sign of rejection.

¹⁹tn Here ὑμῖν (Jumin) has been translated as a dative of disadvantage.

²⁰tn Or “has come near.” As in v. 9 (see above), the combination of ἐγγίζω (engizw) with the preposition ἐπί (epi) is decisive in showing that the sense is “has come” (see BDAG 270 s.v. ἐγγίζω 2, and W. R. Hutton, “The Kingdom of God Has Come,” ExpTim 64 [Dec 1952]: 89-91).