Matthew 10 · Verse 28

Matthew 10:28

And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Matthew 10:28, King James Version

Matthew 10:28 in other translations

BSB	Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
WEB	Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. Rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.
ASV	And be not afraid of them that kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
YLT	‘And be not afraid of those killing the body, and are not able to kill the soul, but fear rather Him who is able both soul and body to destroy in gehenna.
DARBY	And be not afraid of those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul; but fear rather him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
BBE	And have no fear of those who put to death the body, but are not able to put to death the soul. But have fear of him who has power to give soul and body to destruction in hell.
Webster	And fear not them who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

What does Matthew 10:28 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

28. And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul--In Lu 12:4, "and after that have no more that they can do." but rather fear him--In Luke (Lu 12:5) this is peculiarly solemn, "I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear," even Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell--A decisive proof this that there is a hell for the body as well as the soul in the eternal world; in other words, that the torment that awaits the lost will have elements of suffering adapted to the material as well as the spiritual part of our nature, both of which, we are assured, will exist for ever. In the corresponding warning contained in Luke (Lu 12:4), Jesus calls His disciples "My friends," as if He had felt that such sufferings constituted a bond of peculiar tenderness between Him and them.

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

Barnes' Notes

Verse 28. Them which kill the body. That is, men, who have no power to injure the soul, the immortal part. The body is a small matter, in comparison with the soul. Temporal death is a slight thing, compared with eternal death, he directs them, therefore, not to be alarmed at the prospect of temporal death; but to fear God, who can destroy both soul and body for ever. This passage proves that the bodies of the wicked will be raised up to be punished for ever.

In hell. Mt 5:22.

(s) "And fear not" Is 8:12,13, 51:7,12, 1Pet 3:14

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 28 Fear not them which kill the body - Των αποκτεινοντων. Those who slay with acts of cruelty, alluding probably to the cruelties which persecutors should exercise on his followers in their martyrdom. But are not able to kill the soul. Hence we find that the body and the soul are distinct principles, for the body may be slain and the soul escape; and, secondly, that the soul is immaterial, for the murderers of the body are not able, μη δυναμενων, have it not in their power, to injure it. Fear him - It is, not hell-fire we are to fear, but it is God; without the stroke of whose justice hell itself would be no punishment, and whose frown would render heaven itself insupportable. What strange blindness is it to expose our souls to endless ruin, which should enjoy God eternally; and to save and pamper the body, by which we enjoy nothing but the creatures, and them only for a moment!

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Matthew 10:16-42

Our Lord warned his disciples to prepare for persecution. They were to avoid all things which gave advantage to their enemies, all meddling with worldly or political concerns, all appearance of evil or selfishness, and all underhand measures. Christ foretold troubles, not only that the troubles might not be a surprise, but that they might confirm their faith. He tells them what they should suffer, and from whom…

Read the full comment on Matthew 10:16-42 →

Matthew 10:28 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

μὴmēnotG3361

φοβεῖσθεphobeisthedo be afraidG5399

ἀπὸapoofG575

τῶνtōnthoseG3588

ἀποκτεννόντωνapoktennontōnkillingG615

τὸtotheG3588

σῶμα,sōmabody,G4983

τὴνtēntheG3588

δὲdehoweverG1161

ψυχὴνpsuchēnsoulG5590

μὴmēnotG3361

δυναμένωνdunamenōnbeing ableG1410

ἀποκτεῖναι·apokteinaito kill;G615

φοβεῖσθεphobeisthedo be afraidG5399

δὲdehoweverG1161

μᾶλλονmallonratherG3123

τὸνtonthe [One]G3588

δυνάμενονdunamenonbeing ableG1410

καὶkaibothG2532

ψυχὴνpsuchēnsoulG5590

καὶkaiandG2532

σῶμαsōmabodyG4983

ἀπολέσαιapolesaito destroyG622

ἐνeninG1722

γεέννῃ.geennēhell.G1067

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

Cross references for Matthew 10:28

Luke 12:4-5
And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.
Isaiah 8:12-13
Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid. Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.
Revelation 2:10
Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.
James 4:12
There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?
Romans 8:35-39
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, …
Ecclesiastes 8:12-13
Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him: But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he feareth not before God.
Jeremiah 5:22
Fear ye not me? saith the Lord: will ye not tremble at my presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it?
Isaiah 51:12
I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass;
Hebrews 12:28-29
Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For our God is a consuming fire.
Revelation 20:10-15
And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. …
1 Peter 3:14
But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;
Ecclesiastes 5:7
For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities: but fear thou God.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

And.
26; Isa 8:12,13; 51:7,12; Da 3:10-18; Lu 12:4,5; Ac 20:23,24
Ac 21:13; Ro 8:35-39; 2Ti 4:6-8; Heb 11:35; 1Pe 3:14; Re 2:10
him.
Ps 119:120; Ec 5:7; 8:12,13; Isa 66:2; Jer 5:22; Heb 12:28,29
able.
25:46; Mr 9:43-48; Lu 16:22-26; Joh 5:29; 2Th 1:8-10
Re 20:10-15

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

Context

Matthew 10:27
What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops.
Matthew 10:28
And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Matthew 10:29
Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.

Read all of Matthew 10

Matthew 10:28 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Y no temáis á los que matan el cuerpo, mas al alma no pueden matar: temed antes á aquel que puede destruir el alma y el cuerpo en el infierno.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Et ne craignez pas ceux qui tuent le corps et qui ne peuvent pas tuer l’âme; mais craignez plutôt celui qui peut détruire et l’âme et le corps, dans la géhenne.
German Elberfelder 1871	Und fürchtet euch nicht vor denen, die den Leib töten, die Seele aber nicht zu töten vermögen; fürchtet aber vielmehr den, der sowohl Seele als Leib zu verderben vermag in der Hölle.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Et nolite timere eos qui occidunt corpus, animam autem non possunt occidere: sed potius timete eum, qui potest et animam et corpus perdere in gehennam.