Luke 10 (NMV)
1 After this, the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them ahead of Him in pairs to every town and place where He Himself was about to go.
2 He told them, "The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. So ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest field.
3 Now go; I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.
4 Don't carry a money bag, traveling bag, or sandals. Don't greet anyone along the road.
5 Whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this household.'
6 If a person of peace is there, your peace will rest on them; but if not, it will return to you.
7 Remain in that same house, eating and drinking what they offer, for the worker is worthy of their wages. Don't move from house to house.
8 When you enter a town and they welcome you, eat the things set before you.
9 Heal the sick who are there, and tell them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.'
10 But when you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say,
11 'We are wiping off even the dust of your town that clings to our feet as a testimony against you. Know this for certain: the kingdom of God has come near.'
12 I tell you, on that day it will be more bearable for Sodom than for that town.
13 Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.
14 But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you.
15 And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades [the temporary place where the dead await judgment].
16 Whoever listens to you listens to Me. Whoever rejects you rejects Me. And whoever rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me."
17 The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons submit to us in Your name!"
18 He said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.
19 Look, I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will harm you.
20 However, don't rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."
21 At that very time, He rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, "I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, because this was pleasing in Your sight.
22 All things have been handed over to Me by My Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him."
23 Then turning to His disciples privately, He said, "Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.
24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but didn't see it, and to hear what you hear but didn't hear it."
25 Then an expert in the Law stood up to test Him, saying, "Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
26 "What is written in the Law?" He asked him. "How do you read it?"
27 He answered, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself."
28 "You have answered correctly," He told him. "Do this and you will live."
29 But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"
30 Jesus took up the question and said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead.
31 A priest happened to be going down that road. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side [since touching a bloody or dying man could make him ceremonially unclean].
32 In the same way, a Levite, when he arrived at the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
33 But a Samaritan [a people group despised by the Jews], on his journey, came to the man, and when he saw him, he was moved with compassion.
34 He went over to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on olive oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
35 The next day he took out two denarii [about two days' wages], gave them to the innkeeper, and said, 'Take care of him. When I come back, I'll reimburse you for whatever extra you spend.'
36 "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?"
37 "The one who showed mercy to him," he said. Then Jesus told him, "Go and do the same."
38 While they were traveling, He entered a village, and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home.
39 She had a sister named Mary, who also sat at the Lord's feet and was listening to what He said.
40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations she had to make, and she came up and asked, "Lord, don't You care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her to help me."
41 The Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things,
42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."