Jacob and Joseph Reunited

²⁸ He had sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to show the way before him in Goshen, and they came ^(A)into the land of Goshen. ²⁹ Then Joseph prepared his chariot and went up to meet Israel his father in Goshen. He presented himself to him and ^(B)fell on his neck and wept on his neck a good while. ³⁰ Israel said to Joseph, ^(C)“Now let me die, since I have seen your face and know that you are still alive.” ³¹ Joseph said to his brothers and to his father's household, ^(D)“I will go up and tell Pharaoh and will say to him, ‘My brothers and my father's household, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me. ^32 (E)And the men are shepherds, for they have been keepers of livestock, and they have brought their flocks and their herds and all that they have.’ ³³ When Pharaoh calls you and says, ^(F)‘What is your occupation?’ ³⁴ you shall say, ^(G)‘Your servants have been keepers of livestock ^(H)from our youth even until now, both we and our fathers,’ in order that you may dwell ^(I)in the land of Goshen, for every shepherd is ^(J)an abomination to the Egyptians.”

Jacob's Family Settles in Goshen

47 So Joseph ^(K)went in and told Pharaoh, “My father and my brothers, with their flocks and herds and all that they possess, have come from the land of Canaan. They are now in ^(L)the land of Goshen.” ² And from among his brothers he took five men and ^(M)presented them to Pharaoh. ³ Pharaoh said to his brothers, ^(N)“What is your occupation?” And they said to Pharaoh, ^(O)“Your servants are shepherds, as our fathers were.” ⁴ They said to Pharaoh, ^(P)“We have come to sojourn in the land, for there is no pasture for your servants' flocks, for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. And now, please let your servants dwell ^(Q)in the land of Goshen.” ⁵ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. ⁶ The land of Egypt is before you. Settle your father and your brothers ^(R)in the best of the land. ^(S)Let them settle in the land of Goshen, and if you know any ^(T)able men among them, put them in charge of my livestock.”

⁷ Then Joseph brought in Jacob his father and stood him before Pharaoh, ^(U)and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. ⁸ And Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How many are the days of the years of your life?” ⁹ And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my ^(V)sojourning are 130 years. ^(W)Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and ^(X)they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their ^(Y)sojourning.” ¹⁰ And Jacob ^(Z)blessed Pharaoh and went out from the presence of Pharaoh. ¹¹ Then Joseph settled his father and his brothers and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of ^(AA)Rameses, ^(AB)as Pharaoh had commanded. ¹² And Joseph ^(AC)provided his father, his brothers, and all his father's household with food, according to the number of their dependents.

³⁶ Then Saul said, “Let us go down after the Philistines by night and plunder them until the morning light; let us not leave a man of them.” And they said, “Do whatever seems good to you.” But ^(A)the priest said, “Let us draw near to God here.” ³⁷ And Saul inquired of God, “Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will you give them into the hand of Israel?” ^(B)But he did not answer him that day. ³⁸ And Saul said, “Come here, all you leaders of the people, and know and see how this sin has arisen today. ³⁹ For ^(C)as the Lord lives who saves Israel, ^(D)though it be in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die.” But there was not a man among all the people who answered him. ⁴⁰ Then he said to all Israel, “You shall be on one side, and I and Jonathan my son will be on the other side.” And the people said to Saul, “Do what seems good to you.” ⁴¹ Therefore Saul said, “O Lord God of Israel, why have you not answered your servant this day? If this guilt is in me or in Jonathan my son, O Lord, God of Israel, give Urim. But if this guilt is in your people Israel, give Thummim.”^{[a] (E)}And Jonathan and Saul were taken, but the people escaped. ⁴² Then Saul said, ^(F)“Cast the lot between me and my son Jonathan.” And Jonathan was taken.

⁴³ Then Saul said to Jonathan, ^(G)“Tell me what you have done.” And Jonathan told him, ^(H)“I tasted a little honey with the tip of the staff that was in my hand. Here I am; I will die.” ⁴⁴ And Saul said, ^(I)“God do so to me and more also; ^(J)you shall surely die, Jonathan.” ⁴⁵ Then the people said to Saul, “Shall Jonathan die, who has worked this great salvation in Israel? Far from it! ^(K)As the Lord lives, ^(L)there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground, for he has worked with God this day.” So the people ransomed Jonathan, so that he did not die. ⁴⁶ Then Saul went up from pursuing the Philistines, and the Philistines went to their own place.

Saul Fights Israel's Enemies

⁴⁷ When Saul had taken the kingship over Israel, he fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, ^(M)against the Ammonites, against Edom, against the kings of ^(N)Zobah, and against the Philistines. Wherever he turned he routed them. ⁴⁸ And he did valiantly ^(O)and struck the Amalekites and delivered Israel out of the hands of those who plundered them.

^49 (P)Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan, Ishvi, and Malchi-shua. And the names of his two daughters were these: the name of the firstborn was ^(Q)Merab, and the name of the younger Michal. ⁵⁰ And the name of Saul's wife was Ahinoam the daughter of Ahimaaz. ^(R)And the name of the commander of his army was Abner the son of Ner, ^(S)Saul's uncle. ^51 (T)Kish was the father of Saul, and Ner the father of Abner was the son of ^(U)Abiel.

⁵² There was hard fighting against the Philistines all the days of Saul. And when Saul saw any strong man, or any valiant man, ^(V)he attached him to himself.

Why Do You Hide Yourself?

The Plot to Kill Jesus

26 When Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said to his disciples, ^2 (A)“You know that after two days ^(B)the Passover is coming, and ^(C)the Son of Man ^(D)will be delivered up to be crucified.”

^3 (E)Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in ^(F)the palace of the high priest, whose name was ^(G)Caiaphas, ^4 (H)and plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him. ⁵ But they said, “Not during the feast, ^(I)lest there be an uproar among the people.”

Jesus Anointed at Bethany

^6 (J)Now when Jesus was at ^(K)Bethany in the house of Simon the leper,^{[a] 7} a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he reclined at table. ⁸ And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste? ⁹ For this could have been sold for a large sum and ^(L)given to the poor.” ¹⁰ But ^(M)Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me. ¹¹ For ^(N)you always have the poor with you, but ^(O)you will not always have me. ¹² In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it ^(P)to prepare me for burial. ¹³ Truly, I say to you, wherever ^(Q)this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told ^(R)in memory of her.”

Greeting

1 ^(A)James, a servant^[a] of God and ^(B)of the Lord Jesus Christ,

To ^(C)the twelve tribes in ^(D)the Dispersion:

Greetings.

Testing of Your Faith

^2 (E)Count it all joy, my brothers,^[b] when you meet trials ^(F)of various kinds, ³ for you know that ^(G)the testing of your faith ^(H)produces steadfastness. ⁴ And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be ^(I)perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

^5 (J)If any of you lacks wisdom, ^(K)let him ask God, ^(L)who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. ⁶ But ^(M)let him ask in faith, ^(N)with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like ^(O)a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. ⁷ For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; ^8 (P)he is a double-minded man, ^(Q)unstable in all his ways.

⁹ Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, ¹⁰ and ^(R)the rich in his humiliation, because ^(S)like a flower of the grass^[c] he will pass away. ¹¹ For the sun rises with its scorching heat and ^(T)withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.

^12 (U)Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive ^(V)the crown of life, ^(W)which God has promised to those who love him. ¹³ Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. ¹⁴ But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. ¹⁵ Then desire ^(X)when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and ^(Y)sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

¹⁶ Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. ^17 (Z)Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from ^(AA)the Father of lights, ^(AB)with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.^{[d] 18 (AC)}Of his own will he ^(AD)brought us forth by the word of truth, ^(AE)that we should be a kind of ^(AF)firstfruits of his creatures.