Read the Gospels in 40 Days
10 Now after this the Lord chose and appointed seventy others and sent them out ahead of Him, two by two, into every town and place where He Himself was about to come (visit).
2 And He said to them, The harvest indeed is abundant [[a]there is much ripe grain], but the farmhands are few. Pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.
3 Go your way; behold, I send you out like lambs into the midst of wolves.
4 Carry no purse, no provisions bag, no [change of] sandals; refrain from [retarding your journey by] saluting and wishing anyone well along the way.
5 Whatever house you enter, first say, Peace be to this household! [[b]Freedom from all the distresses that result from sin be with this family].
6 And if anyone [worthy] of peace and blessedness is there, the peace and blessedness you wish shall come upon him; but if not, it shall come back to you.
7 And stay on in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not keep moving from house to house.(A)
8 Whenever you go into a town and they receive and accept and welcome you, eat what is set before you;
9 And heal the sick in it and say to them, The kingdom of God has come close to you.
10 But whenever you go into a town and they do not receive and accept and welcome you, go out into its streets and say,
11 Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we are wiping off against you; yet know and understand this: the kingdom of God has come near you.
12 I tell you, it shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom than for that town.(B)
13 Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty miracles performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.
14 However, it shall be more tolerable in the judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you.
15 And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted unto heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades (the regions of the dead).
16 He who hears and heeds you [disciples] hears and heeds Me; and he who slights and rejects you slights and rejects Me; and he who slights and rejects Me slights and rejects Him who sent Me.
17 The seventy returned with joy, saying, Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name!
18 And He said to them, I saw Satan falling like a lightning [flash] from heaven.
19 Behold! I have given you authority and power to trample upon serpents and scorpions, and [physical and mental strength and ability] over all the power that the enemy [possesses]; and nothing shall in any way harm you.
20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are enrolled in heaven.(C)
21 In that same hour He rejoiced and gloried in the Holy Spirit and said, I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have concealed these things [relating to salvation] from the wise and understanding and learned, and revealed them to babes (the childish, unskilled, and untaught). Yes, Father, for such was Your gracious [c]will and choice and good pleasure.
22 All things have been given over into My power by My Father; and no one knows Who the Son is except the Father, or Who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son may choose to reveal and make Him known.
23 Then turning to His disciples, He said privately, Blessed (happy, [d]to be envied) are those whose eyes see what you see!
24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings longed to see what you see and they did not see it, and to hear what you hear and they did not hear it.
25 And then a certain lawyer arose to try (test, tempt) Him, saying, Teacher, what am I to do to inherit everlasting life [that is, to partake of eternal salvation in the Messiah’s kingdom]?
26 Jesus said to him, What is written in the Law? How do you read it?
27 And he replied, You must love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.(D)
28 And Jesus said to him, You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live [enjoy active, blessed, endless life in the kingdom of God].
29 And he, [e]determined to acquit himself of reproach, said to Jesus, And who is my neighbor?
30 Jesus, [f]taking him up, replied, A certain man was going from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him of his clothes and belongings and beat him and went their way, [[g]unconcernedly] leaving him half dead, as it happened.
31 Now by [h]coincidence a certain priest was going down along that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
32 A Levite likewise came down to the place and saw him, and passed by on the other side [of the road].
33 But a certain Samaritan, as he traveled along, came down to where he was; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity and sympathy [for him],
34 And went to him and dressed his wounds, pouring on [them] oil and wine. Then he set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn and took care of him.
35 And the next day he took out two denarii [two day’s wages] and gave [them] to the innkeeper, saying, Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, I [myself] will repay you when I return.
36 Which of these three do you think proved himself a neighbor to him who fell among the robbers?
37 He answered, The one who showed pity and mercy to him. And Jesus said to him, Go and do likewise.
38 Now while they were on their way, it occurred that Jesus entered a certain village, and a woman named Martha received and welcomed Him into her house.
39 And she had a sister named Mary, who seated herself at the Lord’s feet and was listening to His teaching.
40 But Martha [overly occupied and too busy] was distracted with much serving; and she came up to Him and said, Lord, is it nothing to You that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me [to lend a hand and do her part along with me]!
41 But the Lord replied to her by saying, Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things;
42 There is need of only one or but [i]a few things. Mary has chosen the good portion [[j]that which is to her advantage], which shall not be taken away from her.
11 Then He was praying in a certain place; and when He stopped, one of His disciples said to Him, Lord, teach us to pray, [just] as John taught his disciples.
2 And He said to them, When you pray, say: Our Father Who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come. Your will be done [held holy and revered] on earth as it is in heaven.
3 Give us daily our bread [[k]food for the morrow].
4 And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us [who has offended us or done us wrong]. And bring us not into temptation but rescue us from evil.
5 And He said to them, Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and will say to him, Friend, lend me three loaves [of bread],
6 For a friend of mine who is on a journey has just come, and I have nothing to put before him;
7 And he from within will answer, Do not disturb me; the door is now closed, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and supply you [with anything]?
8 I tell you, although he will not get up and supply him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his shameless persistence and insistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs.
9 So I say to you, Ask and [l]keep on asking and it shall be given you; seek and [m]keep on seeking and you shall find; knock and [n]keep on knocking and the door shall be opened to you.
10 For everyone who asks and [o]keeps on asking receives; and he who seeks and [p]keeps on seeking finds; and to him who knocks and [q]keeps on knocking, the door shall be opened.
11 What father among you, if his son asks for [r]a loaf of bread, will give him a stone; or if he asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent?
12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?
13 If you then, evil as you are, know how to give good gifts [gifts [s]that are to their advantage] to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask and [t]continue to ask Him!
14 Now Jesus was driving out a demon that was dumb; and it occurred that when the demon had gone out, the dumb man spoke. And the crowds marveled.
15 But some of them said, He drives out demons [because He is in league with and] by Beelzebub, the prince of demons,
16 While others, to try and test and tempt Him, demanded a sign of Him from heaven.
17 But He, [well] aware of their intent and purpose, said to them, Every kingdom split up against itself is doomed and brought to desolation, and so house falls upon house. [The disunited household will collapse.]
18 And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom last? For you say that I expel demons with the help of and by Beelzebub.
19 Now if I expel demons with the help of and by Beelzebub, with whose help and by whom do your sons drive them out? Therefore they shall be your judges.
20 But if I drive out the demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has [already] come upon you.
21 When the strong man, fully armed, [[u]from his courtyard] guards his own dwelling, his belongings are undisturbed [his property is at peace and is secure].
22 But when one stronger than he attacks him and conquers him, he robs him of his whole armor on which he had relied and divides up and distributes all his goods as plunder (spoil).
23 He who is not with Me [siding and believing with Me] is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me [engage in My interest], scatters.
24 When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it roams through waterless places in search [of a place] of rest (release, refreshment, ease); and finding none it says, I will go back to my house from which I came.
25 And when it arrives, it finds [the place] swept and put in order and furnished and decorated.
26 And it goes and brings other spirits, seven [of them], more evil than itself, and they enter in, settle down, and dwell there; and the last state of that person is worse than the first.
27 Now it occurred that as He was saying these things, a certain woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, Blessed (happy and [v]to be envied) is the womb that bore You and the breasts that You sucked!
28 But He said, Blessed (happy and [w]to be envied) rather are those who hear the Word of God and obey and practice it!
29 Now as the crowds were [increasingly] thronging Him, He began to say, This present generation is a wicked one; it seeks and demands a sign (miracle), but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of Jonah [the prophet].(E)
30 For [just] as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will also the Son of Man be [a sign] to this age and generation.(F)
31 The queen of the South will arise in the judgment with the people of this age and generation and condemn them; for she came from the ends of the [inhabited] earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon, and notice, [x]here is more than Solomon.(G)
32 The men of Nineveh will appear as witnesses at the judgment with this generation and will condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, [y]here is more than Jonah.(H)
33 No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or crypt or under a bushel measure, but on a lampstand, that those who are coming in may see the light.
34 Your eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye ([z]your conscience) is sound and fulfilling its office, your whole body is full of light; but when it is not sound and is not fulfilling its office, your body is full of darkness.
35 Be careful, therefore, that the light that is in you is not darkness.
36 If then your entire body is illuminated, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright [with light], as when a lamp with its bright rays gives you light.
37 Now while Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee invited Him to take dinner with him, so He entered and reclined at table.
38 The Pharisee noticed and was astonished [to see] that Jesus did not first wash before dinner.
39 But the Lord said to him, Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside you yourselves are full of greed and robbery and extortion and malice and wickedness.
40 You senseless (foolish, stupid) ones [acting without reflection or intelligence]! Did not He Who made the outside make the inside also?
41 But [dedicate your inner self and] give as donations to the poor of those things which are within [of inward righteousness] and behold, everything is purified and clean for you.
42 But woe to you, Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every [little] herb, but disregard and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done without leaving the others undone.(I)
43 Woe to you, Pharisees! For you love the best seats in the synagogues and [you love] to be greeted and bowed down to in the [public] marketplaces.
44 Woe to you! For you are like graves which are not marked or seen, and men walk over them without being aware of it [and are ceremonially defiled].
45 One of the experts in the [Mosaic] Law answered Him, Teacher, in saying this, You reproach and outrage and affront even us!
46 But He said, Woe to you, the lawyers, also! For you load men with oppressive burdens hard to bear, and you do not personally [even [aa]gently] touch the burdens with one of your fingers.
47 Woe to you! For you are [ab]rebuilding and repairing the tombs of the prophets, whom your fathers killed (destroyed).
48 So you bear witness and give your full approval and consent to the deeds of your fathers; for they actually killed them, and you rebuild and repair monuments to them.
49 For this reason also the wisdom of God said, I will send them prophets and apostles, [some] of whom they will put to death and persecute,
50 So that the blood of all the prophets shed from the foundation of the world may be charged against and required of this age and generation,
51 From the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was slain between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it shall be charged against and required of this age and generation.(J)
52 Woe to you, lawyers (experts in the Mosaic Law)! For you have taken away the key to knowledge; you did not go in yourselves, and you hindered and prevented those who were entering.
53 As He left there, the scribes and the Pharisees [followed Him closely, and they] began [ac]to be enraged with and set themselves violently against Him and to draw Him out and provoke Him to speak of many things,
54 Secretly watching and plotting and lying in wait for Him, to seize upon something He might say [that they might accuse Him].
12 In the meanwhile, when so many thousands of the people had gathered that they were trampling on one another, Jesus commenced by saying primarily to His disciples, Be on your guard against the leaven (ferment) of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy [producing unrest and violent agitation].
2 Nothing is [so closely] covered up that it will not be revealed, or hidden that it will not be known.
3 Whatever you have spoken in the darkness shall be heard and listened to in the light, and what you have whispered in [people’s] ears and behind closed doors will be proclaimed upon the housetops.
4 I tell you, My friends, do not dread and be afraid of those who kill the body and after that have nothing more that they can do.
5 But I will warn you whom you should fear: fear Him Who, after killing, has power to hurl into hell (Gehenna); yes, I say to you, fear Him!
6 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And [yet] not one of them is forgotten or uncared for in the presence of God.
7 But [even] the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not be struck with fear or seized with alarm; you are of greater worth than many [flocks] of sparrows.
8 And I tell you, Whoever declares openly [speaking out freely] and confesses that he is My worshiper and acknowledges Me before men, the Son of Man also will declare and confess and acknowledge him before the angels of God.
9 But he who disowns and denies and rejects and refuses to acknowledge Me before men will be disowned and denied and rejected and refused acknowledgement in the presence of the angels of God.
10 And everyone who makes a statement or speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit [that is, whoever [ad]intentionally comes short of the reverence due the Holy Spirit], it will not be forgiven him [for him there is no forgiveness].
11 And when they bring you before the synagogues and the magistrates and the authorities, do not be anxious [beforehand] how you shall reply in defense or what you are to say.
12 For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour and [ae]moment what [you] ought to say.
13 Someone from the crowd said to Him, Master, order my brother to divide the inheritance and share it with me.
14 But He told him, Man, who has appointed Me a judge or umpire and divider over you?
15 And He said to them, Guard yourselves and keep free from all covetousness (the immoderate desire for wealth, the greedy longing to have more); for a man’s life does not consist in and is not derived from possessing [af]overflowing abundance or that which is [ag]over and above his needs.
16 Then He told them a parable, saying, The land of a rich man was fertile and yielded plentifully.
17 And he considered and debated within himself, What shall I do? I have no place [in which] to gather together my harvest.
18 And he said, I will do this: I will pull down my storehouses and build larger ones, and there I will store all [ah]my grain or produce and my goods.
19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have many good things laid up, [enough] for many years. Take your ease; eat, drink, and enjoy yourself merrily.
20 But God said to him, You fool! This very night [ai] they [the messengers of God] will demand your soul of you; and all the things that you have prepared, whose will they be?(K)
21 So it is with the one who continues to lay up and hoard possessions for himself and is not rich [in his relation] to God [this is how he fares].
22 And [Jesus] said to His disciples, Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious and troubled [with cares] about your life, as to what you will [have to] eat; or about your body, as to what you will [have to] wear.
23 For life is more than food, and the body [more] than clothes.
24 Observe and consider the ravens; for they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn; and [yet] God feeds them. Of how much more worth are you than the birds!
25 And which of you by being overly anxious and troubled with cares can add a [aj]cubit to his stature or a moment [unit] of time to his [ak]age [the length of his life]?
26 If then you are not able to do such a little thing as that, why are you anxious and troubled with cares about the rest?
27 Consider the lilies, how they grow. They neither [wearily] toil nor spin nor [al]weave; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory (his splendor and magnificence) was not arrayed like one of these.(L)
28 But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today, and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you, O you [people] of little faith?
29 And you, do not seek [by meditating and reasoning to inquire into] what you are to eat and what you are to drink; nor be of anxious (troubled) mind [[am]unsettled, excited, worried, and [an]in suspense];
30 For all the pagan world is [greedily] seeking these things, and your Father knows that you need them.
31 Only aim at and strive for and seek His kingdom, and all these things shall be supplied to you also.
32 Do not be seized with alarm and struck with fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom!
33 Sell what you possess and give donations to the poor; provide yourselves with purses and handbags that do not grow old, an unfailing and inexhaustible treasure in the heavens, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.
34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
35 Keep your loins girded and your lamps burning,
36 And be like men who are waiting for their master to return home from the marriage feast, so that when he returns from the wedding and comes and knocks, they may open to him immediately.
37 Blessed (happy, fortunate, and [ao]to be envied) are those servants whom the master finds awake and alert and watching when he comes. Truly I say to you, he will gird himself and have them recline at table and will come and serve them!
38 If he comes in the second watch (before midnight) or the third watch (after midnight), and finds them so, blessed (happy, fortunate, and [ap]to be envied) are those servants!
39 But of this be assured: if the householder had known at what time the burglar was coming, he would have been awake and alert and watching and would not have permitted his house to be dug through and broken into.
40 You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour and a [aq]moment when you do not anticipate it.
41 Peter said, Lord, are You telling this parable for us, or for all alike?
42 And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful steward, the wise man whom his master will set over those in his household service to supply them their allowance of food at the appointed time?
43 Blessed (happy and [ar]to be envied) is that servant whom his master finds so doing when he arrives.
44 Truly I tell you, he will set him in charge over all his possessions.
45 But if that servant says in his heart, My master is late in coming, and begins to strike the menservants and the maids and to eat and drink and get drunk,
46 The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour of which he does not know, and will punish him and cut him off and assign his lot with [as]the unfaithful.
47 And that servant who knew his master’s will but did not get ready or act as he would wish him to act shall be beaten with many [lashes].
48 But he who did not know and did things worthy of a beating shall be beaten with few [lashes]. For everyone to whom much is given, of him shall much be required; and of him to whom men entrust much, they will require and demand all the more.(M)
49 I have come to cast fire upon the earth, and how I wish that it were already kindled!
50 I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and how greatly and sorely I am urged on (impelled, [at]constrained) until it is accomplished!
51 Do you suppose that I have come to give peace upon earth? No, I say to you, but rather division;
52 For from now on in one house there will be five divided [among themselves], three against two and two against three.
53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.(N)
54 He also said to the crowds of people, When you see a cloud rising in the west, at once you say, It is going to rain! And so it does.
55 And when [you see that] a south wind is blowing, you say, There will be severe heat! And it occurs.
56 You playactors (hypocrites)! You know how [intelligently] to discern and interpret and [au]prove the looks of the earth and sky; but how is it that you do not know how to discern and interpret and apply the proof to this present time?
57 And why do you not judge what is just and personally decide what is right?
58 Then as you go with your accuser before a magistrate, on the way make a diligent effort to settle and be quit (free) of him, lest he drag you to the judge, and the judge turn you over to the officer, and the officer put you in prison.
59 I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the very last [fraction of a] cent.
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation