Make a Joyful Noise to the Lord

A Psalm.

Jesus Sends Out the Seventy-Two

1 After this the Lord appointed ^xseventy-two¹ others and ^ysent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. 2 ^zAnd he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. ^aTherefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. 3 Go your way; ^bbehold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. 4 ^cCarry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and ^dgreet no one on the road. 5 Whatever house you enter, first say, ^e‘Peace be to this house!’ 6 And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, ^fit will return to you. 7 And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for ^gthe laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house. 8 Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. 9 Heal the sick in it and say to them, ^h‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, 11 ⁱ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that ^jthe kingdom of God has come near.’ 12 I tell you, ^kit will be more bearable on ^lthat day for Sodom than for that town.

Woe to Unrepentant Cities

13 ^m“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in ⁿTyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14 ^oBut it will be more bearable in the judgment for ⁿTyre and Sidon than for you. 15 And you, Capernaum, ^pwill you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to ^qHades.

16 ^r“The one who hears you hears me, and ^sthe one who rejects you rejects me, and ^tthe one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.”

The Return of the Seventy-Two

17 ^uThe seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, ^veven the demons are subject to us in your name!” 18 And he said to them, ^w“I saw Satan ^xfall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I have given you authority ^yto tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of ^zthe enemy, and ^anothing shall hurt you. 20 ^bNevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that ^cyour names are written in heaven.”

Jesus Rejoices in the Father’s Will

21 ^dIn that same hour ^ehe rejoiced ^fin the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, ^gLord of heaven and earth, that ^hyou have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and ⁱrevealed them to little children; yes, Father, for ^jsuch was your gracious will.² 22 ^kAll things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is ^kexcept the Father, or who the Father is ^kexcept the Son and anyone ^lto whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

23 Then turning to the disciples he said privately, ^m“Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! 24 For I tell you ⁿthat many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

25 ^oAnd behold, a ^plawyer stood up to ^qput him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to ^rinherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” 27 And he answered, ^s“You shall 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 ^tyour neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; ^udo this, and you will live.”

29 But he, ^vdesiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied, “A man ^wwas going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a ^xpriest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise ^xa Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a ^ySamaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 He went to him and ^zbound up his wounds, pouring on ^zoil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 And the next day he took out two ^adenarii³ and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

Martha and Mary

38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus⁴ entered a village. And a woman named ^bMartha ^cwelcomed him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called ^bMary, who ^dsat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are ^eanxious and troubled about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary.⁵ Mary has chosen ^fthe good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”