New Living Translation NLT
The Message Bible MSG
1 The Lord now chose seventy-two other disciples and sent them ahead in pairs to all the towns and places he planned to visit.
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Later the Master selected seventy and sent them ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he intended to go.
2 These were his instructions to them: “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.
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He gave them this charge: "What a huge harvest! And how few the harvest hands. So on your knees; ask the God of the Harvest to send harvest hands.
3 Now go, and remember that I am sending you out as lambs among wolves.
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"On your way! But be careful - this is hazardous work. You're like lambs in a wolf pack.
4 Don’t take any money with you, nor a traveler’s bag, nor an extra pair of sandals. And don’t stop to greet anyone on the road.
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"Travel light. Comb and toothbrush and no extra luggage. "Don't loiter and make small talk with everyone you meet along the way.
5 “Whenever you enter someone’s home, first say, ‘May God’s peace be on this house.’
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"When you enter a home, greet the family, 'Peace.'
6 If those who live there are peaceful, the blessing will stand; if they are not, the blessing will return to you.
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If your greeting is received, then it's a good place to stay. But if it's not received, take it back and get out. Don't impose yourself.
7 Don’t move around from home to home. Stay in one place, eating and drinking what they provide. Don’t hesitate to accept hospitality, because those who work deserve their pay.
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"Stay at one home, taking your meals there, for a worker deserves three square meals. Don't move from house to house, looking for the best cook in town.
8 “If you enter a town and it welcomes you, eat whatever is set before you.
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"When you enter a town and are received, eat what they set before you,
9 Heal the sick, and tell them, ‘The Kingdom of God is near you now.’
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heal anyone who is sick, and tell them, 'God's kingdom is right on your doorstep!'
10 But if a town refuses to welcome you, go out into its streets and say,
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"When you enter a town and are not received, go out in the street and say,
11 ‘We wipe even the dust of your town from our feet to show that we have abandoned you to your fate. And know this—the Kingdom of God is near!’
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'The only thing we got from you is the dirt on our feet, and we're giving it back. Did you have any idea that God's kingdom was right on your doorstep?'
12 I assure you, even wicked Sodom will be better off than such a town on judgment day.
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Sodom will have it better on Judgment Day than the town that rejects you.
13 “What sorrow awaits you, Korazin and Bethsaida! For if the miracles I did in you had been done in wicked Tyre and Sidon, their people would have repented of their sins long ago, clothing themselves in burlap and throwing ashes on their heads to show their remorse.
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"Doom, Chorazin! Doom, Bethsaida! If Tyre and Sidon had been given half the chances given you, they'd have been on their knees long ago, repenting and crying for mercy.
14 Yes, Tyre and Sidon will be better off on judgment day than you.
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Tyre and Sidon will have it easy on Judgment Day compared to you.
15 And you people of Capernaum, will you be honored in heaven? No, you will go down to the place of the dead. ”
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"And you, Capernaum! Do you think you're about to be promoted to heaven? Think again. You're on a mud slide to hell.
16 Then he said to the disciples, “Anyone who accepts your message is also accepting me. And anyone who rejects you is rejecting me. And anyone who rejects me is rejecting God, who sent me.”
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"The one who listens to you, listens to me. The one who rejects you, rejects me. And rejecting me is the same as rejecting God, who sent me."
17 When the seventy-two disciples returned, they joyfully reported to him, “Lord, even the demons obey us when we use your name!”
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The seventy came back triumphant. "Master, even the demons danced to your tune!"
18 “Yes,” he told them, “I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning!
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Jesus said, "I know. I saw Satan fall, a bolt of lightning out of the sky.
19 Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you.
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See what I've given you? Safe passage as you walk on snakes and scorpions, and protection from every assault of the Enemy. No one can put a hand on you.
20 But don’t rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven.”
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All the same, the great triumph is not in your authority over evil, but in God's authority over you and presence with you. Not what you do for God but what God does for you - that's the agenda for rejoicing."
21 At that same time Jesus was filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit, and he said, “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike. Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way.
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At that, Jesus rejoiced, exuberant in the Holy Spirit. "I thank you, Father, Master of heaven and earth, that you hid these things from the know-it-alls and showed them to these innocent newcomers. Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way.
22 “My Father has entrusted everything to me. No one truly knows the Son except the Father, and no one truly knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
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"I've been given it all by my Father! Only the Father knows who the Son is and only the Son knows who the Father is. The Son can introduce the Father to anyone he wants to."
23 Then when they were alone, he turned to the disciples and said, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you have seen.
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He then turned in a private aside to his disciples. "Fortunate the eyes that see what you're seeing!
24 I tell you, many prophets and kings longed to see what you see, but they didn’t see it. And they longed to hear what you hear, but they didn’t hear it.”
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There are plenty of prophets and kings who would have given their right arm to see what you are seeing but never got so much as a glimpse, to hear what you are hearing but never got so much as a whisper." Defining "Neighbor"
25 One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?”
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Just then a religion scholar stood up with a question to test Jesus. "Teacher, what do I need to do to get eternal life?"
26 Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?”
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He answered, "What's written in God's Law? How do you interpret it?"
27 The man answered, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
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He said, "That you love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and muscle and intelligence - and that you love your neighbor as well as you do yourself."
28 “Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!”
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"Good answer!" said Jesus. "Do it and you'll live."
29 The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
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Looking for a loophole, he asked, "And just how would you define 'neighbor'?"
30 Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.
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Jesus answered by telling a story. "There was once a man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho. On the way he was attacked by robbers. They took his clothes, beat him up, and went off leaving him half-dead.
31 “By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by.
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Luckily, a priest was on his way down the same road, but when he saw him he angled across to the other side.
32 A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.
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Then a Levite religious man showed up; he also avoided the injured man.
33 “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him.
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"A Samaritan traveling the road came on him. When he saw the man's condition, his heart went out to him.
34 Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him.
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He gave him first aid, disinfecting and bandaging his wounds. Then he lifted him onto his donkey, led him to an inn, and made him comfortable.
35 The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’
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In the morning he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, 'Take good care of him. If it costs any more, put it on my bill - I'll pay you on my way back.'
36 “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked.
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"What do you think? Which of the three became a neighbor to the man attacked by robbers?"
37 The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.” Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”
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"The one who treated him kindly," the religion scholar responded. Jesus said, "Go and do the same."
38 As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home.
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As they continued their travel, Jesus entered a village. A woman by the name of Martha welcomed him and made him feel quite at home.
39 Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught.
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She had a sister, Mary, who sat before the Master, hanging on every word he said.
40 But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.”
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But Martha was pulled away by all she had to do in the kitchen. Later, she stepped in, interrupting them. "Master, don't you care that my sister has abandoned the kitchen to me? Tell her to lend me a hand."
41 But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details!
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The Master said, "Martha, dear Martha, you're fussing far too much and getting yourself worked up over nothing.
42 There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”
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One thing only is essential, and Mary has chosen it - it's the main course, and won't be taken from her."
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by
Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.