Matthew 10:28-33

10:28 Do ¹  not be afraid of those who kill the body ²  but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the one who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. ³  10:29 Aren’t two sparrows sold for a penny? ⁴  Yet not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. ⁵  10:30 Even all the hairs on your head are numbered. 10:31 So do not be afraid; ⁶  you are more valuable than many sparrows.

10:32 “Whoever, then, acknowledges ⁷  me before people, I will acknowledge ⁸  before my Father in heaven. 10:33 But whoever denies me before people, I will deny him also before my Father in heaven.

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

² sn Judaism had a similar exhortation in 4 Macc 13:14-15.

³ sn See the note on the word hell in 5:22.

⁴ sn The penny refers to an assarion, a small Roman copper coin. One of them was worth one-sixteenth of a denarius or less than a half hour’s average wage. Sparrows were the cheapest items sold in the market. God knows about even the most financially insignificant things; see Isa 49:15.

⁵ tn Or “to the ground without the knowledge and consent of your Father.”

⁶ sn Do not be afraid. One should respect and show reverence to God, but need not fear his tender care.

⁷ tn Or “confesses.”

⁸ tn Grk “I will acknowledge him also.”