Joseph Interprets Pharaoh's Dreams

41 After two whole years, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing by the Nile, ² and behold, there came up out of the Nile seven cows, attractive and plump, and they fed in the reed grass. ³ And behold, seven other cows, ugly and thin, came up out of the Nile after them, and stood by the other cows on the bank of the Nile. ⁴ And the ugly, thin cows ate up the seven attractive, plump cows. And Pharaoh awoke. ⁵ And he fell asleep and dreamed a second time. And behold, seven ears of grain, plump and good, were growing on one stalk. ⁶ And behold, after them sprouted seven ears, thin and ^(A)blighted by the east wind. ⁷ And the thin ears swallowed up the seven plump, full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream. ⁸ So in the morning ^(B)his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all the ^(C)magicians of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was none who could interpret them to Pharaoh.

⁹ Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “I remember my offenses today. ¹⁰ When Pharaoh was ^(D)angry with his servants ^(E)and put me and the chief baker in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, ^11 (F)we dreamed on the same night, he and I, each having a dream with its own interpretation. ¹² A young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. When we told him, ^(G)he interpreted our dreams to us, giving an interpretation to each man according to his dream. ¹³ And ^(H)as he interpreted to us, so it came about. I was restored to my office, and the baker was hanged.”

^14 (I)Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they ^(J)quickly brought him ^(K)out of the pit. And when he had shaved himself and changed his clothes, he came in before Pharaoh. ¹⁵ And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. ^(L)I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.” ¹⁶ Joseph answered Pharaoh, ^(M)“It is not in me; ^(N)God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.”^{[a] 17} Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Behold, ^(O)in my dream I was standing on the banks of the Nile.

The Death of Eli

¹² A man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh the same day, ^(A)with his clothes torn and with dirt on his head. ¹³ When he arrived, ^(B)Eli was sitting on his seat by the road watching, for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city and told the news, all the city cried out. ¹⁴ When Eli heard the sound of the outcry, he said, “What is this uproar?” Then the man hurried and came and told Eli. ¹⁵ Now Eli was ninety-eight years old ^(C)and his eyes were set so that he could not see. ¹⁶ And the man said to Eli, “I am he who has come from the battle; I fled from the battle today.” And he said, ^(D)“How did it go, my son?” ¹⁷ He who brought the news answered and said, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has also been a great defeat among the people. Your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured.” ¹⁸ As soon as he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell over backward ^(E)from his seat by the side of the gate, and his neck was broken and he died, for the man was old and heavy. He had judged Israel forty years.

¹⁹ Now his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant, about to give birth. And when she heard the news that the ark of God was captured, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed and gave birth, for her pains came upon her. ²⁰ And about the time of her death the women attending her said to her, ^(F)“Do not be afraid, for you have borne a son.” But she did not answer or pay attention. ²¹ And she named the child ^(G)Ichabod, saying, ^(H)“The glory has departed^[a] from Israel!” because ^(I)the ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband. ²² And she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, ^(J)for the ark of God has been captured.”

The Philistines and the Ark

5 When the Philistines captured the ark of God, they brought it from ^(K)Ebenezer to ^(L)Ashdod. ² Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon and set it up beside ^(M)Dagon. ³ And when the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, behold, ^(N)Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and put him back in his place. ⁴ But when they rose early on the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord, ^(O)and the head of Dagon and both his hands were lying cut off on the threshold. Only the trunk of Dagon was left to him. ⁵ This is why the priests of Dagon and all who enter the house of Dagon ^(P)do not tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.

^6 (Q)The hand of the Lord was heavy against the people of Ashdod, and he terrified and afflicted them with ^(R)tumors, both Ashdod and its territory. ⁷ And when the men of Ashdod saw how things were, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for his hand is hard against us and against Dagon our god.” ⁸ So they sent and gathered together all ^(S)the lords of the Philistines and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” They answered, “Let the ark of the God of Israel be brought around to Gath.” So they brought the ark of the God of Israel there. ⁹ But after they had brought it around, ^(T)the hand of the Lord was against the city, causing a very great panic, and he afflicted the men of the city, both young and old, so that ^(U)tumors broke out on them. ¹⁰ So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. But as soon as the ark of God came to Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out, “They have brought around to us the ark of the God of Israel to kill us and our people.” ^11 (V)They sent therefore and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it return to its own place, that it may not kill us and our people.” For there was a deathly panic throughout the whole city. ^(W)The hand of God was very heavy there. ¹² The men who did not die were struck with ^(X)tumors, and the cry of the city went up to heaven.

Evil and Oppression

Judgment and Redemption

²¹ “And as for me, ^(Y)this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord: “My Spirit that is upon you, ^(Z)and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth of your offspring, or out of the mouth of your children's offspring,” says the Lord, “from this time forth and forevermore.”

^8 (A)But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are ^(B)all brothers.^{[a] 9 (C)}And call no man your father on earth, for ^(D)you have one Father, who is in heaven. ¹⁰ Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, ^(E)the Christ. ^11 (F)The greatest among you shall be your servant. ^12 (G)Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

¹³ “But woe ^(H)to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you ^(I)shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. For you ^(J)neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.^{[b] 15} Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single ^(K)proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a ^(L)child of ^(M)hell^[c] as yourselves.

¹⁶ “Woe to ^(N)you, ^(O)blind guides, who say, ^(P)‘If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ ¹⁷ You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or ^(Q)the temple that has made the gold sacred?

²⁴ After some days Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, and he sent for Paul and heard him speak about ^(A)faith ^(B)in Christ Jesus. ²⁵ And as he reasoned ^(C)about righteousness and self-control and the coming judgment, Felix was alarmed and said, “Go away for the present. ^(D)When I get an opportunity I will summon you.” ²⁶ At the same time he hoped ^(E)that money would be given him by Paul. So he sent for him often and conversed with him. ²⁷ When two years had elapsed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius ^(F)Festus. And ^(G)desiring to do the Jews a favor, ^(H)Felix left Paul in prison.