Matthew 9:35-10:15

English Standard Version

The Harvest Is Plentiful, the Laborers Few

³⁵^(A)And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. ³⁶^(B)When he saw the crowds, ^(C)he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, ^(D)like sheep without a shepherd. ³⁷^(E)Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; ³⁸therefore ^(F)pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to ^(G)send out laborers into his harvest.”

The Twelve Apostles

10 ^(H)And 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^(I)The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, ^(J)who is called Peter, and ^(K)Andrew his brother; ^(L)James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; ³Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and ^(M)Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;^[a] ⁴Simon the Zealot,^[b] and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Apostles

⁵^(N)These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of ^(O)the Samaritans, ⁶^(P)but go rather to ^(Q)the lost sheep of ^(R)the house of Israel. ⁷And proclaim as you go, saying, ^(S)‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’^[c] ⁸^(T)Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers,^[d] cast out demons. ^(U)You received without paying; give without pay. ⁹^(V)Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, ¹⁰no bag for your journey, or two tunics^[e] or sandals or a staff, for ^(W)the laborer deserves his food. ¹¹And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart. ¹²As you enter the house, ^(X)greet it. ¹³And if the house is ^(Y)worthy, let ^(Z)your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let ^(AA)your peace return to you. ¹⁴And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, ^(AB)shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. ¹⁵Truly, I say to you, ^(AC)it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for ^(AD)the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.

Footnotes

Matthew 10:3 Some manuscripts Lebbaeus, or Lebbaeus called Thaddaeus
Matthew 10:4 Greek kananaios, meaning zealot
Matthew 10:7 Or The kingdom of heaven has come near
Matthew 10:8 Leprosy was a term for several skin diseases; see Leviticus 13
Matthew 10:10 Greek chiton, a long garment worn under the cloak next to the skin