After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of
him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go.
He said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few;
therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his
harvest. Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the
midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one
on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this
house!' And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will
rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. Remain in the
same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the
labourer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house.
Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set
before you; cure the sick who are there, and say to them, 'The kingdom
of God has come near to you.' But whenever you enter a town and they
do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, 'Even the dust of
your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you.
Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.' I tell you, on that
day it will be more tolerable for Sodom than for that town.
"Whoever listens to you listens to me,
and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the
one who sent me."
The seventy returned with joy saying,
"Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!" He said to them, "I
watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. See, I have
given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the
power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you. Nevertheless, do not
rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your
names are written in heaven."
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