Joseph’s Brothers Go to Egypt
1 When lJacob learned that there was grain for sale in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you look at one another?” 2 And he said, “Behold, I have heard that there is grain for sale in Egypt. Go down and buy grain for us there, that we may mlive and not die.” 3 So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt. 4 But Jacob did not send Benjamin, nJoseph’s brother, with his brothers, for ohe feared that harm might happen to him. 5 Thus the sons of Israel came to buy among the others who came, for the famine was in the land of Canaan.
6 Now Joseph was governor pover the land. He was the one who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and qbowed themselves before him with their faces to the ground. 7 Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he treated them like strangers and rspoke roughly to them. “Where do you come from?” he said. They said, “From the land of Canaan, to buy food.” 8 And Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. 9 And Joseph sremembered the dreams that he had dreamed of them. tAnd he said to them, “You are spies; you have come to see the nakedness of the land.” 10 They said to him, “No, my lord, your servants have come to buy food. 11 We are all sons of one man. We are honest men. Your servants have never been spies.”
12 He said to them, “No, it is the nakedness of the land that you have come to see.” 13 And they said, “We, your servants, are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan, and behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one uis no more.” 14 But Joseph said to them, “It is as I said to you. You are spies. 15 By this you shall be tested: by the life of Pharaoh, you shall not go from this place unless your youngest brother comes here. 16 Send one of you, and let him bring your brother, while you remain confined, that your words may be tested, whether there is truth in you. Or else, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies.” 17 And he put them all together in custody for three days.
18 On the third day Joseph said to them, “Do this and you will live, vfor I fear God: 19 if you are honest men, let one of your brothers remain confined where you are in custody, and let the rest go and carry wgrain for the famine of your households, 20 and xbring your youngest brother to me. So your words will be verified, and you shall not die.” And they did so. 21 Then they said to one another, y“In truth we are guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us and we did not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us.” 22 And Reuben answered them, z“Did I not tell you not to sin against the boy? But you did not listen. So now athere comes a reckoning for his blood.” 23 They did not know that Joseph understood them, for there was an interpreter between them. 24 Then he turned away from them and bwept. And he returned to them and spoke to them. And he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes. 25 cAnd Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, and to replace every man’s money in his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. This was done for them.
26 Then they loaded their donkeys with their grain and departed. 27 And as done of them opened his sack to give his donkey fodder at ethe lodging place, he saw his money in the mouth of his sack. 28 He said to his brothers, “My money has been put back; here it is in the mouth of my sack!” At this their hearts failed them, and they turned trembling to one another, saying, “What is this that God has done to us?”
29 When they came to Jacob their father in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them, saying, 30 “The man, the lord of the land, fspoke roughly to us and took us to be spies of the land. 31 But we said to him, ‘We are honest men; we have never been spies. 32 We are twelve brothers, sons of our father. One gis no more, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan.’ 33 Then the man, the lord of the land, said to us, h‘By this I shall know that you are honest men: leave one of your brothers with me, and take igrain for the famine of your households, and go your way. 34 Bring your youngest brother to me. Then I shall know that you are not spies but honest men, and I will deliver your brother to you, and you shall jtrade in the land.’”
35 kAs they emptied their sacks, behold, every man’s bundle of money was in his sack. And when they and their father saw their bundles of money, they were afraid. 36 And Jacob their father said to them, “You have lbereaved me of my children: Joseph is no more, and Simeon is no more, and now you would take Benjamin. All this has come against me.” 37 Then Reuben said to his father, “Kill mmy two sons if I do not bring him back to you. Put him in my hands, and I will bring him back to you.” 38 But he said, “My son shall not go down with you, for nhis brother is dead, and he is the only one left. oIf harm should happen to him on the journey that you are to make, pyou would bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to Sheol.”
The Parable of the Tenants
1 bAnd he began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted ca vineyard dand put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and eleased it to tenants and fwent into another country. 2 When the season came, he sent a servant1 to the tenants to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. 3 gAnd they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4 gAgain hhe sent to them another servant, and ithey struck him on the head and jtreated him shamefully. 5 gAnd he sent another, and him they killed. And so with many others: some they beat, and some they killed. 6 He had still one other, ka beloved son. lFinally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7 But those tenants said to one another, m‘This is the heir. Come, nlet us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8 And they took him and killed him and othrew him out of the vineyard. 9 What will the owner of the vineyard do? pHe will qcome and destroy the tenants and rgive the vineyard to others. 10 sHave you not read tthis Scripture:
u“‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;2
11 this was the Lord’s doing,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”
12 And vthey were seeking to arrest him wbut feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them. So they xleft him and went away.
Paying Taxes to Caesar
13 yAnd they sent to him some of zthe Pharisees and some of zthe Herodians, to atrap him in his talk. 14 And they came and said to him, “Teacher, bwe know that you are true and do not care about anyone’s opinion. For cyou are not swayed by appearances,3 but truly teach dthe way of God. Is it lawful to pay etaxes to fCaesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?” 15 But, knowing gtheir hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why hput me to the test? Bring me ia denarius4 and let me look at it.” 16 And they brought one. And he said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said to him, “Caesar’s.” 17 Jesus said to them, j“Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they marveled at him.
The Sadducees Ask About the Resurrection
18 And kSadducees came to him, lwho say that there is no resurrection. And they asked him a question, saying, 19 “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that mif a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife, but leaves no child, the man5 must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. 20 There were seven brothers; the first took a wife, and when he died left no offspring. 21 And the second took her, and died, leaving no offspring. And the third likewise. 22 And the seven left no offspring. Last of all the woman also died. 23 In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For the seven had her as wife.”
24 Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because nyou know neither the Scriptures nor othe power of God? 25 For when they rise from the dead, they neither pmarry nor pare given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 26 And as for the dead being raised, qhave you not read in rthe book of Moses, in sthe passage about the bush, how God spoke to him, saying, t‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? 27 He is not God of the dead, but of the living. You are quite wrong.”
The Great Commandment
28 uAnd one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, v‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, wthe Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 xThe second is this: y‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment zgreater than these.” 32 And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that whe is one, and athere is no other besides him. 33 And to love him with all the heart and with all bthe understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, cis much more than all dwhole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” eAnd after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.
Whose Son Is the Christ?
35 fAnd as gJesus taught in the temple, he said, “How can the scribes say that hthe Christ is the son of David? 36 David himself, iin the Holy Spirit, declared,
j“‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
until I put your enemies kunder your feet.”’
37 David himself calls him Lord. So lhow is he his son?” And the great throng mheard him gladly.
Beware of the Scribes
38 nAnd in his teaching he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces 39 and have the best seats in the synagogues and othe places of honor at feasts, 40 pwho devour widows’ houses and qfor a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”
The Widow’s Offering
41 rAnd he sat down opposite sthe treasury and watched the people tputting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. 42 And a poor widow came and put in two usmall copper coins, which make a penny.6 43 And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, vthis poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. 44 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her wpoverty has put in everything she had, all xshe had to live on.”
Bildad Speaks: Job Should Repent
1 Then cBildad the Shuhite answered and said:
2 “How long will you say these things,
and the words of your mouth be a dgreat wind?
3 eDoes God pervert justice?
Or does the Almighty pervert the right?
4 If your fchildren have sinned against him,
he has delivered them into the hand of their transgression.
5 If you will seek God
and gplead with the Almighty for mercy,
6 if you are pure and upright,
surely then he will hrouse himself for you
and irestore your rightful habitation.
7 And though your beginning was small,
jyour latter days will be very great.
8 “For kinquire, please, of bygone ages,
and consider what lthe fathers have searched out.
9 For we are but of yesterday and know nothing,
for our days on earth are ma shadow.
10 Will they not teach you and tell you
and utter words out of their understanding?
11 “Can papyrus grow where there is no marsh?
Can reeds flourish where there is no water?
12 While yet in flower and not cut down,
they nwither before any other plant.
13 Such are the paths of all who oforget God;
pthe hope of qthe godless shall perish.
14 His confidence is severed,
and his trust is ra spider’s web.1
15 He leans against his shouse, but it does not stand;
he lays hold of it, but it does not endure.
16 He is a lush plant before the sun,
and his tshoots spread over his garden.
17 His roots entwine the stone heap;
he looks upon a house of stones.
18 If he is destroyed from his uplace,
then it will deny him, saying, ‘I have never vseen you.’
19 Behold, this is the joy of his way,
and out of wthe soil others will spring.
20 “Behold, God will not reject a blameless man,
nor take the hand of evildoers.
21 He will yet xfill your mouth with laughter,
and your lips with shouting.
22 Those who hate you will be yclothed with shame,
and the tent of the wicked will be no more.”
A Living Sacrifice
1 zI appeal to you therefore, brothers,1 by the mercies of God, ato present your bodies bas a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.2 2 cDo not be conformed to this world,3 but be transformed by dthe renewal of your mind, that by testing you may ediscern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.4
Gifts of Grace
3 For fby the grace given to me I say to everyone among you gnot to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, heach according to ithe measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For jas in one body we have many members,5 and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, kthough many, lare one body in Christ, and individually mmembers one of another. 6 nHaving gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if oprophecy, pin proportion to our faith; 7 if qservice, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; rthe one who leads,6 with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with scheerfulness.
Marks of the True Christian
9 tLet love be genuine. uAbhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 vLove one another with brotherly affection. wOutdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, xbe fervent in spirit,7 yserve the Lord. 12 zRejoice in hope, abe patient in tribulation, bbe constant in prayer. 13 cContribute to the needs of the saints and dseek to show hospitality.
14 eBless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 fRejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 gLive in harmony with one another. hDo not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.8 iNever be wise in your own sight. 17 jRepay no one evil for evil, but kgive thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, llive peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, mnever avenge yourselves, but leave it9 to the wrath of God, for it is written, n“Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 To the contrary, o“if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
