Pharaoh’s Dreams

41 When two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream:^(A) He was standing by the Nile,^{(B) 2} when out of the river there came up seven cows, sleek and fat,^(C) and they grazed among the reeds.^{(D) 3} After them, seven other cows, ugly and gaunt, came up out of the Nile and stood beside those on the riverbank. ⁴ And the cows that were ugly and gaunt ate up the seven sleek, fat cows. Then Pharaoh woke up.^(E)

⁵ He fell asleep again and had a second dream: Seven heads of grain,^(F) healthy and good, were growing on a single stalk. ⁶ After them, seven other heads of grain sprouted—thin and scorched by the east wind.^{(G) 7} The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven healthy, full heads. Then Pharaoh woke up;^(H) it had been a dream.

⁸ In the morning his mind was troubled,^(I) so he sent for all the magicians^(J) and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him.^(K)

⁹ Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “Today I am reminded of my shortcomings.^{(L) 10} Pharaoh was once angry with his servants,^(M) and he imprisoned me and the chief baker in the house of the captain of the guard.^{(N) 11} Each of us had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own.^{(O) 12} Now a young Hebrew^(P) was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard.^(Q) We told him our dreams, and he interpreted them for us, giving each man the interpretation of his dream.^{(R) 13} And things turned out exactly as he interpreted them to us: I was restored to my position, and the other man was impaled.^(S)”

¹⁴ So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was quickly brought from the dungeon.^(T) When he had shaved^(U) and changed his clothes,^(V) he came before Pharaoh.

¹⁵ Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, and no one can interpret it.^(W) But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.”^(X)

¹⁶ “I cannot do it,” Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.”^(Y)

¹⁷ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile,^(Z)

Death of Eli

¹² That same day a Benjamite^(A) ran from the battle line and went to Shiloh with his clothes torn and dust^(B) on his head. ¹³ When he arrived, there was Eli^(C) sitting on his chair by the side of the road, watching, because his heart feared for the ark of God. When the man entered the town and told what had happened, the whole town sent up a cry.

¹⁴ Eli heard the outcry and asked, “What is the meaning of this uproar?”

The man hurried over to Eli, ¹⁵ who was ninety-eight years old and whose eyes^(D) had failed so that he could not see. ¹⁶ He told Eli, “I have just come from the battle line; I fled from it this very day.”

Eli asked, “What happened, my son?”

¹⁷ The man who brought the news replied, “Israel fled before the Philistines, and the army has suffered heavy losses. Also your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead,^(E) and the ark of God has been captured.”^(F)

¹⁸ When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell backward off his chair by the side of the gate. His neck was broken and he died, for he was an old man, and he was heavy. He had led^[a](G) Israel forty years.^(H)

¹⁹ His daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and near the time of delivery. When she heard the news that the ark of God had been captured and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she went into labor and gave birth, but was overcome by her labor pains. ²⁰ As she was dying, the women attending her said, “Don’t despair; you have given birth to a son.” But she did not respond or pay any attention.

²¹ She named the boy Ichabod,^[b](I) saying, “The Glory^(J) has departed from Israel”—because of the capture of the ark of God and the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband. ²² She said, “The Glory^(K) has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.”^(L)

The Ark in Ashdod and Ekron

5 After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer^(M) to Ashdod.^{(N) 2} Then they carried the ark into Dagon’s temple and set it beside Dagon.^{(O) 3} When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen^(P) on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord! They took Dagon and put him back in his place. ⁴ But the following morning when they rose, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord! His head and hands had been broken^(Q) off and were lying on the threshold; only his body remained. ⁵ That is why to this day neither the priests of Dagon nor any others who enter Dagon’s temple at Ashdod step on the threshold.^(R)

⁶ The Lord’s hand^(S) was heavy on the people of Ashdod and its vicinity; he brought devastation^(T) on them and afflicted them with tumors.^{[c](U) 7} When the people of Ashdod saw what was happening, they said, “The ark of the god of Israel must not stay here with us, because his hand is heavy on us and on Dagon our god.” ⁸ So they called together all the rulers^(V) of the Philistines and asked them, “What shall we do with the ark of the god of Israel?”

They answered, “Have the ark of the god of Israel moved to Gath.^(W)” So they moved the ark of the God of Israel.

⁹ But after they had moved it, the Lord’s hand was against that city, throwing it into a great panic.^(X) He afflicted the people of the city, both young and old, with an outbreak of tumors.^{[d] 10} So they sent the ark of God to Ekron.^(Y)

As the ark of God was entering Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out, “They have brought the ark of the god of Israel around to us to kill us and our people.” ¹¹ So they called together all the rulers^(Z) of the Philistines and said, “Send the ark of the god of Israel away; let it go back to its own place, or it^[e] will kill us and our people.” For death had filled the city with panic; God’s hand was very heavy on it. ¹² Those who did not die^(AA) were afflicted with tumors, and the outcry of the city went up to heaven.

Sin, Confession and Redemption

²¹ “As for me, this is my covenant^(BF) with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit,^(BG) who is on you, will not depart from you,^(BH) and my words that I have put in your mouth^(BI) will always be on your lips, on the lips of your children and on the lips of their descendants—from this time on and forever,” says the Lord.

⁸ “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. ⁹ And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father,^(A) and he is in heaven. ¹⁰ Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah. ¹¹ The greatest among you will be your servant.^{(B) 12} For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.^(C)

Seven Woes on the Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees

¹³ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!^(D) You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.^{(E) [14] [a]}

¹⁵ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert,^(F) and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell^(G) as you are.

¹⁶ “Woe to you, blind guides!^(H) You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that oath.’^{(I) 17} You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred?^(J)

²⁴ Several days later Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish. He sent for Paul and listened to him as he spoke about faith in Christ Jesus.^{(A) 25} As Paul talked about righteousness, self-control^(B) and the judgment^(C) to come, Felix was afraid^(D) and said, “That’s enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you.” ²⁶ At the same time he was hoping that Paul would offer him a bribe, so he sent for him frequently and talked with him.

²⁷ When two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus,^(E) but because Felix wanted to grant a favor to the Jews,^(F) he left Paul in prison.^(G)