Bible Strands
Matthew 10:18
On My account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Jesus addresses his disciples during the commissioning discourse, immediately after forecasting their arrest and synagogue flogings. He delivers this statement at the moment of sending them out, framing their future trials within his mission.
The words — The verb ἀχθήσεσθε (achthēsesthe) literally means "you will be led/brought," while ἕνεκεν (heneken) translates to "on account of." These terms establish that the disciples' appearance before authorities is a direct result of their allegiance to him.
The thread — This sequence of deliverance to councils and royal courts appears in Mark 13:9, which repeats the same warning about being brought before governors and kings. The confrontation with opposing rulers also echoes the opposition described in Psalm 2:1.
Why it lands — The text states that believers will be forcibly presented before secular authorities specifically to bear witness to them and the Gentiles. It requires the reader to accept impending trial as inevitable and to focus on witness rather than self-preservation or rhetorical preparation.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.
Cross-references
- Psalms 2:1 Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?
- Matthew 8:4 Then Jesus instructed him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift prescribed by Moses, as a testimony to them.”
- Mark 13:9 So be on your guard. You will be delivered over to the councils and beaten in the synagogues. On My account you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them.
- Acts 5:25 Then someone came in and announced, “Look, the men you put in jail are standing in the temple courts teaching the people!”
- Acts 24:1 Five days later the high priest Ananias came down with some elders and a lawyer named Tertullus, who presented to the governor their case against Paul.
- Acts 12:1 About that time, King Herod reached out to harm some who belonged to the church.
- Acts 23:33 When the horsemen arrived in Caesarea, they delivered the letter to the governor and presented Paul to him.
- 2 Timothy 1:8 So do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, or of me, His prisoner. Instead, join me in suffering for the gospel by the power of God.
- 2 Timothy 4:16 At my first defense, no one stood with me, but everyone deserted me. May it not be charged against them.
- Revelation 1:9 I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance that are in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and my testimony about Jesus.