1After this, the Lord appointed seventy[a] other disciples[b] and was about to send them ahead of him in pairs to every town and place that he intended to go. 2So he instructed them, “The harvest is vast, but the workers are few. So ask the Lord of the harvest to send workers out into his harvest. 3Get going! See, I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 4Don't carry a wallet, a traveling bag, or sandals, and don't greet anyone on the way.
5“Whatever house you go into, first say, ‘May there be peace in this house.’ 6If a peaceful person lives there, your greeting of peace will remain with him. But if that's not the case, your greeting[c] will come back to you. 7Stay with the same family, eating and drinking whatever they provide, because the worker deserves his pay. Don't move from house to house.
8“Whenever you go into a town and the people[d] welcome you, eat whatever they serve you, 9heal the sick that are there, and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you!’ 10But whenever you go into a town and people[e] don't welcome you, go out into its streets and say, 11‘We are wiping off your town's dust that clings to our feet in protest against you! But realize this: the kingdom of God is near!’ 12I tell you, on the last[f] day it will be easier for Sodom than for that town!”
13“How terrible it will be for you, Chorazin! How terrible it will be for you, Bethsaida! If the miracles that happened in you had taken place in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14It will be easier for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you!13
15And you, Capernaum! You won't be lifted up to heaven, will you? You'll go down to Hell![g] 16The person who listens to you listens to me, and the person who rejects you rejects me. The person who rejects me rejects the one who sent me.”
17The seventy[h] disciples[i] came back and joyously reported, “Lord, even the demons are submitting to us in your name!”
18He said to them, “I watched Satan falling from heaven like lightning. 19Look! I have given you the authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to destroy[j] all the enemy's power, and nothing will ever hurt you. 20However, stop rejoicing because the spirits are submitting to you. Rather, rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”
21At that moment, the Holy Spirit[k] made Jesus[l] extremely joyful, so Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you
have hidden these things from wise and intelligent people and have revealed
them to infants. Yes, Father, because this is what was pleasing to you.
22“All things have been entrusted to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows[m] who the Father is except the Son and the person to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” 23Then turning to his disciples in private, he said to them, “How blessed are the eyes that see what you see! 24Because I tell you, many prophets and kings wanted to see the things you see but didn't see them, and to hear the things you hear but didn't hear them.”
25Just then an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus.[n] He asked, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26Jesus[o] answered him, “What is
written in the law? What do you read there?”
27He answered, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind.[p] And you must love[q] your neighbor as yourself.”[r]
28Jesus[s] told him, “You have answered correctly. ‘Do this, and you will live.’”[t]
29But the man wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30After careful consideration,
Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to
Jericho when he fell into the hands of bandits. They stripped him, beat him,
and went away, leaving him half dead. 31By chance, a priest was traveling along that road. When he
saw the man,[u] he went by on the
other side. 32Similarly, a Levite came to that
place. When he saw the man,[v] he also went by on the
other side. 33But as he
was traveling along, a Samaritan came across the man.[w] When the Samaritan[x] saw him, he was moved
with compassion. 34He went
to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them. Then he put him
on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35The next day he took out two
denarii[y] and gave them to the
innkeeper, saying, ‘Take good care of him. If you spend more than that, I'll repay
you when I come back.’31
36“Of these three men, who do you think was a neighbor to the
man who fell into the hands of the bandits?”
37He said, “The one who showed mercy to him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do what he did.”
38Now as they were traveling along, Jesus[z] went into a village. A woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39She had a sister named Mary, who sat down at the Lord's feet and kept listening to what he was saying. 40But Martha was worrying about all the things she had to do, so she came to him and asked, “Lord, you do care that my sister has left me to do the work all by myself, don't you? Then tell her to help me.”1039
41The Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha! You worry and fuss about a lot of things. 42But there's only[aa] one thing you need. Mary has chosen what is better,[bb] and it is not to be taken away from her.”
[a] 10:1 Other mss. read seventy-two
[b] 10:1 Lit. others
[c] 10:6 Lit. it
[d] 10:8 Lit. they
[e] 10:10 Lit. they
[f] 10:12 The Gk. lacks last
[g] 10:15 Lit. Hades; i.e. the realm of the dead
[h] 10:17 Other mss. read seventy-two
[i] 10:17 The Gk. lacks disciples
[j] 10:19 Lit. and over
[k] 10:21 Other mss. read in the spirit
[l] 10:21 Lit. he
[m] 10:22 The Gk. lacks no one knows
[n] 10:25 Lit. him
[o] 10:26 Lit. He
[p] 10:27 Deut 6:5
[q] 10:27 The Gk. lacks you must love
[r] 10:27
Lev 19:18
[s] 10:28 Lit. He
[t] 10:28 Cf. Gen 42:18
[u] 10:31 Lit. him
[v] 10:32 Lit. him
[w] 10:33 Lit. him
[x] 10:33 Lit. he
[y] 10:35 A denarius was the usual day's wage for a laborer.
[z] 10:38 Lit. he
[aa] 10:42 Other mss. read out of a few things, there's only
[bb] 10:42 Lit. the better part