1 The word of the Lord that came to Joel, the son of Pethuel:
An Invasion of Locusts
give ear, ball inhabitants of the land!
cHas such a thing happened in your days,
or in the days of your fathers?
3 dTell your children of it,
and let your children tell their children,
and their children to another generation.
4 What ethe cutting locust left,
fthe swarming locust has eaten.
What the swarming locust left,
gthe hopping locust has eaten,
and what the hopping locust left,
hthe destroying locust has eaten.
5 Awake, you drunkards, and weep,
and iwail, all you drinkers of wine,
because of jthe sweet wine,
for it is cut off from your mouth.
6 For ka nation has come up against my land,
kpowerful and beyond number;
lits teeth are lions’ teeth,
and it has the fangs of a lioness.
7 It has laid waste my vine
and splintered my mfig tree;
it has stripped off their bark and thrown it down;
their branches are made white.
8 Lament like a virgin1 nwearing sackcloth
for the bridegroom of her youth.
9 oThe grain offering and the drink offering are cut off
from the house of the Lord.
pThe priests mourn,
pthe ministers of the Lord.
10 The fields are destroyed,
qthe ground mourns,
because rthe grain is destroyed,
rthe wine dries up,
the oil languishes.
11 sBe ashamed,2 O tillers of the soil;
wail, O vinedressers,
for the wheat and the barley,
tbecause the harvest of the field has perished.
12 The vine dries up;
uthe fig tree languishes.
Pomegranate, palm, and apple,
all the trees of the field are dried up,
and vgladness dries up
from the children of man.
A Call to Repentance
13 wPut on sackcloth and lament, pO priests;
xwail, O ministers of the altar.
Go in, wpass the night in sackcloth,
pO ministers of my God!
yBecause grain offering and drink offering
are withheld from the house of your God.
14 zConsecrate a fast;
zcall a solemn assembly.
Gather athe elders
and aall the inhabitants of the land
to the house of the Lord your God,
and cry out to the Lord.
15 Alas for the day!
bFor the day of the Lord is near,
and as destruction from the Almighty3 it comes.
16 Is not the food cut off
before our eyes,
cjoy and gladness
from the house of our God?
17 dThe seed shrivels under the clods;4
the storehouses are desolate;
the granaries are torn down
because ethe grain has dried up.
18 How fthe beasts groan!
The herds of cattle are perplexed
because there is no pasture for them;
even the flocks of sheep suffer.5
19 To you, gO Lord, I call.
hFor fire has devoured
the pastures of the wilderness,
hand flame has burned
all the trees of the field.
20 Even the beasts of the field ipant for you
because the water brooks are dried up,
hand fire has devoured
the pastures of the wilderness.
The Twelve Apostles
1 uAnd he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. 2 vThe names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, wwho is called Peter, and xAndrew his brother; xJames the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and yMatthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;1 4 Simon the Zealot,2 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Apostles
5 uThese twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of zthe Samaritans, 6 abut go rather to bthe lost sheep of cthe house of Israel. 7 And proclaim as you go, saying, d‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’3 8 eHeal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers,4 cast out demons. fYou received without paying; give without pay. 9 gAcquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, 10 no bag for your journey, or two tunics5 or sandals or a staff, for hthe laborer deserves his food. 11 And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart. 12 As you enter the house, igreet it. 13 And if the house is jworthy, let iyour peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let iyour peace return to you. 14 And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, lshake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. 15 Truly, I say to you, mit will be more bearable on the day of judgment for nthe land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.
Persecution Will Come
16 o“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be pwise as serpents and qinnocent as doves. 17 Beware of men, for rthey will deliver you over to courts and flog you sin their synagogues, 18 rand you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, tto bear witness before them and the Gentiles. 19 rWhen uthey deliver you over, vdo not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for wwhat you are to say will be given to you in that hour. 20 xFor it is not you who speak, but ythe Spirit of your Father speaking through you. 21 zBrother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, 22 aand you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. bBut the one who endures to the end will be saved. 23 When they cpersecute you in one town, dflee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel ebefore the Son of Man comes.
24 f“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant6 above his master. 25 It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. gIf they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign7 those of his household.
Have No Fear
26 “So have no fear of them, ifor nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 27 What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on jthe housetops. 28 And kdo not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him lwho can destroy both soul and body in hell.8 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?9 And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But meven the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear not, therefore; nyou are of more value than many sparrows. 32 oSo everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, 33 but pwhoever denies me before men, qI also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.
Not Peace, but a Sword
34 r“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. sI have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 rFor I have come tto set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 uAnd a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. 37 vWhoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And wwhoever does not take his cross and xfollow me is not worthy of me. 39 yWhoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
Rewards
40 z“Whoever receives you receives me, and awhoever receives me receives him who sent me. 41 bThe one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. 42 And cwhoever gives one of dthese little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”
