Whoever doesn’t receive you, nor hear your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake the dust off your feet.
Parallel Translations
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Whoever doesn’t receive you, nor hear your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake the dust off your feet.
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And whosoever shall not receave you nor will heare youre preachynge: when ye departe oute of that housse or that cite shake of the duste of youre fete.
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And whosoeuer shall not receiue you, nor heare your woordes, when yee depart out of that house, or that citie, shake off the dust of your feete.
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Contradictions (1)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (13)
Passages linked to Matthew 10:14 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Luke 10:10-11 But into whatever city you enter, and they don’t receive you, go out into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust from your city that clings to us, we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that God’s Kingdom has come near to you.’
- Acts 18:6 When they opposed him and blasphemed, he shook out his clothing and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am clean. From now on, I will go to the Gentiles!”
- Nehemiah 5:13 Also I shook out my lap, and said, “So may God shake out every man from his house, and from his labor, that doesn’t perform this promise; even may he be shaken out and emptied like this.” All the assembly said, “Amen,” and praised Yahweh. The people did according to this promise.
- Acts 13:51 But they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came to Iconium.
- Mark 6:11 Whoever will not receive you nor hear you, as you depart from there, shake off the dust that is under your feet for a testimony against them. Assuredly, I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!”
- Luke 9:5 As many as don’t receive you, when you depart from that city, shake off even the dust from your feet for a testimony against them.”
- John 13:20 Most certainly I tell you, he who receives whomever I send, receives me; and he who receives me, receives him who sent me.”
- 1 Thessalonians 4:8 Therefore he who rejects this doesn’t reject man, but God, who has also given his Holy Spirit to you.
- Matthew 10:40-41 He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives him who sent me. He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward. He who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward.
- Matthew 18:5 Whoever receives one such little child in my name receives me,
- Mark 9:37 “Whoever receives one such little child in my name, receives me, and whoever receives me, doesn’t receive me, but him who sent me.”
- Luke 9:48 and said to them, “Whoever receives this little child in my name receives me. Whoever receives me receives him who sent me. For whoever is least among you all, this one will be great.”
- Acts 20:26-27 Therefore I testify to you today that I am clean from the blood of all men, for I didn’t shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (15 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 14 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear…
14 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.
Ver. 14. And whosoever shall not receive you] Two sure signs of reprobate goats: 1. Not to receive Christ’s ministers to house and harbour, accounting themselves happy in such an entertainment. 2. Not to hear their words. The most good is done by God’s ministers commonly at first coming. Then some receive the word with admiration, others are daily more and more hardened: as fish, though fearful, stir not at the great noise of the sea, whereunto they are accustomed; and as birds that build in a belfry startle not at the tolling of the bell.
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Shake off the dust of your feet] In token that you sought not theirs but them, and that you will not carry away so much as any of their accursed dust; and that you will not have any communion at all with them, wait no longer upon them; that the dust of those feet (that should have been beautiful) shall be fatal and feral to them; that God shall henceforward beat them here as small as dust with his heavy judgments, as with an iron mace, Psa 2:9; and that hereafter he shall shake them off as dust, when they come to him for salvation at the last judgment.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Verily, I say unto you,.... This was not all…
Verily, I say unto you,.... This was not all the punishment that should be inflicted on such despisers of the Gospel of Christ, and the ministers of it; as not to enjoy that peace and prosperity wished for by the apostles, and to be declared to be on an equal foot with Heathen cities and countries: but they were to suffer everlasting punishment in the world to come; which is here asserted by Christ in the strongest manner, saying:
it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha, in the day of judgment, than for that city. The inhabitants of the land of Sodom and Gomorrha are the rather mentioned, because, as they were very notorious and abominable sinners, so their temporal punishment was well known, exemplary and awful, though not that, but their future damnation is here regarded, of which the Jews made no doubt; for they say (y),
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"the men of Sodom have no part in the world to come; as it is said, Gen 13:13 "the men of Sodom were wicked, and sinners, before the Lord exceedingly": they were "wicked" in this world, and "sinners" in the world to come;''
meaning, that by this passage is designed their double punishment in this, and the other world. But though their punishment was very tremendous, and they will suffer also "the vengeance of eternal fire", as Jude says; yet, their punishment will be milder, and more tolerable, than that of the inhabitants of such a city, that rejects the Gospel of the grace of God: as there are degrees in sinning, for all sins are not alike, as the Stoics say; so there will be degrees in suffering; the sins of those that are favoured with the Gospel, are greater than those who only have had the light of nature, and so their torments will be greater. The inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrha, though they sinned against the light of nature, despised the advice and admonitions of Lot, and ill treated the angels, yet will be more mildly punished than the wicked Jews, who rejected Christ, and his Gospel, and despised his apostles, and ministers; because they sinned not against so much light, and such means of grace, and knowledge, as these did; see Lam 4:6 which is thus paraphrased by the Targumist, and may be aptly applied to the Jews in Christ's time:
"the sin of the congregation of my people is greater than the sin of Sodom, which was overturned in a moment; and there dwelt no prophets in it to prophesy, and turn it to repentance.''
The time referred to, signified by "the day of judgment", respects not the destruction of Jerusalem, which was a very severe judgment on that people, but the general judgment, at the end of the world, which is appointed and fixed by God, though unknown to angels and men. The phrase is Jewish, and often to be met with in their writings, who use it in the same sense; particularly in the book of Zohar (z), mention is made of , "the day of judgment", when there will be no pollution in the sanctuary.
(y) Misn. Sanhedrim, c. 11. sect. 3. Hieros. Sanhedrim, fol. 29. 3. (z) In Gen. fol 13. 3. & 16. 1.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Shake off the dust from your feet - The…
Shake off the dust from your feet - The Jews thought the land of Israel so peculiarly holy, that when they came home from any heathen country, they stopped at the borders and shook or wiped off the dust of it from their feet, that the holy land might not be polluted with it. Therefore the action here enjoined was a lively intimation, that those Jews who had rejected the Gospel were holy no longer, but were on a level with heathens and idolaters.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 14. Shake off the dust of your feet.]…
Verse 14. Shake off the dust of your feet.] The Jews considered themselves defiled by the dust of a heathen country, when was represented by the prophets as a polluted land, Am 7:17, when compared with the land of Israel, which was considered as a holy land, Eze 45:1; therefore, to shake the dust of any city of Israel from off one's clothes or feet was an emblematical action, signifying a renunciation of all farther connection with them, and placing them on a level with the cities of the Heathen. See Clarke on Am 9:7.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Mat 10:14-15. Whosoever shall not receive you — That…
Mat 10:14-15. Whosoever shall not receive you — That is, entertain you kindly; nor, in an obedient manner, hearken to your words, when you depart, &c., shake off the dust of your feet — The Jews thought the land of Israel so peculiarly holy, that when they came home from any heathen country they stopped at the borders, and shook or wiped off the dust of it from their feet, that the holy land might not be polluted with it. Therefore the action here enjoined was a lively intimation, that those Jews who had rejected the gospel were holy no longer, but were on a level with heathen and idolaters. Verily, It shall be more tolerable, &c. — As if he had said, And indeed you have reason to shake off the dust of your feet in such a case, for whatever profession such Jews may make of their regard to the true God, and however they may continue to boast of their national privileges, their punishment at the day of final judgment shall not only be greater than that of the generality of Gentile sinners, but even than that of those monsters of unnatural wickedness who formerly inhabited Sodom and Gomorrah, and were consumed with fire and brimstone from heaven. For the people of those cities never sinned against such extraordinary light and such singular favours as they will do who reject the gospel now to be preached to them, with great plainness and power, by you, and attested by such miracles as I shall enable you to perform.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Shake off the dust from your feet. It was…
Shake off the dust from your feet. It was common enough with the Jews, or at least with the preachers and prophets, to use some extraordinary outward actions, to make what they said more taken notice of by the people, as here the shaking off the dust from their feet was to denote to the obstinate unbelievers, that the very dust which their feet had contracted, in coming to preach to them the gospel, should hereafter rise in judgment against them. (Witham) By this, the apostles were to testify that they took nothing away with them belonging to these reprobate cities. They likewise shewed the long and painful journeys they had undertaken for their salvation. (St. John Chrysostom, hom. xxxiii.) --- He orders them to do this, to shew that they would have nothing in common with them, since they left them even their dust. Or it may be to shew, that the dust which they had gathered in their journey, would be a testimony against them in the day of judgment, because they had refused to receive them, as the Jews were accustomed to perform some remarkable action, for some great crime committed; thus, when they heard blasphemy, they tore their garments. (Menochius)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your…
And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city--for possibly a whole town might not furnish one "worthy."
shake off the dust of your feet--"for a testimony against them," as Mark and Luke add (Mar 6:11; Luk 10:11). By this symbolical action they vividly shook themselves from all connection with such, and all responsibility for the guilt of rejecting them and their message. Such symbolical actions were common in ancient times, even among others than the Jews, as strikingly appears in Pilate (Mat 27:24). And even to this day it prevails in the East.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 14. Dust of your feet — Such was the…
14. Dust of your feet — Such was the custom of stricter Jews in departing from a heathen city. But henceforth the rejecters of Jesus, though Jews by blood, are heathen in heart. The meaning of the symbol of shaking the dust from your feet, is solemn and striking. It declares the city polluted, and not a particle of it shall adhere to the apostle’s person. It is given over to itself, and consigned to its own destruction.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 14. shake off the dust of your feet] as…
14. shake off the dust of your feet] as St Paul did at Antioch in Pisidia, Act_13:51. The cities of Israel that rejected the Gospel should be regarded as heathen. The very dust of them was a defilement as the dust of a heathen land. See Lightfoot, ad loc.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (14) Shake off the dust of your feet.—The act…
(14) Shake off the dust of your feet.—The act was a familiar symbol of the sense of indignation, as in the case of St. Paul (Act_13:51) at Antioch in Pisidia. The Jewish maxim, that even the very dust of a heathen land brought defilement with it, added to its significance. It was a protest in act, declaring (as our Lord declares in words) that the city or house which did not receive the messengers of the Christ was below the level even of the Gentiles.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Vers. 14, 15. If rejected, bear your solemn witness…
Vers. 14, 15. If rejected, bear your solemn witness to the fact, for to reject you brings awful consequences.
Parallel passages: Mar_6:11 Luk_9:5 (the twelve); Luk_10:10, 11 (the seventy). And whosoever shall not receive you on your formal request as heralds of the kingdomnor hear your words, (Mat_21:17 Act_16:13) in this case finally. That house or (thai, Revised Version) city. "The house," rightly further defined by "that" in English, comes in Matthew only; "that city" comes also in the parallel passage, Mat_5:18, note) I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha. Whose inhabitants were the typical example of the worst of sinners. (Deu_32:32 Isa_1:10 Eze_16:46 Rev_11:8) "The men of Sodom have no part in the world to come" (Mishna, "Sanh.," 10:3). In the day of judgment. Luke has "in that day;" cf. Mat_7:22. In the only two passages in the LXX (Pro_6:34 Isa_34:8) where, as it seems, our phrase occurs, it refers, not to the judgment of all, good and bad alike, but to that of the wicked alone. So also in 2Pe_2:9 2Pe_3:7; and possibly also in Mat_12:36, but not in 1Jn_4:17 (the only passage where it is not anarthrous). Than for that city. Observe that this verse implies that the wicked dead are still in existence, and are waiting for their final judgment; also that in the judgment of the wicked there will be degrees of punishment.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain Shake off the dust of your feet.
Mat_10:14
Shake off the dust of your feet.
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-The sin of the Sodomites was single, but that of those rejecting the apostles would be manifold, including
(1) infidelity;
(2) disobedience;
(3) ingratitude;
(4) inhospitality;
(5) rebellion and contumacy against God, contrary to the law of nature, and in defiance of the grace of God. (Lapide.)
The danger of defilement
The danger of course was not from dust on the feet, but from defilement on the life and in the heart. Every apostle was to let his impenitent countrymen know that they were as heathen men in the sight of the Messiah, impure in the estimation of the infinitely Holy One. The spirit of the injunction runs through all the ages, and has come down to our day. Its spirit, but its spirit only. And hence a very heavy responsibility rests on that minister of the gospel who gives no intimation of any kind to the impenitent with whom he associates, that they are impure in the sight of God, and in danger of eternal separation from the good. (James Morison, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 14. Shake off the dust of your feet. This…
14. Shake off the dust of your feet. This was done when there was a positive rejection of the gospel. It was a symbolical act, signifying that all responsibility for the stubborn household or city had ended. Compare Mark 6:11 and Acts 13:51. Nor can the gospel be forced upon an unwilling people in any age.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Connecting Statement:
Connecting Statement:
Jesus continues to instruct his disciples about what they should do when they go to preach.
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As for those who do not receive you or listen
"If no people in that house or city will receive you or listen"
you ... your
This is plural and refers to the twelve apostles. (See: Forms of You)
listen to your words
Here "words" refers to what the disciples say. AT: "listen to your message" or "listen to what you have to say" (See: Metonymy)
city
You should translate this the same way you did in Matthew 10:11.
shake off the dust from your feet
"shake the dust off your feet as you leave." This is a sign that God has rejected the people of that house or city. (See: Symbolic Action)
Truly I say to you
"I tell you the truth." This phrase adds emphasis to what Jesus says next.
it shall be more tolerable
"the suffering shall be less"
the land of Sodom and Gomorrah
This refers to the people who lived in Sodom and Gomorrah. AT: "the people who lived in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah" (See: Metonymy)
that city
This refers to the people in the city that does not receive the apostles or listen to their message. AT: "the people of the city that does not receive you" (See: Metonymy)
translationWords
receive
amen
Sodom
Gomorrah
judgment day
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 10:14 shake its dust from your feet: This prophet-like…
10:14 shake its dust from your feet: This prophet-like gesture is explained by the Israelite custom of expressing displeasure with ungodliness by shaking off Gentile dust whenever crossing the border into Israel. The gesture signifies the disciples’ rejection of those who oppose God’s work (see Acts 18:6). Pronouncing judgment on those who reject the message is part of proclaiming the Good News about the Kingdom (see Matt 11:20-24; 13:10-15; 23:37-39; 24:1-36).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.