The Deceitful Heart

The Sabbath Must Be Kept

¹⁹ This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and stand at the ^[h]public gate, through which the kings of Judah come in and go out, as well as at all the gates of Jerusalem; ²⁰ and say to them, ‘^(AP)Listen to the word of the Lord, you ^(AQ)kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all inhabitants of Jerusalem who come in through these gates. ²¹ This is what the Lord says: “^(AR)Take care for yourselves, and ^(AS)do not carry any ^[i]load on the Sabbath day or bring anything in through the gates of Jerusalem. ²² You shall not bring a load out of your houses on the Sabbath day ^(AT)nor do any work, but keep the Sabbath day holy, just as I ^(AU)commanded your ^[j]forefathers. ²³ Yet they ^(AV)did not listen or incline their ears, but ^(AW)stiffened their necks so as not to listen or accept discipline.

²⁴ “But it will come about, if you ^(AX)give your attention to Me,” declares the Lord, “to ^(AY)bring no load in through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, ^(AZ)but to keep the Sabbath day holy by doing no work on it, ^25 (BA)then there will come in through the gates of this city kings and officials ^(BB)sitting on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their officials, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and this ^(BC)city will be inhabited forever. ²⁶ They will come in from the ^(BD)cities of Judah and from the areas surrounding Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin, from the ^(BE)lowland, from the hill country, and from the ^(BF)Negev, bringing burnt offerings, sacrifices, grain offerings, and frankincense, and bringing sacrifices of thanksgiving to the house of the Lord. ²⁷ But ^(BG)if you do not listen to Me, to keep the Sabbath day holy by not carrying a load and coming in through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then ^(BH)I will set fire to its gates, and it will ^(BI)devour the palaces of Jerusalem and ^(BJ)not go out.”’”

The Seventy-two Sent Out

10 Now after this ^(A)the Lord appointed ^[a]seventy-two ^(B)others, and sent them ^(C)in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come. ² And He was saying to them, “^(D)The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore plead with the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. ³ Go; ^(E)behold, I am sending you out like lambs in the midst of wolves. ^4 (F)Carry no money belt, no ^[b]bag, no sandals, and greet no one along the way. ⁵ And whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house.’ ⁶ And if a ^[c]man of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him; but if not, it will return to you. ⁷ Stay in ^[d]that house, eating and drinking ^[e]what they provide; for ^(G)the laborer is deserving of his wages. Do not move from house to house. ⁸ Whatever city you enter and they receive you, ^(H)eat what is served to you; ⁹ and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘^(I)The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ ¹⁰ But whatever city you enter and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, ¹¹ ‘^(J)Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet we wipe off in protest against you; yet ^[f]be sure of this, that ^(K)the kingdom of God has come near.’ ¹² I say to you, ^(L)it will be more tolerable on that day for ^(M)Sodom than for that city.

¹³ “^(N)Woe to you, ^(O)Chorazin! Woe to you, ^(P)Bethsaida! For if the ^[g]miracles that occurred in you had occurred in ^(Q)Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in ^[h](R)sackcloth and ashes. ¹⁴ But it will be more tolerable for ^(S)Tyre and Sidon in the judgment than for you. ¹⁵ And you, ^(T)Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will be brought down to Hades!

¹⁶ “^(U)The one who listens to you listens to Me, and ^(V)the one who rejects you rejects Me; but the one who rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.”

The Joyful Results

¹⁷ Now the ^[i]seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even ^(W)the demons are subject to us ^[j]in Your name!” ¹⁸ And He said to them, “I watched ^(X)Satan fall from heaven like lightning. ¹⁹ Behold, I have given you authority to ^(Y)walk on snakes and scorpions, and authority over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. ²⁰ Nevertheless, do not ^[k]rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that ^(Z)your names are recorded in heaven.”

^21 (AA)At that very ^[l]time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, and said, “I ^[m]praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for doing so was well pleasing in Your sight. ^22 (AB)All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and ^(AC)no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son determines to reveal Him.”

^23 (AD)Turning to the disciples, He said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see the things you see; ²⁴ for I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see the things that you see, and did not see them, and to hear the things that you hear, and did not hear them.”

^25 (AE)And behold, a ^[n](AF)lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” ²⁶ And He said to him, “What is written in the Law? ^[o]How does it read to you?” ²⁷ And he answered, “^(AG)You shall love the Lord your God ^[p]with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” ²⁸ And He said to him, “You have answered correctly; ^(AH)do this and you will live.” ²⁹ But wanting ^(AI)to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

The Good Samaritan

³⁰ Jesus replied and said, “A man was ^(AJ)going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he encountered robbers, and they stripped him and ^[q]beat him, and went away leaving him half dead. ³¹ And by coincidence a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. ³² Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³ But a ^(AK)Samaritan who was on a journey came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, ³⁴ and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own animal, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. ³⁵ On the next day he took out two ^[r]denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return, I will repay you.’ ³⁶ Which of these three do you think ^[s]proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?” ³⁷ And he said, “The one who showed compassion to him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do ^[t]the same.”

Martha and Mary

³⁸ Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named ^(AL)Martha welcomed Him into her home. ³⁹ And she had a sister called ^(AM)Mary, who was also ^(AN)seated at the Lord’s feet, and was listening to His word. ⁴⁰ But ^(AO)Martha was distracted with ^[u]all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do the serving ^[v]by myself? Then tell her to help me.” ⁴¹ But the Lord answered and said to her, “^(AP)Martha, Martha, you are ^(AQ)worried and distracted by many things; ^42 (AR)but only one thing is necessary; for ^(AS)Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

Description of a Citizen of Zion.

A Psalm of David.