Jacob Blesses Ephraim and Manasseh

48 After this, Joseph was told, “Behold, your father is ill.” So he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. ² And it was told to Jacob, “Your son Joseph has come to you.” Then Israel summoned his strength and sat up in bed. ³ And Jacob said to Joseph, ^(A)“God Almighty^[a] appeared to me at ^(B)Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, ⁴ and said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a company of peoples and will give this land to your offspring after you ^(C)for an everlasting possession.’ ⁵ And now your ^(D)two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, ^(E)are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon are. ⁶ And the children that you fathered after them shall be yours. They shall be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance. ⁷ As for me, when I came from Paddan, to my sorrow ^(F)Rachel died in the land of Canaan on the way, when there was still some distance^[b] to go to Ephrath, and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).”

⁸ When Israel saw Joseph's sons, he said, “Who are these?” ⁹ Joseph said to his father, ^(G)“They are my sons, whom God has given me here.” And he said, “Bring them to me, please, that ^(H)I may bless them.”

David Anointed King

16 The Lord said to Samuel, ^(A)“How long will you grieve over Saul, since ^(B)I have rejected him from being king over Israel? ^(C)Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, ^(D)for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” ² And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ^(E)‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ ³ And invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. ^(F)And you shall anoint for me him whom I declare to you.” ⁴ Samuel did what the Lord commanded and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city ^(G)came to meet him trembling and said, ^(H)“Do you come peaceably?” ⁵ And he said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. ^(I)Consecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

⁶ When they came, he looked on ^(J)Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord's anointed is before him.” ⁷ But the Lord said to Samuel, ^(K)“Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, ^(L)but the Lord looks on the heart.” ⁸ Then Jesse called ^(M)Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” ⁹ Then Jesse made ^(N)Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” ¹⁰ And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” ¹¹ Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, ^(O)“There remains yet the youngest,^[a] but behold, he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, ^(P)“Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here.” ¹² And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ^(Q)ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the Lord said, ^(R)“Arise, anoint him, for this is he.” ¹³ Then Samuel took ^(S)the horn of oil ^(T)and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. ^(U)And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.

³ For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem:

Disaster from the North

⁵ Declare in Judah, and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say,

⁹ “In that day, declares the Lord, ^(T)courage shall fail both king and officials. The priests shall be appalled and the prophets astounded.” ¹⁰ Then I said, “Ah, Lord God, ^(U)surely you have utterly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘It shall be well with you,’ whereas the sword has reached their very life.”

¹¹ At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, “A hot wind from ^(V)the bare heights in the desert toward the daughter of my people, not to winnow or cleanse, ¹² a wind too full for this comes for me. Now it is I who ^(W)speak in judgment upon them.”

The Fool Says, There Is No God

To the choirmaster. Of David.

Who Shall Dwell on Your Holy Hill?

A Psalm of David.

³¹ Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, ‘I will ^(A)strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ ³² But after I am raised up, ^(B)I will go before you to Galilee.” ^33 (C)Peter answered him, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.” ^34 (D)Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, ^(E)before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” ^35 (F)Peter said to him, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!” And all the disciples said the same.

Faith Without Works Is Dead

¹⁴ What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith ^(A)but does not have works? Can that faith save him? ^15 (B)If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, ^16 (C)and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good^[a] is that? ¹⁷ So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

¹⁸ But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith ^(D)apart from your works, and I will show you my faith ^(E)by my works. ^19 (F)You believe that God is one; you do well. Even ^(G)the demons believe—and shudder! ²⁰ Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? ^21 (H)Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? ²² You see that ^(I)faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed ^(J)by his works; ²³ and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, ^(K)“Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a ^(L)friend of God. ²⁴ You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. ²⁵ And in the same way was not also ^(M)Rahab the prostitute justified by works ^(N)when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? ²⁶ For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.