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Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife
39 Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt.[a] An Egyptian named Potiphar, an official of Pharaoh and the captain of the guard,[b] purchased him from[c] the Ishmaelites who had brought him there. 2 The Lord was with Joseph. He was successful[d] and lived[e] in the household of his Egyptian master. 3 His master observed that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made everything he was doing successful.[f] 4 So Joseph found favor in his sight and became his personal attendant.[g] Potiphar appointed Joseph[h] overseer of his household and put him in charge[i] of everything he owned. 5 From the time[j] Potiphar[k] appointed him over his household and over all that he owned, the Lord blessed[l] the Egyptian’s household for Joseph’s sake. The blessing of the Lord was on everything that he had, both[m] in his house and in his fields.[n] 6 So Potiphar[o] left[p] everything he had in Joseph’s care;[q] he gave no thought[r] to anything except the food he ate.[s]
Now Joseph was well built and good-looking.[t] 7 Soon after these things, his master’s wife took notice of[u] Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me.”[v] 8 But he refused, saying[w] to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not give any thought[x] to his household with me here,[y] and everything that he owns he has put into my care.[z] 9 There is no one greater in this household than I am. He has withheld nothing from me except you because you are his wife. So how could I do[aa] such a great evil and sin against God?” 10 Even though she continued to speak[ab] to Joseph day after day, he did not respond[ac] to her invitation to go to bed with her.[ad]
11 One day[ae] he went into the house to do his work when none of the household servants[af] were there in the house. 12 She grabbed him by his outer garment, saying, “Come to bed[ag] with me!” But he left his outer garment in her hand and ran[ah] outside.[ai] 13 When she saw that he had left his outer garment in her hand and had run outside, 14 she called for her household servants and said to them, “See, my husband brought[aj] in a Hebrew man[ak] to us to humiliate us.[al] He tried to go to bed with me,[am] but I screamed loudly.[an] 15 When he heard me raise[ao] my voice and scream, he left his outer garment beside me and ran outside.”
16 So she laid his outer garment beside her until his master came home. 17 This is what she said to him:[ap] “That Hebrew slave[aq] you brought to us tried to humiliate me,[ar] 18 but when I raised my voice and screamed, he left his outer garment and ran outside.”
19 When his master heard his wife say,[as] “This is the way[at] your slave treated me,”[au] he became furious.[av] 20 Joseph’s master took him and threw him into the prison,[aw] the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. So he was there in the prison.[ax]
21 But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him kindness.[ay] He granted him favor in the sight of the prison warden.[az] 22 The warden put all the prisoners under Joseph’s care. He was in charge of whatever they were doing.[ba] 23 The warden did not concern himself[bb] with anything that was in Joseph’s[bc] care because the Lord was with him and whatever he was doing the Lord was making successful.
The Cupbearer and the Baker
40 After these things happened, the cupbearer[bd] to the king of Egypt and the royal baker[be] offended[bf] their master, the king of Egypt. 2 Pharaoh was enraged with his two officials,[bg] the cupbearer and the baker, 3 so he imprisoned them in the house of the captain of the guard in the same facility where Joseph was confined. 4 The captain of the guard appointed Joseph to be their attendant, and he served them.[bh]
They spent some time in custody.[bi] 5 Both of them, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, had a dream[bj] the same night.[bk] Each man’s dream had its own meaning.[bl] 6 When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were looking depressed.[bm] 7 So he asked Pharaoh’s officials, who were with him in custody in his master’s house, “Why do you look so sad today?”[bn] 8 They told him, “We both had dreams,[bo] but there is no one to interpret them.” Joseph responded, “Don’t interpretations belong to God? Tell them[bp] to me.”
9 So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph:[bq] “In my dream, there was a vine in front of me. 10 On the vine there were three branches. As it budded, its blossoms opened and its clusters ripened into grapes. 11 Now Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, so I took the grapes, squeezed them into his[br] cup, and put the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.”[bs]
12 “This is its meaning,” Joseph said to him. “The three branches represent[bt] three days. 13 In three more days Pharaoh will reinstate you[bu] and restore you to your office. You will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand, just as you did before[bv] when you were cupbearer. 14 But remember me[bw] when it goes well for you, and show[bx] me kindness.[by] Make mention[bz] of me to Pharaoh and bring me out of this prison,[ca] 15 for I really was kidnapped[cb] from the land of the Hebrews and I have done nothing wrong here for which they should put me in a dungeon.”
16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation of the first dream was favorable,[cc] he said to Joseph, “I also appeared in my dream and there were three baskets of white bread[cd] on my head. 17 In the top basket there were baked goods of every kind for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them from the basket that was on my head.”
18 Joseph replied, “This is its meaning: The three baskets represent[ce] three days. 19 In three more days Pharaoh will decapitate you[cf] and impale you on a pole. Then the birds will eat your flesh from you.”
20 On the third day it was Pharaoh’s birthday, so he gave a feast for all his servants. He “lifted up”[cg] the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker in the midst of his servants. 21 He restored the chief cupbearer to his former position[ch] so that he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand, 22 but the chief baker he impaled, just as Joseph had predicted.[ci] 23 But the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph—he forgot him.[cj]
Joseph’s Rise to Power
41 At the end of two full years[ck] Pharaoh had a dream.[cl] As he was standing by the Nile, 2 seven fine-looking, fat cows were coming up out of the Nile,[cm] and they grazed in the reeds. 3 Then seven bad-looking, thin cows were coming up after them from the Nile,[cn] and they stood beside the other cows at the edge of the river.[co] 4 The bad-looking, thin cows ate the seven fine-looking, fat cows. Then Pharaoh woke up.
5 Then he fell asleep again and had a second dream: There were seven heads of grain growing[cp] on one stalk, healthy[cq] and good. 6 Then[cr] seven heads of grain, thin and burned by the east wind, were sprouting up after them. 7 The thin heads swallowed up the seven healthy and full heads. Then Pharaoh woke up and realized it was a dream.[cs]
8 In the morning he[ct] was troubled, so he called for[cu] all the diviner-priests[cv] of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams,[cw] but no one could interpret[cx] them for him.[cy] 9 Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “Today I recall my failures.[cz] 10 Pharaoh was enraged with his servants, and he put me in prison in the house of the captain of the guards—me and the chief baker. 11 We each had a dream one night; each of us had a dream with its own meaning.[da] 12 Now a young man, a Hebrew, a servant[db] of the captain of the guards,[dc] was with us there. We told him our dreams,[dd] and he interpreted the meaning of each of our respective dreams for us.[de] 13 It happened just as he had said[df] to us—Pharaoh[dg] restored me to my office, but he impaled the baker.”[dh]
14 Then Pharaoh summoned[di] Joseph. So they brought him quickly out of the dungeon; he shaved himself, changed his clothes, and came before Pharaoh. 15 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream,[dj] and there is no one who can interpret[dk] it. But I have heard about you, that[dl] you can interpret dreams.”[dm] 16 Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “It is not within my power,[dn] but God will speak concerning[do] the welfare of Pharaoh.”[dp]
Jesus’ True Family
46 While Jesus[a] was still speaking to the crowds,[b] his mother and brothers[c] came and stood outside, asking[d] to speak to him. 47 [e] Someone[f] told him, “Look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside wanting[g] to speak to you.” 48 To the one who had said this, Jesus[h] replied,[i] “Who is my mother and who are my brothers?” 49 And pointing[j] toward his disciples he said, “Here[k] are my mother and my brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is[l] my brother and sister and mother.”
The Parable of the Sower
13 On that day after Jesus went out of the house, he sat by the lake.[m] 2 And such a large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat[n] to sit while[o] the whole crowd stood on the shore. 3 He[p] told them many things in parables,[q] saying: “Listen![r] A sower went out to sow.[s] 4 And as he sowed, some seeds[t] fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Other[u] seeds fell on rocky ground[v] where they did not have much soil. They sprang up quickly because the soil was not deep.[w] 6 But when the sun came up, they were scorched, and because they did not have sufficient root, they withered. 7 Other seeds fell among the thorns,[x] and they grew up and choked them.[y] 8 But other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty. 9 The one who has ears had better listen!”[z]
10 Then[aa] the disciples came to him and said, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11 He replied,[ab] “You have been given[ac] the opportunity to know[ad] the secrets[ae] of the kingdom of heaven, but they have not. 12 For whoever has will be given more, and will have an abundance. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.[af] 13 For this reason I speak to them in parables: Although they see they do not see, and although they hear they do not hear nor do they understand. 14 And concerning them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:
‘You will listen carefully[ag] yet will never understand,
you will look closely[ah] yet will never comprehend.
15 For the heart of this people has become dull;
they are hard of hearing,
and they have shut their eyes,
so that they would not see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.’[ai]
16 “But your eyes are blessed[aj] because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17 For I tell you the truth,[ak] many prophets and righteous people longed to see[al] what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
18 “So listen to the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one[am] comes and snatches what was sown in his heart;[an] this is the seed sown along the path. 20 The[ao] seed sown on rocky ground[ap] is the person who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. 21 But he has no root in himself and does not endure;[aq] when[ar] trouble or persecution comes because of the word, immediately he falls away. 22 The[as] seed sown among thorns is the person who hears the word, but worldly cares and the seductiveness of wealth[at] choke the word,[au] so it produces nothing. 23 But as for the seed sown on good soil, this is the person who hears the word and understands. He bears fruit, yielding a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown.”[av]
Psalm 17[a]
A prayer of David.
17 Lord, consider my just cause.[b]
Pay attention to my cry for help.
Listen to the prayer
I sincerely offer.[c]
2 Make a just decision on my behalf.[d]
Decide what is right.[e]
3 You have scrutinized my inner motives;[f]
you have examined me during the night.[g]
You have carefully evaluated me, but you find no sin.
I am determined I will say nothing sinful.[h]
4 As for the actions of people[i]—
just as you have commanded,
I have not followed in the footsteps of violent men.[j]
5 I carefully obey your commands;[k]
I do not deviate from them.[l]
6 I call to you because you will answer me, O God.
Listen to me![m]
Hear what I say![n]
7 Accomplish awesome, faithful deeds,[o]
you who powerfully deliver those who look to you for protection from their enemies.[p]
8 Protect me as you would protect the pupil of your eye.[q]
Hide me in the shadow of your wings.[r]
9 Protect me from[s] the wicked men who attack[t] me,
my enemies who crowd around me for the kill.[u]
10 They are calloused;[v]
they speak arrogantly.[w]
11 They attack me, now they surround me;[x]
they intend to throw me to the ground.[y]
12 He[z] is like a lion[aa] that wants to tear its prey to bits,[ab]
like a young lion crouching[ac] in hidden places.
13 Rise up, Lord!
Confront him.[ad] Knock him down.[ae]
Use your sword to rescue me from the wicked man.[af]
14 Lord, use your power to deliver me from these murderers,[ag]
from the murderers of this world.[ah]
They enjoy prosperity;[ai]
you overwhelm them with the riches they desire.[aj]
They have many children,
and leave their wealth to their offspring.[ak]
15 As for me, because I am innocent I will see your face;[al]
when I awake you will reveal yourself to me.[am]
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