¹⁵ Moses spoke to the Lord, ¹⁶ “May the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the community, ¹⁷ who will go out before them and come in before them, who will lead them out and bring them in, so that the community of the Lord will not be like sheep without a shepherd.”

¹⁸ The Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and place your hand on him. ¹⁹ Have him stand in front of Eleazar the priest and the entire community. You will commission him in their sight. ²⁰ You will give some of your authority to him so that the entire Israelite community will listen to him. ²¹ He will stand before Eleazar the priest, who will inquire for him before the Lord with the decision of the Urim. He and all the Israelites with him, the entire community, will go out at his command and come in at his command.”

²² Moses did just as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua and had him stand in front of Eleazar the priest and the entire community. ²³ He placed his hands on him and commissioned him, just as the Lord spoke through Moses.

³⁵ Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness.

Pray for Workers

³⁶ When he saw the crowds, he was moved with compassion for them, because they were troubled and downcast, like sheep without a shepherd. ³⁷ Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. ³⁸ Therefore pray that the Lord of the harvest will send out workers into his harvest.”

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve

10 Jesus called his twelve disciples to himself and gave them authority to drive out unclean spirits and to heal every disease and every sickness. ² These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James the son of Zebedee and his brother John; ³ Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; ⁴ Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

⁵ Jesus sent these twelve out and commanded them, “Do not go among the Gentiles, and do not enter any town of the Samaritans. ⁶ Go instead to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. ⁷ As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near!’ ⁸ Heal the sick. Raise the dead. Cleanse lepers. Drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.

¹⁶ May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and in his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, ¹⁷ encourage your hearts and establish you in every good work and word.

Pray for Us

3 Finally, brothers, pray for us so that the word of the Lord may spread quickly and be glorified just as it was among you. ² Pray also that we may be rescued from evil and wicked people. For not everyone has faith. ³ Still, the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and protect you from the Evil One. ⁴ We also have confidence in the Lord concerning you, that you are doing and will continue to do what we are telling you. ⁵ May the Lord continue to direct your hearts to God’s love and Christ’s patient endurance.