Matthew 9:27–38; Acts 14; Psalm 22:12–31; Genesis 49

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Matthew 9:27–38

Jesus Heals Two Blind Men

27 eAnd as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, Have mercy on us, fSon of David. 28 When he entered the house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus said to them, Do you believe that I am able to do this? They said to him, Yes, Lord. 29 gThen he touched their eyes, saying, hAccording to your faith be it done to you. 30 And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, iSee that no one knows about it. 31 jBut they went away and spread his fame through all that district.

Jesus Heals a Man Unable to Speak

32 As they were going away, behold, a kdemon-oppressed man who was mute lwas brought to him. 33 And when the demon had been cast out, the mute man spoke. And the crowds mmarveled, saying, Never was anything like this seen in Israel. 34 But the Pharisees said, He casts out demons by the prince of demons.

The Harvest Is Plentiful, the Laborers Few

35 nAnd 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 oWhen he saw the crowds, phe had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, qlike sheep without a shepherd. 37 rThen he said to his disciples, The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore spray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to tsend out laborers into his harvest.


Acts 14

Paul and Barnabas at Iconium

Now at Iconium athey entered together into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed. bBut the cunbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against dthe brothers.1 So they remained for a long time, speaking boldly for ethe Lord, who bore witness to fthe word of his grace, ggranting signs and wonders to be done by their hands. But the people of the city hwere divided; isome sided with the Jews and some with the apostles. When an attempt was made by both Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, jto mistreat them and kto stone them, they learned of it and lfled to mLystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding country, and there they continued to preach the gospel.

Paul and Barnabas at Lystra

Now at Lystra there was a man sitting who could not use his feet. He was ncrippled from birth and had never walked. He listened to Paul speaking. And Paul, looking intently at him and oseeing that he had faith to be made well,2 10 said in a loud voice, Stand upright on your feet. And he psprang up and began walking. 11 And when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in Lycaonian, qThe gods have come down to us in the likeness of men! 12 Barnabas they called rZeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. 13 And the priest of rZeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates and swanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds. 14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they ttore their garments and rushed out into the crowd, crying out, 15 Men, uwhy are you doing these things? We also are men, vof like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that wyou should turn from these xvain things to ya living God, zwho made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. 16 In past generations he aallowed all the nations bto walk in their own ways. 17 Yet che did not leave himself without witness, for he ddid good by egiving you rains from heaven and ffruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with gfood and hgladness. 18 Even with these words they scarcely restrained the people from offering sacrifice to them.

Paul Stoned at Lystra

19 iBut Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having persuaded the crowds, jthey stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. 20 But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city, and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe. 21 When they had preached the gospel to that city and had kmade many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, 22 lstrengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them mto continue in nthe faith, and saying that othrough many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. 23 And when they had pappointed qelders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting rthey committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

Paul and Barnabas Return to Antioch in Syria

24 Then they passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. 25 And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia, 26 and from there they sailed to Antioch, swhere they had been tcommended to the grace of God for the work that they had fulfilled. 27 And when they arrived and gathered the church together, uthey declared all that God had done with them, and vhow he had wopened xa door of faith to the Gentiles. 28 And they remained no little time with the disciples.


Psalm 22:12–31

12  Many bulls encompass me;

pstrong bulls of qBashan surround me;

13  they ropen wide their mouths at me,

like a ravening and roaring lion.

14  I am spoured out like water,

and all my bones are tout of joint;

my uheart is like vwax;

it is melted within my breast;

15  my strength is wdried up like a potsherd,

and my xtongue sticks to my jaws;

you lay me in the dust of death.

16  For ydogs encompass me;

a company of evildoers zencircles me;

they have apierced my hands and feet1

17  I can count all my bones

they bstare and gloat over me;

18  cthey divide my garments among them,

and for my clothing they cast lots.

19  But you, O Lord, ndo not be far off!

O you my help, dcome quickly to my aid!

20  Deliver my soul from the sword,

my precious life from the power of ethe dog!

21  Save me from fthe mouth of the lion!

You have rescued2 me from the horns of gthe wild oxen!

22  hI will tell of your name to my ibrothers;

in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:

23  You who jfear the Lord, praise him!

All you offspring of Jacob, kglorify him,

and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!

24  For he has not despised or abhorred

the affliction of lthe afflicted,

and he has not mhidden his face from him,

but has heard, when he ncried to him.

25  From you comes my praise in the great ocongregation;

my pvows I will qperform before those who fear him.

26  rThe afflicted3 shall seat and be satisfied;

those who seek him shall praise the Lord!

May your hearts tlive forever!

27  All uthe ends of the earth shall remember

and turn to the Lord,

and all vthe families of the nations

shall worship before you.

28  For wkingship belongs to the Lord,

and he rules over the nations.

29  All xthe prosperous of the earth eat and worship;

before him shall ybow all who go down to the dust,

even the one who could not zkeep himself alive.

30  Posterity shall serve him;

it shall be told of the Lord to the coming ageneration;

31  they shall bcome and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet cunborn,

that he has done it.


Genesis 49

Jacob Blesses His Sons

wThen Jacob called his sons and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you what shall happen to you xin days to come.

Assemble and listen, O sons of Jacob,

listen to Israel your father.

Reuben, you are ymy firstborn,

my might, and the zfirstfruits of my strength,

preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power.

Unstable as water, you shall not have preeminence,

because you awent up to your father’s bed;

then you defiled ithe went up to my couch!

bSimeon and Levi are brothers;

weapons cof violence are their swords.

Let my soul come not into their council;

dO my glory, ebe not joined to their company.

For in their anger they killed men,

and in their willfulness they fhamstrung oxen.

Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce,

and their wrath, for it is cruel!

I will gdivide them in Jacob

and scatter them in Israel.

Judah, hyour brothers shall praise you;

iyour hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;

jyour father’s sons shall bow down before you.

Judah is ka lion’s cub;

from the prey, my son, you have gone up.

lHe stooped down; he crouched as a lion

and as a lioness; who dares rouse him?

10  The mscepter shall not depart from Judah,

nor the ruler’s staff nfrom between his feet,

until tribute comes to him;1

and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.

11  Binding his foal to the vine

and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine,

he has washed his garments in wine

and his vesture in the blood of grapes.

12  His oeyes are darker than wine,

and his teeth whiter than milk.

13  pZebulun shall dwell at the qshore of the sea;

he shall become a haven for ships,

and his border shall be at Sidon.

14  rIssachar is a strong donkey,

crouching between the sheepfolds.2

15  He saw that a resting place was good,

and that the land was pleasant,

so he bowed his shoulder to bear,

and sbecame a servant at forced labor.

16  tDan shall ujudge his people

as one of the tribes of Israel.

17  Dan vshall be a serpent in the way,

a viper by the path,

that bites the horse’s heels

so that his rider falls backward.

18  I wwait for your salvation, O Lord.

19  xRaiders shall raid yGad,3

but he shall raid at their heels.

20  zAsher’s food shall be rich,

and he shall yield royal delicacies.

21  aNaphtali is a doe let loose

that bears beautiful fawns.4

22  Joseph is ba fruitful bough,

a fruitful bough by a spring;

his branches run over the wall.5

23  The archers cbitterly attacked him,

shot at him, and harassed him severely,

24  yet dhis bow remained unmoved;

his arms6 were made agile

by the hands of the eMighty One of Jacob

(from there is fthe Shepherd,7 gthe Stone of Israel),

25  hby the God of your father who will help you,

by ithe Almighty8 jwho will bless you

with blessings of heaven above,

blessings of the deep that crouches beneath,

blessings of the breasts and of the womb.

26  The blessings of your father

are mighty beyond the blessings of my parents,

up to the bounties kof the everlasting hills.9

May they be lon the head of Joseph,

and on the brow of him who was set apart from his brothers.

27  mBenjamin is a ravenous wolf,

in the morning devouring the prey

and at evening ndividing the spoil.

Jacob’s Death and Burial

28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel. This is what their father said to them as he blessed them, blessing each with the blessing suitable to him. 29 Then he commanded them and said to them, I am to be ogathered to my people; pbury me with my fathers qin the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, 30 in the cave that is in the field at Machpelah, to the east of Mamre, in the land of Canaan, rwhich Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite to possess as a burying place. 31 sThere they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife. There tthey buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah 32 the field and the cave that is in it were bought from the Hittites. 33 When Jacob finished commanding his sons, he drew up his feet into the bed and breathed his last and uwas gathered to his people.