Bible Strands
Matthew 10:6
Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Jesus issues this directive to the twelve apostles during their commissioning, explicitly narrowing their initial mission away from Gentile and Samaritan territories.
The words — The imperative πορεύεσθε (poreuesthe) commands "do go," while μᾶλλον (mallon) "rather" and ἀπολωλότα (apolōlota) "already perishing" define the specific destination.
The thread — This designation aligns with Jeremiah 50:6, Ezekiel 34:6, and Isaiah 53:6, where Israel is consistently described as scattered or astray sheep.
Why it lands — The text restricts the apostles' mission to a specific people group, requiring obedience to a bounded mandate before the gospel expands.
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
But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 50:6 My people are lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray, causing them to roam the mountains. They have wandered from mountain to hill; they have forgotten their resting place.
- Ezekiel 34:6 My flock went astray on all the mountains and every high hill. They were scattered over the face of all the earth, with no one to search for them or seek them out.’
- Isaiah 53:6 We all like sheep have gone astray, each one has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all.
- 1 Peter 2:25 For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
- Acts 13:46 Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “It was necessary to speak the word of God to you first. But since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles.
- Psalms 119:176 I have strayed like a lost sheep; seek Your servant, for I have not forgotten Your commandments.
- Matthew 15:24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
- Ezekiel 34:8 ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, because My flock lacks a shepherd and has become prey and food for every wild beast, and because My shepherds did not search for My flock but fed themselves instead,
- Luke 15:3 Then Jesus told them this parable:
- Acts 3:26 When God raised up His Servant, He sent Him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways.”