Luke 10:1-17

1After this, Jesus chose another 72 disciples. He sent them out two by two, to every town and village that he would visit soon.

2Before they went, he said to them, ‘Many people are ready to believe God's message. They are like crops in a field at harvest time. But there are very few workers to bring in the crops. So pray to God to send out workers. The field and the plants belong to him.’

3Jesus then said, ‘I am sending you out, so go! But listen! You will be like young sheep among wild animals.

4Do not carry a purse or a bag. Do not take extra shoes. When you meet other people on the road, do not stop to say “hello”.

5In each town, when you go into a house, first say to the people who live there, “We pray that all will be well with you!”

6Someone in the house may accept what you say. If they do, God will bless them. But if nobody accepts your kind words, God will bless you instead of them.

7Stay in the same house there until you leave that town. Accept the food and drink that the people in the house give to you. You are working to help them. So they should give you what you need to live. Do not visit different houses to get food.

8The people may accept you well when you go into a town. Then eat the food that those people give to you.

9Make the sick people well who are there. Give this message to all the people there: “The kingdom of God has now come near to you.”

10Sometimes when you go into a town, the people will not accept you. You should then go into the streets of that town and you should say to the people,

11“There is dirt from your town on our feet. We will clean it off to show that you have not accepted us. God is not happy with you. But listen! You should know that the kingdom of God has come very near.”

12One day God will punish the people from that town. Yes, he will punish them more than the people who lived in Sodom long ago.’

13Jesus then said, ‘You people in Chorazin, things will be bad for you! And things will be bad for you, people in Bethsaida. I have done great and powerful things in your cities. If I had done such great things in Tyre and in Sidon, the people there would have changed how they lived. They would have shown that they were sorry for their sins. They would have put on rough clothes. They would also have put ashes on their heads.

14Yes, when God judges everyone, he will punish the people of Tyre and Sidon. But he will punish even more you people from Chorazin and Bethsaida.

15And what will happen to you people in Capernaum? You think that God will lift you up to heaven, do you? No! He will throw you down to Hades, the place for dead people!’

16Jesus then said to his disciples, ‘Whoever listens to you is also listening to me. Whoever does not accept you does not accept me. And whoever does not accept me does not accept my Father God, who sent me.’

17Later, the 72 disciples that Jesus had sent out returned to him. They were very happy. ‘Master,’ they said, ‘even bad spirits obey us. When we use your name, they do what we say.’