Joseph and the Famine

¹³ There was no food, however, in the whole region because the famine was severe; both Egypt and Canaan wasted away because of the famine.^{(A) 14} Joseph collected all the money that was to be found in Egypt and Canaan in payment for the grain they were buying,^(B) and he brought it to Pharaoh’s palace.^{(C) 15} When the money of the people of Egypt and Canaan was gone,^(D) all Egypt came to Joseph^(E) and said, “Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes?^(F) Our money is all gone.”

¹⁶ “Then bring your livestock,^(G)” said Joseph. “I will sell you food in exchange for your livestock, since your money is gone.^(H)” ¹⁷ So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses,^(I) their sheep and goats, their cattle and donkeys.^(J) And he brought them through that year with food in exchange for all their livestock.

¹⁸ When that year was over, they came to him the following year and said, “We cannot hide from our lord the fact that since our money is gone^(K) and our livestock belongs to you,^(L) there is nothing left for our lord except our bodies and our land. ¹⁹ Why should we perish before your eyes^(M)—we and our land as well? Buy us and our land in exchange for food,^(N) and we with our land will be in bondage to Pharaoh.^(O) Give us seed so that we may live and not die,^(P) and that the land may not become desolate.”

²⁰ So Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. The Egyptians, one and all, sold their fields, because the famine was too severe^(Q) for them. The land became Pharaoh’s, ²¹ and Joseph reduced the people to servitude,^[a](R) from one end of Egypt to the other. ²² However, he did not buy the land of the priests,^(S) because they received a regular allotment from Pharaoh and had food enough from the allotment^(T) Pharaoh gave them. That is why they did not sell their land.

²³ Joseph said to the people, “Now that I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh, here is seed^(U) for you so you can plant the ground.^{(V) 24} But when the crop comes in, give a fifth^(W) of it to Pharaoh. The other four-fifths you may keep as seed for the fields and as food for yourselves and your households and your children.”

²⁵ “You have saved our lives,” they said. “May we find favor in the eyes of our lord;^(X) we will be in bondage to Pharaoh.”^(Y)

²⁶ So Joseph established it as a law concerning land in Egypt—still in force today—that a fifth^(Z) of the produce belongs to Pharaoh. It was only the land of the priests that did not become Pharaoh’s.^(AA)

The Lord Rejects Saul as King

15 Samuel said to Saul, “I am the one the Lord sent to anoint^(A) you king over his people Israel; so listen now to the message from the Lord. ² This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘I will punish the Amalekites^(B) for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. ³ Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally^(C) destroy^[a] all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.’”

⁴ So Saul summoned the men and mustered them at Telaim—two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand from Judah. ⁵ Saul went to the city of Amalek and set an ambush in the ravine. ⁶ Then he said to the Kenites,^(D) “Go away, leave the Amalekites so that I do not destroy you along with them; for you showed kindness to all the Israelites when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites moved away from the Amalekites.

⁷ Then Saul attacked the Amalekites^(E) all the way from Havilah to Shur,^(F) near the eastern border of Egypt. ⁸ He took Agag^(G) king of the Amalekites alive,^(H) and all his people he totally destroyed with the sword. ⁹ But Saul and the army spared^(I) Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves^[b] and lambs—everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed.

Psalm 11

For the director of music. Of David.

Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus^(A)

¹⁴ Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot^(B)—went to the chief priests ¹⁵ and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver.^{(C) 16} From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.

The Last Supper^(D)(E)(F)

¹⁷ On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread,^(G) the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”^(H)

¹⁸ He replied, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My appointed time^(I) is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.’” ¹⁹ So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover.

²⁰ When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve. ²¹ And while they were eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.”^(J)

²² They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, “Surely you don’t mean me, Lord?”

²³ Jesus replied, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me.^{(K) 24} The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him.^(L) But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”

²⁵ Then Judas, the one who would betray him,^(M) said, “Surely you don’t mean me, Rabbi?”^(N)

Jesus answered, “You have said so.”

Listening and Doing

¹⁹ My dear brothers and sisters,^(A) take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak^(B) and slow to become angry, ²⁰ because human anger^(C) does not produce the righteousness that God desires. ²¹ Therefore, get rid of^(D) all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you,^(E) which can save you.

²² Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.^{(F) 23} Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror ²⁴ and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. ²⁵ But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom,^(G) and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.^(H)

²⁶ Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues^(I) deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. ²⁷ Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after^(J) orphans and widows^(K) in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.^(L)