He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward.
Parallel translations
- WEB 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.
- BSB Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward.
- NKJV He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward.
- NASB The one who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and the one who receives a righteous person in the name of a righteous person shall receive a righteous person’s reward.
- NLT If you receive a prophet as one who speaks for God, you will be given the same reward as a prophet. And if you receive righteous people because of their righteousness, you will be given a reward like theirs.
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
Welcoming a prophet or righteous person because of who they are brings a share in their reward. God honors those who support His servants.
Overview
Jesus assures that hospitality offered to His messengers out of recognition of their calling will be rewarded by God. Those who identify with and support the work of prophets and the righteous share in the blessing of that work. The verse encourages believers to value and aid gospel labor, however small their own role may seem.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 24
- 3 Jn 1:5–8Beloved, thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest to the brethren, and to strangers;
- Heb 6:10For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.
- 2 Kgs 4:8–10And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread.
- 2 Kgs 4:16–17And he said, About this season, according to the time of life, thou shalt embrace a son. And she said, Nay, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie unto thine handmaid.
- Luke 14:13–14But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind:
- 2 Jn 1:8Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.
- 1 Kgs 18:3–4And Ahab called Obadiah, which was the governor of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the LORD greatly:
- 2 Kgs 4:32–37And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid upon his bed.
- Gen 20:7Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine.
- Matt 25:34–40Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
- Rom 16:1–4I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea:
- 2 Th 1:6–7Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you;
- 1 Cor 9:17For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me.
- Matt 16:27For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.
- Matt 6:6But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
- Matt 6:18That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.
- 2 Tim 1:16–18The Lord give mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus; for he oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain:
- 1 Kgs 17:9–15Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.
- Rom 16:23Gaius mine host, and of the whole church, saluteth you. Erastus the chamberlain of the city saluteth you, and Quartus a brother.
- Acts 16:15And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us.
- Matt 6:1Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.
- Matt 6:4That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.
- 1 Kgs 17:20–24And he cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son?
- Isa 3:10Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 10:41 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.