¹⁵ Moses spoke to the Lord, saying, ¹⁶ “Let the Lord, ^(A)the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation ¹⁷ who ^(B)shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord may not be ^(C)as sheep that have no shepherd.” ¹⁸ So the Lord said to Moses, “Take ^(D)Joshua the son of Nun, a man ^(E)in whom is the Spirit, and ^(F)lay your hand on him. ¹⁹ Make him stand before Eleazar the priest and all the congregation, and you shall ^(G)commission him in their sight. ²⁰ You shall invest him with some of your authority, ^(H)that all the congregation of the people of Israel may obey. ²¹ And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him ^(I)by the judgment of the Urim before the Lord. At his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he and all the people of Israel with him, the whole congregation.” ²² And Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua and made him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole congregation, ²³ and he laid his hands on him and ^(J)commissioned him as the Lord directed through Moses.

The Harvest Is Plentiful, the Laborers Few

^35 (A)And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. ^36 (B)When he saw the crowds, ^(C)he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, ^(D)like sheep without a shepherd. ^37 (E)Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; ³⁸ therefore ^(F)pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to ^(G)send out laborers into his harvest.”

The Twelve Apostles

10 ^(H)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 (I)The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, ^(J)who is called Peter, and ^(K)Andrew his brother; ^(L)James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; ³ Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and ^(M)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 (N)These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of ^(O)the Samaritans, ^6 (P)but go rather to ^(Q)the lost sheep of ^(R)the house of Israel. ⁷ And proclaim as you go, saying, ^(S)‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’^{[c] 8 (T)}Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers,^[d] cast out demons. ^(U)You received without paying; give without pay. ^9 (V)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 ^(W)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, ^(X)greet it. ¹³ And if the house is ^(Y)worthy, let ^(Z)your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let ^(AA)your peace return to you. ¹⁴ And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, ^(AB)shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. ¹⁵ Truly, I say to you, ^(AC)it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for ^(AD)the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.

Persecution Will Come

^16 (AE)“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be ^(AF)wise as serpents and ^(AG)innocent as doves. ¹⁷ Beware of men, for ^(AH)they will deliver you over to courts and flog you ^(AI)in their synagogues, ^18 (AJ)and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, ^(AK)to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. ^19 (AL)When ^(AM)they deliver you over, ^(AN)do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for ^(AO)what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. ^20 (AP)For it is not you who speak, but ^(AQ)the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

The Year of the Lord's Favor

Guard the Deposit Entrusted to You

^3 (A)I thank God ^(B)whom I serve, as did my ancestors, ^(C)with a clear conscience, as I remember you ^(D)constantly in my prayers night and day. ^4 (E)As I remember your tears, ^(F)I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. ⁵ I am reminded of ^(G)your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and ^(H)your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. ⁶ For this reason I remind you ^(I)to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, ⁷ for God gave us ^(J)a spirit not of fear but ^(K)of power and love and self-control.

⁸ Therefore ^(L)do not be ashamed of ^(M)the testimony about our Lord, nor of ^(N)me his prisoner, but ^(O)share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, ^9 (P)who saved us and ^(Q)called us to^[a] a holy calling, ^(R)not because of our works but because of ^(S)his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus ^(T)before the ages began,^{[b] 10} and which now has ^(U)been manifested through ^(V)the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, ^(W)who abolished death and ^(X)brought life and ^(Y)immortality to light through the gospel, ^11 (Z)for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, ^12 (AA)which is why I suffer as I do. But ^(AB)I am not ashamed, for ^(AC)I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until ^(AD)that day ^(AE)what has been entrusted to me.^{[c] 13 (AF)}Follow ^(AG)the pattern of ^(AH)the sound^[d] words ^(AI)that you have heard from me, in ^(AJ)the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. ¹⁴ By the Holy Spirit ^(AK)who dwells within us, guard ^(AL)the good deposit entrusted to you.