¹⁵ Then Moses spoke to the Lord, saying: ¹⁶ “Let the Lord, ^(A)the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation, ^17 (B)who may go out before them and go in before them, who may lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord may not be ^(C)like sheep which have no shepherd.”

¹⁸ And the Lord said to Moses: “Take Joshua the son of Nun with you, a man ^(D)in whom is the Spirit, and ^(E)lay your hand on him; ¹⁹ set him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation, and ^(F)inaugurate^[a] him in their sight. ²⁰ And ^(G)you shall give some of your authority to him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel ^(H)may be obedient. ^21 (I)He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire before the Lord for him ^(J)by the judgment of the Urim. ^(K)At his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, he and all the children of Israel with him—all the congregation.”

²² So Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua and set him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation. ²³ And he laid his hands on him ^(L)and ^[b]inaugurated him, just as the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses.

The Compassion of Jesus^(A)

³⁵ Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, ^(B)teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease ^[a]among the people. ^36 (C)But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were ^[b]weary and scattered, ^(D)like sheep having no shepherd. ³⁷ Then He said to His disciples, ^(E)“The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. ^38 (F)Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

The Twelve Apostles^(G)

10 And ^(H)when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. ² Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, ^(I)who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; ³ Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and ^[c]Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; ^4 (J)Simon the ^[d]Cananite, and Judas ^(K)Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.

Sending Out the Twelve^(L)

⁵ These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: ^(M)“Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of ^(N)the Samaritans. ^6 (O)But go rather to the ^(P)lost sheep of the house of Israel. ^7 (Q)And as you go, preach, saying, ^(R)‘The kingdom of heaven ^[e]is at hand.’ ⁸ Heal the sick, ^[f]cleanse the lepers, ^[g]raise the dead, cast out demons. ^(S)Freely you have received, freely give. ^9 (T)Provide neither gold nor silver nor ^(U)copper in your money belts, ¹⁰ nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; ^(V)for a worker is worthy of his food.

^11 (W)“Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out. ¹² And when you go into a household, greet it. ^13 (X)If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. ^(Y)But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. ^14 (Z)And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, ^(AA)shake off the dust from your feet. ¹⁵ Assuredly, I say to you, ^(AB)it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!

Persecutions Are Coming^(AC)

^16 (AD)“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. ^(AE)Therefore be wise as serpents and ^(AF)harmless^[h] as doves. ¹⁷ But beware of men, for ^(AG)they will deliver you up to councils and ^(AH)scourge you in their synagogues. ^18 (AI)You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. ^19 (AJ)But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For ^(AK)it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; ^20 (AL)for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.

The Good News of Salvation

Timothy’s Faith and Heritage

³ I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my ^(A)forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day, ⁴ greatly desiring to see you, being mindful of your tears, that I may be filled with joy, ⁵ when I call to remembrance ^(B)the ^[a]genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and ^(C)your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also. ⁶ Therefore I remind you ^(D)to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. ⁷ For ^(E)God has not given us a spirit of fear, ^(F)but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

Not Ashamed of the Gospel

^8 (G)Therefore do not be ashamed of ^(H)the testimony of our Lord, nor of me ^(I)His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, ⁹ who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, ^(J)not according to our works, but ^(K)according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus ^(L)before time began, ¹⁰ but ^(M)has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, ^11 (N)to which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher ^[b]of the Gentiles. ¹² For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, ^(O)for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.

Be Loyal to the Faith

^13 (P)Hold fast ^(Q)the pattern of ^(R)sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. ¹⁴ That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.