The Twelve Apostles

10 ^(A)And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. ^2 (B)The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, ^(C)who is called Peter, and ^(D)Andrew his brother; ^(E)James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; ³ Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and ^(F)Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;^{[a] 4} Simon the Zealot,^[b] and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Apostles

^5 (G)These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of ^(H)the Samaritans, ^6 (I)but go rather to ^(J)the lost sheep of ^(K)the house of Israel. ⁷ And proclaim as you go, saying, ^(L)‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’^{[c] 8 (M)}Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers,^[d] cast out demons. ^(N)You received without paying; give without pay. ^9 (O)Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, ¹⁰ no bag for your journey, or two tunics^[e] or sandals or a staff, for ^(P)the laborer deserves his food. ¹¹ And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart. ¹² As you enter the house, ^(Q)greet it. ¹³ And if the house is ^(R)worthy, let ^(S)your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let ^(T)your peace return to you. ¹⁴ And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, ^(U)shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. ¹⁵ Truly, I say to you, ^(V)it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for ^(W)the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.

Persecution Will Come

^16 (X)“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be ^(Y)wise as serpents and ^(Z)innocent as doves. ¹⁷ Beware of men, for ^(AA)they will deliver you over to courts and flog you ^(AB)in their synagogues, ^18 (AC)and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, ^(AD)to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. ^19 (AE)When ^(AF)they deliver you over, ^(AG)do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for ^(AH)what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. ^20 (AI)For it is not you who speak, but ^(AJ)the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. ^21 (AK)Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, ^22 (AL)and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. ^(AM)But the one who endures to the end will be saved. ²³ When they ^(AN)persecute you in one town, ^(AO)flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel ^(AP)before the Son of Man comes.

^24 (AQ)“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant^[f] above his master. ²⁵ It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. ^(AR)If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign^[g] those of his household.

Have No Fear

²⁶ “So have no fear of them, ^(AS)for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. ²⁷ What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on ^(AT)the housetops. ²⁸ And ^(AU)do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him ^(AV)who can destroy both soul and body in hell.^{[h] 29} Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?^[i] And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. ³⁰ But ^(AW)even the hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹ Fear not, therefore; ^(AX)you are of more value than many sparrows. ^32 (AY)So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, ³³ but ^(AZ)whoever denies me before men, ^(BA)I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

Not Peace, but a Sword

^34 (BB)“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. ^(BC)I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. ^35 (BD)For I have come ^(BE)to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. ^36 (BF)And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. ^37 (BG)Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. ³⁸ And ^(BH)whoever does not take his cross and ^(BI)follow me is not worthy of me. ^39 (BJ)Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Rewards

^40 (BK)“Whoever receives you receives me, and ^(BL)whoever receives me receives him who sent me. ^41 (BM)The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person's reward. ⁴² And ^(BN)whoever gives one of ^(BO)these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”

Wait for the God of Salvation

God's Steadfast Love and Compassion

Judgment on Babylon

50 The word that the Lord spoke concerning ^(A)Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, ^(B)by Jeremiah the prophet:

³ “For ^(F)out of the north a nation has come up against her, ^(G)which shall make her land a desolation, and none shall dwell in it; ^(H)both man and beast shall flee away.

^4 (I)“In those days and in that time, declares the Lord, ^(J)the people of Israel and the people of Judah shall come together, ^(K)weeping as they come, and they ^(L)shall seek the Lord their God. ^5 (M)They shall ask the way to Zion, with faces turned toward it, ^(N)saying, ‘Come, let us join ourselves to the Lord in an ^(O)everlasting covenant that will never be forgotten.’

^6 (P)“My people have been lost sheep. ^(Q)Their shepherds have led them astray, turning them away on the mountains. From mountain to hill they have gone. They have forgotten their fold. ⁷ All who found them have devoured them, ^(R)and their enemies have said, ‘We are not guilty, for ^(S)they have sinned against the Lord, ^(T)their habitation of righteousness, the Lord, ^(U)the hope of their fathers.’

^8 (V)“Flee from the midst of Babylon, ^(W)and go out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as male goats before the flock. ⁹ For behold, I am stirring up and bringing against Babylon ^(X)a gathering of great nations, from the north country. And they shall array themselves against her. From there she shall be taken. Their arrows are like a skilled warrior who does not return empty-handed. ^10 (Y)Chaldea shall be plundered; all who plunder her shall be sated, declares the Lord.

^17 (AN)“Israel is a hunted sheep ^(AO)driven away by lions. ^(AP)First the king of Assyria ^(AQ)devoured him, and now at last ^(AR)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon ^(AS)has gnawed his bones. ¹⁸ Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, ^(AT)I am bringing punishment on the king of Babylon and his land, ^(AU)as I punished the king of Assyria. ^19 (AV)I will restore Israel to his pasture, and ^(AW)he shall feed on ^(AX)Carmel and in ^(AY)Bashan, and his desire shall be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and in ^(AZ)Gilead. ²⁰ In those days and in that time, declares the Lord, ^(BA)iniquity shall be sought in Israel, and there shall be none, and sin in Judah, and none shall be found, for ^(BB)I will pardon those whom I leave as a remnant.

²⁸ “A voice! They ^(BN)flee and escape from the land of Babylon, ^(BO)to declare in Zion the vengeance of the Lord our God, vengeance for ^(BP)his temple.

^29 (BQ)“Summon archers against Babylon, all those who bend the bow. ^(BR)Encamp around her; let no one escape. ^(BS)Repay her according to her deeds; do to her according to all that she has done. For she has ^(BT)proudly defied the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. ^30 (BU)Therefore her young men shall fall in her squares, and all her soldiers shall be destroyed on that day, declares the Lord.

³³ “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^(BZ)The people of Israel are oppressed, and the people of Judah with them. All who took them captive have held them fast; ^(CA)they refuse to let them go. ^34 (CB)Their Redeemer is strong; ^(CC)the Lord of hosts is his name. ^(CD)He will surely plead their cause, that he may give rest to the earth, but unrest to the inhabitants of Babylon.

^39 (CM)“Therefore wild beasts shall dwell with hyenas in Babylon,^[d] and ostriches shall dwell in her. She shall never again have people, nor be inhabited for all generations. ^40 (CN)As when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring cities, declares the Lord, ^(CO)so no man shall dwell there, and no son of man shall sojourn in her.

^44 (CQ)“Behold, like a lion coming up from the thicket of the Jordan against a perennial pasture, I will suddenly make them run away from her, and I will appoint over her whomever I choose. For who is like me? Who will summon me? What shepherd ^(CR)can stand before me? ⁴⁵ Therefore hear ^(CS)the plan that the Lord has made against Babylon, ^(CT)and the purposes that he has formed against the land of the Chaldeans: ^(CU)Surely the little ones of their flock shall be dragged away; surely their fold shall be appalled at their fate. ^46 (CV)At the sound of the capture of Babylon the earth shall tremble, and her cry shall be heard among the nations.”

Jonathan Defeats the Philistines

14 One day Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young man who carried his armor, “Come, let us go over to the Philistine garrison on the other side.” But he did not tell his father. ² Saul was staying in the outskirts of Gibeah in the pomegranate cave^[a] at ^(A)Migron. The people who were with him were about ^(B)six hundred men, ³ including ^(C)Ahijah the son of Ahitub, ^(D)Ichabod's brother, son of Phinehas, son of Eli, the priest of the Lord ^(E)in Shiloh, ^(F)wearing an ephod. And the people did not know that Jonathan had gone. ⁴ Within ^(G)the passes, by which Jonathan sought to go over to the Philistine garrison, there was a rocky crag on the one side and a rocky crag on the other side. The name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh. ⁵ The one crag rose on the north in front of Michmash, and the other on the south in front of ^(H)Geba.

⁶ Jonathan said to the young man who carried his armor, “Come, let us go over to the garrison of these ^(I)uncircumcised. It may be that the Lord will work for us, ^(J)for nothing can hinder the Lord from saving by many or by few.” ⁷ And his armor-bearer said to him, “Do all that is in your heart. Do as you wish.^[b] Behold, I am with you heart and soul.” ⁸ Then Jonathan said, “Behold, we will cross over to the men, and we will show ourselves to them. ⁹ If they say to us, ‘Wait until we come to you,’ then we will stand still in our place, and we will not go up to them. ¹⁰ But if they say, ‘Come up to us,’ then we will go up, for the Lord has given them into our hand. And this shall be the sign to us.” ¹¹ So both of them showed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines. And the Philistines said, “Look, Hebrews are coming ^(K)out of the holes where they have hidden themselves.” ¹² And the men of the garrison hailed Jonathan and his armor-bearer and said, “Come up to us, and we will show you a thing.” And Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, “Come up after me, for the Lord has given them into the hand of Israel.” ¹³ Then Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet, and his armor-bearer after him. And they fell before Jonathan, and his armor-bearer killed them after him. ¹⁴ And that first strike, which Jonathan and his armor-bearer made, killed about twenty men within as it were half a furrow's length in an acre^[c] of land. ¹⁵ And there was a panic in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. The garrison and even ^(L)the raiders trembled, the earth quaked, and it became a very great panic.^[d]

¹⁶ And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked, and behold, the multitude ^(M)was dispersing here and there.^{[e] 17} Then Saul said to the people who were with him, “Count and see who has gone from us.” And when they had counted, behold, Jonathan and his armor-bearer were not there. ¹⁸ So Saul said to Ahijah, “Bring the ark of God here.” For the ark of God went at that time with the people^[f] of Israel. ¹⁹ Now ^(N)while Saul was talking to the priest, the tumult in the camp of the Philistines increased more and more. So Saul said to the priest, “Withdraw your hand.” ²⁰ Then Saul and all the people who were with him rallied and went into the battle. And behold, ^(O)every Philistine's sword was against his fellow, and there was very great confusion. ²¹ Now the Hebrews who had been with the Philistines before that time and who had gone up with them into the camp, ^(P)even they also turned to be with the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. ²² Likewise, when all the men of Israel ^(Q)who had hidden themselves ^(R)in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines were fleeing, they too followed hard after them in the battle. ^23 (S)So the Lord saved Israel that day. And the battle passed beyond ^(T)Beth-aven.

Saul's Rash Vow

²⁴ And the men of Israel had been hard pressed that day, ^(U)so Saul had laid an oath on the people, saying, “Cursed be the man who eats food until it is evening and I am avenged on my enemies.” So none of the people had tasted food. ²⁵ Now when all the people^[g] came to the forest, behold, there was honey on the ground. ²⁶ And when the people entered the forest, behold, the honey was dropping, but no one put his hand to his mouth, for the people feared the oath. ²⁷ But Jonathan had not heard his father charge the people with the oath, ^(V)so he put out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and dipped it in the honeycomb and put his hand to his mouth, and his eyes became bright. ²⁸ Then one of the people said, “Your father strictly charged the people with an oath, saying, ‘Cursed be the man who eats food this day.’” And the people were ^(W)faint. ²⁹ Then Jonathan said, “My father has troubled the land. See how my eyes have become bright because I tasted a little of this honey. ³⁰ How much better if the people had eaten freely today of the spoil of their enemies that they found. For now the defeat among the Philistines has not been great.”

³¹ They struck down the Philistines that day from ^(X)Michmash to ^(Y)Aijalon. And the people were very ^(Z)faint. ³² The people ^(AA)pounced on the spoil and took sheep and oxen and calves and slaughtered them on the ground. And the people ate them ^(AB)with the blood. ³³ Then they told Saul, “Behold, the people are sinning against the Lord by eating ^(AC)with the blood.” And he said, “You have dealt treacherously; roll a great stone to me here.”^{[h] 34} And Saul said, “Disperse yourselves among the people and say to them, ‘Let every man bring his ox or his sheep and slaughter them here and eat, and do not sin against the Lord by eating with the blood.’” So every one of the people brought his ox with him that night and they slaughtered them there. ³⁵ And Saul ^(AD)built an altar to the Lord; it was the first altar that he built to the Lord.

³⁶ Then Saul said, “Let us go down after the Philistines by night and plunder them until the morning light; let us not leave a man of them.” And they said, “Do whatever seems good to you.” But ^(AE)the priest said, “Let us draw near to God here.” ³⁷ And Saul inquired of God, “Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will you give them into the hand of Israel?” ^(AF)But he did not answer him that day. ³⁸ And Saul said, “Come here, all you leaders of the people, and know and see how this sin has arisen today. ³⁹ For ^(AG)as the Lord lives who saves Israel, ^(AH)though it be in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die.” But there was not a man among all the people who answered him. ⁴⁰ Then he said to all Israel, “You shall be on one side, and I and Jonathan my son will be on the other side.” And the people said to Saul, “Do what seems good to you.” ⁴¹ Therefore Saul said, “O Lord God of Israel, why have you not answered your servant this day? If this guilt is in me or in Jonathan my son, O Lord, God of Israel, give Urim. But if this guilt is in your people Israel, give Thummim.”^{[i] (AI)}And Jonathan and Saul were taken, but the people escaped. ⁴² Then Saul said, ^(AJ)“Cast the lot between me and my son Jonathan.” And Jonathan was taken.

⁴³ Then Saul said to Jonathan, ^(AK)“Tell me what you have done.” And Jonathan told him, ^(AL)“I tasted a little honey with the tip of the staff that was in my hand. Here I am; I will die.” ⁴⁴ And Saul said, ^(AM)“God do so to me and more also; ^(AN)you shall surely die, Jonathan.” ⁴⁵ Then the people said to Saul, “Shall Jonathan die, who has worked this great salvation in Israel? Far from it! ^(AO)As the Lord lives, ^(AP)there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground, for he has worked with God this day.” So the people ransomed Jonathan, so that he did not die. ⁴⁶ Then Saul went up from pursuing the Philistines, and the Philistines went to their own place.

Saul Fights Israel's Enemies

⁴⁷ When Saul had taken the kingship over Israel, he fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, ^(AQ)against the Ammonites, against Edom, against the kings of ^(AR)Zobah, and against the Philistines. Wherever he turned he routed them. ⁴⁸ And he did valiantly ^(AS)and struck the Amalekites and delivered Israel out of the hands of those who plundered them.

^49 (AT)Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan, Ishvi, and Malchi-shua. And the names of his two daughters were these: the name of the firstborn was ^(AU)Merab, and the name of the younger Michal. ⁵⁰ And the name of Saul's wife was Ahinoam the daughter of Ahimaaz. ^(AV)And the name of the commander of his army was Abner the son of Ner, ^(AW)Saul's uncle. ^51 (AX)Kish was the father of Saul, and Ner the father of Abner was the son of ^(AY)Abiel.

⁵² There was hard fighting against the Philistines all the days of Saul. And when Saul saw any strong man, or any valiant man, ^(AZ)he attached him to himself.