Luke 10–12

The Seventy-Two Appointed and Sent Out

10And after these things, the Lord also^a appointed seventy-two others and sent them out two by two before him^b into every town and place where he was about to go. ²And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore ask the Lord of the harvest that he send out workers into his harvest. ³Go! Behold, I am sending you out like lambs in the midst of wolves! ⁴Do not carry a money bag or a traveler’s bag or sandals, and greet no one along the road. ⁵And into whatever house you enter, first say, “Peace be to this household!” ⁶And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on him. But if not, it will return to you. ⁷And remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide,^c for the worker is worthy of his pay. Do not move from house to house. ⁸And into whatever town you enter and they welcome you, eat whatever is^d set before you, ⁹and heal the sick in it, and say to them, “The kingdom of God has come near to you.” ¹⁰But into whatever town you enter and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and^* say, ¹¹“Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you! Nevertheless know this: that the kingdom of God has come near!”^{e 12}I tell you that it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town!

¹³Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes! ¹⁴But it will be more bearable for Tyre and for Sidon in the judgment than for you! ¹⁵And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No! You will be brought down to Hades! ¹⁶The one who listens to you listens to me, and the one who rejects you rejects me. But the one who rejects me rejects the one who sent me.”

¹⁷And the seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” ¹⁸So he said to them, “I saw Satan falling like lightning from heaven. ¹⁹Behold, I have given you the authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will ever harm you. ²⁰Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are inscribed in heaven.”

Jesus Rejoices and Prays

²¹At that same time he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to young children. Yes, Father, for this was pleasing before you. ²²All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wants to reveal him.”^*

²³And turning to the disciples, he said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see the things which you see! ²⁴For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see the things which you see, and did not see them,^* and to hear the things which you hear, and did not hear them.”^*

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

²⁵And behold, a certain legal expert stood up to test him, saying, “Teacher, what must I do so that I will inherit eternal life?” ²⁶And he said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?”^{* 27}And he answered and^* said, “You shall love the Lord your God from all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind,^f and your neighbor as yourself.”^{g 28}And he said to him, “You have answered correctly. Do this and you will live.”

²⁹But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” ³⁰And^h Jesus replied and^* said, “A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who both stripped him and beat him.^* After^* inflicting blows on him,^* they went away, leaving him^* half dead. ³¹Now by coincidence a certain priest was going down on that road, and when he^* saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. ³²And in the same way also a Levite, when he^* came down to the placeⁱ and saw him,^* passed by on the opposite side. ³³But a certain Samaritan who was traveling came up to him and, when he^* saw him,^* had compassion. ³⁴And he came up and^* bandaged his wounds, pouring on olive oil and wine, and he put him on his own animal and^* brought him to an inn and took care of him. ³⁵And on the next day, he took out two denarii and^* gave them^*j to the innkeeper, and said, “Take care of him, and whatever you spend in addition, I will repay to you when I return. ³⁶Which of these three do you suppose became a neighbor of the man who fell among the robbers?” ³⁷So he said, “The one who showed mercy to him.” And Jesus said to him, “You go and do likewise.”

Martha and Mary

³⁸Now as they traveled along, he entered into a certain village. And a certain woman named^k Martha welcomed him.^{l 39}And she had^m a sister named Mary, who also sat at the feet of Jesusⁿ and^* was listening to his teaching. ⁴⁰But Martha was distracted with much preparation, so she approached and^* said, “Lord, is it not a concern to you that my sister has left me alone to make preparations? Then tell her that she should help me!” ⁴¹But the Lord answered and^* said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things! ⁴²But few things are necessary, or only one thing,^o for Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”

How to Pray

11And it happened that while he was in a certain place praying, when he stopped a certain one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples.” ²And he said to them, “When you pray, say,

“Father,

may your name be treated as holy.

May your kingdom come.

³Give us each day our daily bread.

⁴And forgive us our sins,

for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.

And do not lead us into temptation.”

Ask, Seek, Knock

⁵And he said to them, “Who of you will have a friend, and will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, ⁶because a friend of mine has come to me on a journey, and I do not have anything to set before him.’ ⁷And that one will answer from inside and^* say, ‘Do not cause me trouble! The door has already been shut and my children are with me in bed! I am not able to get up to give you anything.’^{* 8}I tell you, even if he does not give him anything^* after he^* gets up because he is his friend, at any rate because of his impudence^a he will get up and^* give him whatever he needs.

⁹And I tell you, ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened for you. ¹⁰For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. ¹¹But what father from among you, if his^* son will ask for a fish, instead of a fish will give him a snake? ¹²Or also, if he will ask for an egg, will give him a scorpion? ¹³Therefore if you, although you^* are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father from heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”

A House Divided Cannot Stand

¹⁴And he was expelling a mute demon.^b Now it happened that when^* the demon came out, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowds were astonished. ¹⁵But some of them said, “By Beelzebul the ruler of demons he expels demons!” ¹⁶And others, in order to^* test him,^* were demanding from him a sign from heaven. ¹⁷But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household^c falls. ¹⁸So if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I expel demons by Beelzebul. ¹⁹But if I expel demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons expel them?^* For this reason they will be your judges! ²⁰But if I expel demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you! ²¹When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his possessions are safe.^{d 22}But when a stronger man attacks him and^* conquers him, he takes away his full armor in which he trusted and distributes his plunder. ²³The one who is not with me is against me, and the one who does not gather with me scatters.

An Unclean Spirit Returns

²⁴“Whenever an unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it travels through waterless places searching for rest, and does not find it.^* It says,^e ‘I will return to my house from which I came out.’ ²⁵And when it^* arrives it finds the house^* swept and put in order. ²⁶Then it goes and brings along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and^* live there. And the last state of that person becomes worse than the first!”

²⁷Now it happened that as he said these things, a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and^* said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!” ²⁸But he said, “On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and follow it!”^*

The Sign of Jonah

²⁹And as^* the crowds were increasing, he began to say, “This generation is an evil generation! It demands a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah! ³⁰For just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation. ³¹The queen of the south will rise up at the judgment with the people of this generation and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something^* greater than Solomon is here! ³²The people of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the proclamation of Jonah, and behold, something^* greater than Jonah is here!

Light and Darkness

³³“No one after^* lighting a lamp puts it^* in a cellar or under a bushel basket, but on a lampstand, so that those who come in can see the light. ³⁴Your eye is the lamp of the body. When your eye is sincere, your whole body is full of light also.…