3 And Joseph said to his brothers, ^q“I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence.

4 So Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, please.” And they came near. And he said, “I am your brother, Joseph, ^rwhom you sold into Egypt. 5 And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, ^sfor God sent me before you to preserve life. 6 For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are ^tyet five years in which there will be neither ^uplowing nor harvest. 7 And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. 8 So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ^vruler over all the land of Egypt. 9 Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; do not tarry. 10 ^wYou shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children’s children, and your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. 11 ^xThere I will provide for you, for there are yet five years of famine to come, so that you and your household, and all that you have, do not come to poverty.’ 12 And now your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see, that it is ^ymy mouth that speaks to you. 13 You must tell my father of all my honor in Egypt, and of all that you have seen. Hurry and ^zbring my father down here.” 14 Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept, and Benjamin wept upon his neck. 15 And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them. After that his brothers talked with him.

Bless the Lord, O My Soul

Of David.

Bless the Lord, O My Soul

Of David.

21 For as ^hby a man came death, ⁱby a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For ^jas in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then ^kat his coming ^lthose who belong to Christ. 24 Then comes the end, when he delivers ^mthe kingdom to God the Father after destroying ⁿevery rule and every authority and power. 25 For he must reign ^ountil he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be ^pdestroyed is death.

30 Why are we ^tin danger every hour? 31 I protest, brothers, by ^umy pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, ^vI die every day! 32 What do I gain if, humanly speaking, ^wI fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, ^x“Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” 33 ^yDo not be deceived: ^z“Bad company ruins good morals.”¹ 34 ^aWake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For ^bsome have no knowledge of God. ^cI say this to your shame.

The Resurrection Body

35 But someone will ask, ^d“How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” 36 You foolish person! ^eWhat you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37 And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. 38 But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. 39 For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. 40 There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. 41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.

42 ^fSo is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable.

Love Your Enemies

27 “But I say to you who hear, ^sLove your enemies, ^tdo good to those who hate you, 28 ^ubless those who curse you, ^spray for those who abuse you. 29 ^vTo one who ^wstrikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic¹ either. 30 ^xGive to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. 31 And ^yas you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.

32 ^z“If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 And ^aif you ^blend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. 35 But ^clove your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and ^dyou will be sons of ^ethe Most High, for ^fhe is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. 36 ^gBe merciful, even as ^hyour Father is merciful.

Judging Others

37 ^ij“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; ^jforgive, and you will be forgiven; 38 ^kgive, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put ^linto your lap. For ^mwith the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”