Joshua to Succeed Moses

¹⁵ Then Moses spoke to the Lord, saying, ¹⁶ “^(A)May the Lord, the God of the spirits of ^[a]humanity, appoint a man over the congregation, ¹⁷ who ^(B)will go out ^[b]and come in before them, and lead them out and ^[c]bring them in, so that the congregation of the Lord will not be ^(C)like sheep that have no shepherd.” ¹⁸ So the Lord said to Moses, “^[d]Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man ^(D)in whom is the Spirit, and ^(E)lay your hand on him; ¹⁹ and have him stand before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation, and ^(F)commission him in their sight. ²⁰ And you shall put some of your ^[e]authority on him, so that all the congregation of the sons of Israel will obey him. ²¹ Moreover, he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him ^(G)by the judgment of the Urim before the Lord. At his ^[f]command they shall go out, and at his ^[g]command they shall come in, both he and all the sons of Israel with him, all the congregation.” ²² Then Moses did just as the Lord commanded him; he took Joshua and had him stand before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation. ²³ Then he laid his hands on him and ^(H)commissioned him, just as the Lord had spoken ^[h]through Moses.

³⁵ Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, ^(A)teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness.

^36 (B)Seeing the crowds, He felt compassion for them, ^(C)because they were ^[a]distressed and downcast, like sheep ^[b]without a shepherd. ³⁷ Then He *said to His disciples, “^(D)The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. ³⁸ Therefore, plead with the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”

The Twelve Disciples; Instructions for Service

10 Jesus ^(E)summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to ^(F)heal every disease and every sickness.

^2 (G)Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: The first, ^(H)Simon, who is called Peter, and his brother ^(I)Andrew; and ^[c](J)James the son of Zebedee, and his brother ^[d]John; ^3 (K)Philip and ^[e]Bartholomew; ^(L)Thomas and ^(M)Matthew the tax collector; ^[f](N)James the son of Alphaeus, and ^(O)Thaddaeus; ⁴ Simon the ^[g]Zealot, and ^(P)Judas Iscariot, the one who also betrayed Him.

^5 (Q)These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them, saying, “Do not go on a road ^[h]to Gentiles, and do not enter a city of ^(R)Samaritans; ⁶ but rather go to ^(S)the lost sheep of the house of Israel. ⁷ And as you go, ^[i]preach, saying, ‘^(T)The kingdom of heaven ^[j]has come near.’ ⁸ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with leprosy, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give. ^9 (U)Do not acquire gold, or silver, or copper for your money belts, ¹⁰ or a ^[k]bag for your journey, or even two ^[l]tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for ^(V)the worker is deserving of his ^[m]support. ¹¹ And whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it, and stay ^[n]at his house until you leave that city. ¹² As you enter the ^[o]house, ^(W)give it your ^[p]greeting. ¹³ If the house is worthy, see that your blessing of peace comes upon it. But if it is not worthy, ^[q]take back your blessing of peace. ¹⁴ And whoever does not receive you nor listen to your words, as you leave that house or city, ^(X)shake the dust off your feet. ¹⁵ Truly I say to you, ^(Y)it will be more tolerable for the land of ^(Z)Sodom and Gomorrah on ^(AA)the day of judgment, than for that city.

A Hard Road Ahead of Them

¹⁶ “^(AB)Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be as ^(AC)wary as serpents, and as ^(AD)innocent as doves. ¹⁷ But be on guard against people, for they will hand you over to the ^(AE)courts and flog you ^(AF)in their synagogues; ¹⁸ and you will even be brought before governors and kings on My account, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. ^19 (AG)But when they hand you over, ^(AH)do not worry about how or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given you in that hour. ²⁰ For ^(AI)it is not you who are speaking, but it is the Spirit of your Father who is speaking ^[r]in you.

Exaltation of the Afflicted

^3 (A)I thank God, whom I ^(B)serve with a ^(C)clear conscience ^[a]the way my forefathers did, ^(D)as I constantly remember you in my ^[b]prayers night and day, ^4 (E)longing to see you, ^(F)even as I recall your tears, so that I may be filled with joy. ^5 [c]For I am mindful of the ^(G)sincere faith within you, which first dwelled in your grandmother Lois and ^(H)your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well. ⁶ For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh ^(I)the gift of God which is in you through ^(J)the laying on of my hands. ⁷ For God has not given us a ^(K)spirit of ^[d]timidity, but of power and love and ^[e]discipline.

⁸ Therefore ^(L)do not be ashamed of the ^(M)testimony of our Lord or of me ^(N)His prisoner, but join with me in ^(O)suffering for the ^(P)gospel according to the power of God, ⁹ who ^(Q)saved us and ^(R)called us with a holy ^(S)calling, ^(T)not according to our works, but according to His own ^(U)purpose and grace, which was granted to us in ^(V)Christ Jesus from ^(W)all eternity, ¹⁰ but has ^(X)now been revealed by the ^(Y)appearing of our Savior ^(Z)Christ Jesus, who ^(AA)abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, ^11 (AB)for which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher. ¹² For this reason I also suffer these things; but ^(AC)I am not ashamed, for I know ^(AD)whom I have believed, and I am convinced that He is able to ^(AE)protect what I have entrusted to Him ^[f]until ^(AF)that day. ^13 (AG)Hold on to the ^(AH)example of ^(AI)sound words ^(AJ)which you have heard from me, in the ^(AK)faith and love which are in ^(AL)Christ Jesus. ¹⁴ Protect, through the Holy Spirit who ^(AM)dwells in us, the ^[g](AN)treasure which has been entrusted to you.