Limitless Word
For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.
Matthew 10:20 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.
  • BSB For it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
  • NKJV for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.
  • NASB For it is not you who are speaking, but it is the Spirit of your Father who is speaking in you.
  • NLT For it is not you who will be speaking—it will be the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

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

The words disciples speak in trials come from the Spirit of God, not merely themselves. The Father empowers their witness through His Spirit.

Overview

Jesus locates the disciples' courage and content in the indwelling 'Spirit of your Father.' Their testimony is ultimately God's own speaking through them, a foretaste of the Spirit's empowering ministry fulfilled at Pentecost. The tender title 'your Father' assures persecuted believers of God's intimate care even in the courtroom.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 16

  • 2 Sam 23:2The Spirit of the LORD spake by me, and his word was in my tongue.
  • Acts 6:10And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake.
  • Luke 21:15For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.
  • Luke 12:12For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say.
  • 2 Pet 1:21For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
  • Acts 2:4And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
  • Acts 4:8Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel,
  • 2 Cor 13:3Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, which to you-ward is not weak, but is mighty in you.
  • Acts 7:55–56But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,
  • Mark 12:36For David himself said by the Holy Ghost, The LORD said to my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool.
  • Acts 13:9Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him,
  • Acts 28:25And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers,
  • Luke 11:13If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
  • 1 Pet 1:12Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.
  • Matt 6:32(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
  • Luke 12:30–32For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Matthew videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

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

  • VideoWatch teaching on Matthew 10:20YouTube · 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 MatthewMatthew 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

Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'

How Matthew 10:20 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.