Matthew 10 · Verse 13

Matthew 10:13

And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.
Matthew 10:13, King James Version

Matthew 10:13 in other translations

BSBIf the home is worthy, let your peace rest on it; but if it is not, let your peace return to you.
WEBIf the household is worthy, let your peace come on it, but if it isn’t worthy, let your peace return to you.
ASVAnd if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.
YLTand if indeed the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it; and if it be not worthy, let your peace turn back to you.
DARBYAnd if the house indeed be worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.
BBEAnd if the house is good enough, let your peace come on it: but if not, let your peace come back to you.
WebsterAnd if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.

What does Matthew 10:13 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
13. And if the house be worthy--showing this by giving you a welcome. let your peace come upon it--This is best explained by the injunction to the Seventy, "And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house" (Lu 10:5). This was the ancient salutation of the East, and it prevails to this day. But from the lips of Christ and His messengers, it means something far higher, both in the gift and the giving of it, than in the current salutation. (See on Joh 14:27). but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you--If your peace finds a shut, instead of an open, door in the heart of any household, take it back to yourselves, who know how to value it; and it will taste the sweeter to you for having been offered, even though rejected.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Barnes' Notes
Verse 13. If the house be worthy. That is, if the family be worthy, or be willing to receive you as my disciples.

Let your peace come upon it. That is, let the peace or happiness which you seek, or for which you pray, in saluting it, Lu 10:5 come upon it; or seek their peace and happiness by prayer, instruction, by remaining with them, and imparting to them the blessings of the gospel.

But if it be not worthy, etc. If the family be unwilling to receive you; if they show themselves unfriendly to you and your message, let your peace return to you. This is a Hebrew mode of saying that your peace should not come upon it, Ps 35:13. It is a mode of speaking derived from bestowing a gift. If people were willing to receive it, they derived the benefit from it; if not, then of course the present came back, or remained in the hand of the giver. So Christ figuratively speaks of the peace which their labour would confer. If received kindly and hospitably by the people, they would confer on them most valuable blessings. If rejected and persecuted, the blessings which they sought for others would come upon themselves. They would reap the benefit of being cast out and persecuted for their Master's sake, Mt 5:10.

(c) "return to you" Ps 35:13

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 13 If that house be worthy - If that family be proper for a preacher to lodge in, and the master be ready to embrace the message of salvation. Your peace - The blessings you have prayed for shall come upon the family: God will prosper them in their bodies, souls, and substance. But if it be not worthy - As above explained. Let your peace - The blessings prayed for, return to you. Προς υμας επιϚραφητω, it shall turn back upon yourselves. They shall get nothing, and you shall have an increase. The trials, disappointments, insults, and wants of the followers of Christ become, in the hand of the all-wise God, subservient to their best interests: hence, nothing can happen to them without their deriving profit from it, unless it be their own fault.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Matthew 10:5-15

The Gentiles must not have the gospel brought them, till the Jews have refused it. This restraint on the apostles was only in their first mission. Wherever they went they must proclaim, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. They preached, to establish the faith; the kingdom, to animate the hope; of heaven, to inspire the love of heavenly things, and the contempt of earthly; which is at hand, that men may prepare for it…

Read the full comment on Matthew 10:5-15 →

Matthew 10:13 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

καὶkaiAndG2532
ἐὰνeanifG1437
μὲνmenindeedG3303
ᾖēshall beG1510
ἡhētheG3588
οἰκίαoikiahouseG3614
ἀξία,axiaworthy,G514
ἐλθάτωelthatōshould comeG2064
ἡhētheG3588
εἰρήνηeirēnēpeaceG1515
ὑμῶνhumōnof youG4771
ἐπ᾽ep᾽uponG1909
αὐτήν·autēnit;G846
ἐὰνeanonlyG1437
δὲdehoweverG1161
μὴmēunlessG3361
ᾖēit shall beG1510
ἀξία,axiaworthy,G514
ἡhētheG3588
εἰρήνηeirēnēpeaceG1515
ὑμῶνhumōnof youG4771
πρὸςprostoG4314
ὑμᾶςhumasyouG4771
ἐπιστραφήτω.epistraphētōshould return.G1994

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Matthew 10:13

  • Luke 10:6

    And if the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it: if not, it shall turn to you again.

  • Psalms 35:13

    But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into mine own bosom.

  • 2 Corinthians 2:16

    To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Ps 35:13; Lu 10:6; 2Co 2:16

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Matthew 10:12

    And when ye come into an house, salute it.

  • Matthew 10:13

    And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.

  • Matthew 10:14

    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.

Read all of Matthew 10

Matthew 10:13 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y si la casa fuere digna, vuestra paz vendrá sobre ella; mas si no fuere digna, vuestra paz se volverá á vosotros.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et si la maison en est digne, que votre paix vienne sur elle; mais si elle n’en est pas digne, que votre paix retourne à vous.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und wenn nun das Haus würdig ist, so komme euer Friede auf dasselbe; wenn es aber nicht würdig ist, so wende sich euer Friede zu euch zurück.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Et siquidem fuerit domus illa digna, veniet pax vestra super eam: si autem non fuerit digna, pax vestra revertetur ad vos.