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And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.
Mark 6:11 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB 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!”
  • BSB If anyone will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that place, as a testimony against them.”
  • NKJV And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them. Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!”
  • NASB Any place that does not receive you or listen to you, as you go out from there, shake the dust off the soles of your feet as a testimony against them.”
  • NLT But if any place refuses to welcome you or listen to you, shake its dust from your feet as you leave to show that you have abandoned those people to their fate.”

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Where they are rejected, the disciples are to shake the dust off their feet as a testimony against that place.

Overview

The symbolic act of shaking off dust solemnly warns that rejecting the gospel brings grave accountability before God. Jesus' words about Sodom and Gomorrah stress the seriousness of refusing his messengers. This underscores that how people respond to the gospel carries eternal weight.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 19

  • Matt 10:14–15And 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.
  • Acts 18:6And when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles.
  • Luke 10:10–15But into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you not, go your ways out into the streets of the same, and say,
  • Neh 5:13Also I shook my lap, and said, So God shake out every man from his house, and from his labour, that performeth not this promise, even thus be he shaken out, and emptied. And all the congregation said, Amen, and praised the LORD. And the people did according to this promise.
  • Jude 1:7Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
  • Matt 11:20–24Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not:
  • Heb 10:26–31For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
  • Rom 2:16In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.
  • Acts 13:50–51But the Jews stirred up the devout and honourable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts.
  • 1 Jn 4:17Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.
  • 2 Pet 3:7But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
  • Rom 2:5But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;
  • John 15:22–24If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloak for their sin.
  • Ezek 16:48–51As I live, saith the Lord GOD, Sodom thy sister hath not done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters.
  • 2 Pet 2:9The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:
  • Heb 6:4–8For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
  • Luke 9:5And whosoever will not receive you, when ye go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet for a testimony against them.
  • Matt 12:36But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
  • 2 Pet 2:6And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (5)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Mark videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Mark 6:11YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on MarkMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Mark drives urgently to the cross, showing Jesus the Son of God as the suffering Servant who 'came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'

How Mark 6:11 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.