Matthew 10:38

New King James Version

³⁸^(A)And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.

Matthew 10:38

New American Standard Bible

³⁸And ^(A)the one who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.

Matthew 10:38

Amplified Bible

³⁸And he who does not take his ^[a]cross [expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come] and follow Me [believing in Me, conforming to My example in living and, if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in Me] is not worthy of Me.

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Footnotes

Matthew 10:38 The historical background behind this statement is that those who were about to be crucified had to carry the crossbeam to which they would be nailed or bound. In addition to the terrible agony that crucifixion inflicted, it was such a great indignity that some of the Roman writers used the word cross as a curse word in the expression “Go to a bad cross!” (Lat i in malam crucem).