Matthew 8:23–34; Acts 12; Psalm 20; Genesis 44–45

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Matthew 8:23–34

Jesus Calms a Storm

23 fAnd when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. 24 And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but ghe was asleep. 25 And they went and woke him, saying, hSave us, Lord; we are perishing. 26 And he said to them, Why are you iafraid, jO you of little faith? Then he rose and krebuked the winds and the sea, and lthere was a great calm. 27 And the men mmarveled, saying, What sort of man is this, that even nwinds and sea obey him?

Jesus Heals Two Men with Demons

28 oAnd when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes,1 two pdemon-possessed2 men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way. 29 And behold, they qcried out, What have you to do with us, rO Son of God? Have you come here to torment us sbefore the time? 30 Now a herd of many pigs was feeding at some distance from them. 31 And the demons begged him, saying, If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of pigs. 32 And he said to them, Go. So they came out and went into the pigs, and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the waters. 33 The herdsmen fled, and going into the city they told everything, especially what had happened to the tdemon-possessed men. 34 And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, uthey begged him to leave their region.


Acts 12

James Killed and Peter Imprisoned

About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church. He killed fJames the brother of John gwith the sword, and when he saw hthat it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This was during ithe days of Unleavened Bread. And when he had seized him, he put him jin prison, delivering him over to four ksquads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people. So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest lprayer for him was made to God by the church.

Peter Is Rescued

Now when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, mbound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison. And behold, nan angel of the Lord ostood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. pHe struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, Get up quickly. And qthe chains fell off his hands. And the angel said to him, Dress yourself and rput on your sandals. And he did so. And he said to him, Wrap your cloak around you and follow me. And he went out and followed him. He did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but sthought he was seeing a vision. 10 When they had passed the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. tIt opened for them of its own accord, and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel left him. 11 When Peter ucame to himself, he said, Now I am sure that vthe Lord has sent his angel and wrescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.

12 When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of xJohn whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and ywere praying. 13 And when he knocked at the door of the gateway, za servant girl named Rhoda came to answer. 14 Recognizing Peter’s voice, ain her joy she did not open the gate but ran in and reported that Peter was standing at the gate. 15 They said to her, You are out of your mind. But she kept insisting that it was so, and they kept saying, It is bhis angel! 16 But Peter continued knocking, and when they opened, they saw him and were amazed. 17 But cmotioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, Tell these things to dJames and to ethe brothers.1 Then he departed and went to another place.

18 Now when day came, there was no little disturbance among the soldiers over what had become of Peter. 19 And after Herod searched for him and did not find him, he examined the sentries and fordered that they should be put to death. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and spent time there.

The Death of Herod

20 Now Herod was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon, and they came to him with one accord, and ghaving persuaded Blastus, the king’s chamberlain,2 they asked for peace, because htheir country depended on the king’s country for food. 21 On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat upon the throne, and delivered an oration to them. 22 And the people were shouting, The voice of a god, and not of a man! 23 Immediately ian angel of the Lord struck him down, because jhe did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.

24 But kthe word of God increased and multiplied.

25 lAnd Barnabas and Saul returned from3 Jerusalem when they had completed their service, bringing with them mJohn, whose other name was Mark.


Psalm 20

Trust in the Name of the Lord Our God

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

May the Lord lanswer you in the day of trouble!

May mthe name of the God of Jacob nprotect you!

May he send you help from othe sanctuary

and give you support from pZion!

May he qremember all your offerings

and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices! Selah

May he rgrant you your heart’s desire

and fulfill all your plans!

May we shout for joy over syour salvation,

and in the name of our God set up our tbanners!

May the Lord fulfill all your petitions!

Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed;

he will answer him from his holy heaven

with uthe saving might of his right hand.

Some trust in vchariots and some in whorses,

xbut we trust in the name of the Lord our God.

They collapse and fall,

but we rise and stand upright.

O Lord, save ythe king!

May he answer us when we call.


Genesis 44–45

Joseph Tests His Brothers

Then he commanded pthe steward of his house, qFill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put each man’s money in the mouth of his sack, and put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, with his money for the grain. And he did as Joseph told him.

As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away with their donkeys. They had gone only a short distance from the city. Now Joseph said to his rsteward, Up, follow after the men, and when you overtake them, say to them, Why have you repaid evil for good?1 Is it not from this that my lord drinks, and sby this that he practices divination? You have done evil in doing this.

When he overtook them, he spoke to them these words. They said to him, Why does my lord speak such words as these? Far be it from your servants to do such a thing! Behold, tthe money that we found in the mouths of our sacks we brought back to you from the land of Canaan. How then could we steal silver or gold from your lord’s house? uWhichever of your servants is found with it shall die, and we also will be vmy lord’s servants. 10 He said, Let it be as you say: he who is found with it shall be my servant, and the rest of you shall be innocent. 11 Then each man quickly lowered his sack to the ground, and each man opened his sack. 12 And he searched, beginning with the eldest and ending with the youngest. And the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. 13 Then they wtore their clothes, and every man loaded his donkey, and they returned to the city.

14 When Judah and his brothers came to Joseph’s house, he was still there. They xfell before him to the ground. 15 Joseph said to them, What deed is this that you have done? Do you not know that a man like me ycan indeed practice divination? 16 And Judah said, What shall we say to my lord? What shall we speak? Or how can we clear ourselves? God has found out zthe guilt of your servants; behold, we are amy lord’s servants, both we and he also in whose hand the cup has been found. 17 But he said, Far be it from me that I should do so! Only the man in whose hand the cup was found shall be my servant. But as for you, go up in peace to your father.

18 Then Judah went up to him and said, bOh, my lord, please let your servant speak a word in my lord’s ears, and clet not your anger burn against your servant, for dyou are like Pharaoh himself. 19 My lord asked his servants, saying, Have you a father, or a brother? 20 And we said to my lord, We have a father, an old man, eand a young brother, fthe child of his old age. His brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother’s children, and his father loves him. 21 Then you said to your servants, gBring him down to me, that I may set my eyes on him. 22 We said to my lord, The boy cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his father, hhis father would die. 23 Then you said to your servants, iUnless your youngest brother comes down with you, you shall not see my face again.

24 When we went back to your servant my father, we told him the words of my lord. 25 And when jour father said, Go again, buy us a little food, 26 we said, We cannot go down. If our youngest brother goes with us, then we will go down. For we cannot see the man’s face unless our youngest brother is with us. 27 Then your servant my father said to us, You know that my wife bore me ktwo sons. 28 One left me, and I said, lSurely he has been torn to pieces, and I have never seen him since. 29 If you mtake this one also from me, nand harm happens to him, you will bring down my gray hairs in evil to Sheol.

30 Now therefore, as soon as I come to your servant my father, and the boy is not with us, then, as his life is bound up in the boy’s life, 31 as soon as he sees that the boy is not with us, he will die, and your servants will bring down the gray hairs of your servant our father with sorrow to Sheol. 32 For your servant became a pledge of safety for the boy to my father, saying, oIf I do not bring him back to you, then I shall bear the blame before my father all my life. 33 Now therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the boy as a servant to my lord, and let the boy go back with his brothers. 34 For how can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? I fear to see the evil that would find my father.

Joseph Provides for His Brothers and Family

Then Joseph could not pcontrol himself before all those who stood by him. He cried, Make everyone go out from me. So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. And he wept aloud, so that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. And Joseph said to his brothers, qI am Joseph! Is my father still alive? But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence.

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. And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, sfor God sent me before you to preserve life. 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. And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. 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. 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.

16 When the report was heard in Pharaoh’s house, Joseph’s brothers have come, it pleased Pharaoh and his servants. 17 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, Say to your brothers, Do this: load your beasts and go back to the land of Canaan, 18 and take your father and your households, and come to me, and aI will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you shall eat the fat of the land. 19 And you, Joseph, are commanded to say, Do this: take bwagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives, and bring your father, and come. 20 Have no concern for2 your goods, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.

21 The sons of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them bwagons, according to the command of Pharaoh, and gave them provisions for the journey. 22 To each and all of them he gave ca change of clothes, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred shekels3 of silver and dfive changes of clothes. 23 To his father he sent as follows: ten donkeys loaded with the good things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and provision for his father on the journey. 24 Then he sent his brothers away, and as they departed, he said to them, eDo not quarrel on the way.

25 So they went up out of Egypt and came to the land of Canaan to their father Jacob. 26 And they told him, Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt. And his heart became numb, for he did not believe them. 27 But when they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said to them, and when he saw fthe wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. 28 And Israel said, It is enough; Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.