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The Burials of Jacob and Joseph
50 Then Joseph hugged his father’s face.[a] He wept over him and kissed him. 2 Joseph instructed the physicians in his service[b] to embalm his father, so the physicians embalmed Israel. 3 They took forty days, for that is the full time needed for embalming.[c] The Egyptians mourned for[d] him seventy days.[e]
4 When the days of mourning[f] had passed, Joseph said to Pharaoh’s royal court,[g] “If I have found favor in your sight, please say to Pharaoh,[h] 5 ‘My father made me swear an oath. He said,[i] “I am about to die. Bury me[j] in my tomb that I dug for myself there in the land of Canaan.” Now let me go and bury my father; then I will return.’” 6 So Pharaoh said, “Go and bury your father, just as he made you swear to do.”[k]
7 So Joseph went up to bury his father; all Pharaoh’s officials went with him—the senior courtiers[l] of his household, all the senior officials of the land of Egypt, 8 all Joseph’s household, his brothers, and his father’s household. But they left their little children and their flocks and herds in the land of Goshen. 9 Chariots and horsemen also went up with him, so it was a very large entourage.[m]
10 When they came to the threshing floor of Atad[n] on the other side of the Jordan, they mourned there with very great and bitter sorrow.[o] There Joseph observed a seven-day period of mourning for his father. 11 When the Canaanites who lived in the land saw them mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a very sad occasion[p] for the Egyptians.” That is why its name was called[q] Abel Mizraim,[r] which is beyond the Jordan.
12 So the sons of Jacob did for him just as he had instructed them. 13 His sons carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, near Mamre. This is the field Abraham purchased as a burial plot from Ephron the Hittite. 14 After he buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, along with his brothers and all who had accompanied him to bury his father.
15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph bears a grudge and wants to repay[s] us in full[t] for all the harm[u] we did to him?” 16 So they sent word[v] to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave these instructions before he died: 17 ‘Tell Joseph this: Please forgive the sin of your brothers and the wrong they did when they treated you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sin of the servants of the God of your father.” When this message was reported to him, Joseph wept.[w] 18 Then his brothers also came and threw themselves down before him; they said, “Here we are; we are your slaves.” 19 But Joseph answered them, “Don’t be afraid. Am[x] I in the place of God? 20 As for you, you meant to harm me,[y] but God intended it for a good purpose, so he could preserve the lives of many people, as you can see this day.[z] 21 So now, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your little children.” Then he consoled them and spoke kindly to them.[aa]
22 Joseph lived in Egypt, along with his father’s family.[ab] Joseph lived 110 years. 23 Joseph saw the descendants of Ephraim to the third generation.[ac] He also saw the children of Makir the son of Manasseh; they were given special inheritance rights by Joseph.[ad]
24 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. But God will surely come to you[ae] and lead you up from this land to the land he swore on oath to give[af] to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” 25 Joseph made the sons of Israel swear an oath. He said, “God will surely come to you. Then you must carry my bones up from this place.” 26 So Joseph died at the age of 110. After[ag] they embalmed him, his body[ah] was placed in a coffin in Egypt.
Blessing during Bondage in Egypt
1 [ai] These[aj] are the names[ak] of the sons of Israel[al] who entered Egypt—each man with his household[am] entered with Jacob: 2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, 3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, 4 Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. 5 All the people[an] who were directly descended[ao] from Jacob numbered seventy.[ap] But Joseph was already in Egypt,[aq] 6 and in time[ar] Joseph[as] and his brothers and all that generation died. 7 The Israelites,[at] however,[au] were fruitful, increased greatly, multiplied, and became extremely strong,[av] so that the land was filled with them.
8 Then a new king,[aw] who did not know about[ax] Joseph, came to power[ay] over Egypt. 9 He said[az] to his people, “Look at[ba] the Israelite people, more numerous and stronger than we are! 10 Come, let’s deal wisely[bb] with them. Otherwise[bc] they will continue to multiply,[bd] and if[be] a war breaks out, they will ally themselves with[bf] our enemies and fight against us and leave[bg] the country.”
11 So they put foremen[bh] over the Israelites[bi] to oppress[bj] them with hard labor. As a result[bk] they built Pithom and Rameses[bl] as store cities for Pharaoh. 12 But the more the Egyptians[bm] oppressed them, the more they multiplied and spread.[bn] As a result the Egyptians loathed[bo] the Israelites, 13 and they[bp] made the Israelites serve rigorously.[bq] 14 They made their lives bitter[br] by[bs] hard service with mortar and bricks and by all kinds of service[bt] in the fields. Every kind of service the Israelites were required to give was rigorous.[bu]
15 The king of Egypt said[bv] to the Hebrew midwives,[bw] one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah,[bx] 16 [by] “When you assist[bz] the Hebrew women in childbirth, observe at the delivery:[ca] If it is a son, kill him,[cb] but if it is a daughter, she may live.”[cc] 17 But[cd] the midwives feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them; they let the boys live.[ce]
18 Then the king of Egypt summoned[cf] the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this and let the boys live?”[cg] 19 The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew[ch] women are not like the Egyptian women—for the Hebrew women[ci] are vigorous; they give birth before the midwife gets to them!”[cj] 20 So God treated the midwives well,[ck] and the people multiplied and became very strong. 21 And because the midwives feared God, he made[cl] households[cm] for them.
22 Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, “All sons[cn] that are born you must throw[co] into the river, but all daughters you may let live.”[cp]
The Birth of the Deliverer
2 [cq] A man from the household[cr] of Levi married[cs] a woman who was a descendant of Levi.[ct] 2 The woman became pregnant[cu] and gave birth to a son. When[cv] she saw that[cw] he was a healthy[cx] child, she hid him for three months. 3 But when she was no longer able to hide him, she took a papyrus basket[cy] for him and sealed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and set it among the reeds along the edge of the Nile.[cz] 4 His sister stationed herself[da] at a distance to find out[db] what would[dc] happen to him.
5 Then the daughter of Pharaoh[dd] came down to wash herself[de] by the Nile, while her attendants were walking alongside the river,[df] and she saw the basket among the reeds. She sent one of her attendants,[dg] took it,[dh] 6 opened it,[di] and saw the child[dj]—a boy,[dk] crying![dl]—and she felt compassion[dm] for him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.”
7 Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get[dn] a nursing woman[do] for you from the Hebrews, so that she may nurse[dp] the child for you?” 8 Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Yes, do so.”[dq] So the young girl[dr] went and got[ds] the child’s mother.[dt] 9 Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child[du] and nurse him for me, and I will pay your[dv] wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him.
10 When the child grew older[dw] she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son.[dx] She named him Moses, saying, “Because I drew him from the water.”[dy]
Peter’s Confession
13 When[a] Jesus came to the area of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples,[b] “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 They answered, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah,[c] and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered,[d] “You are the Christ,[e] the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him,[f] “You are blessed, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood[g] did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven! 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades[h] will not overpower it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will have been released in heaven.” 20 Then he instructed his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.[i]
First Prediction of Jesus’ Death and Resurrection
21 From that time on[j] Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer[k] many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and experts in the law,[l] and be killed, and on the third day be raised. 22 So Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him:[m] “God forbid,[n] Lord! This must not happen to you!” 23 But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, because you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but on man’s.”[o] 24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to become my follower,[p] he must deny[q] himself, take up his cross,[r] and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save his life[s] will lose it,[t] but whoever loses his life because of me[u] will find it. 26 For what does it benefit a person[v] if he gains the whole world but forfeits his life? Or what can a person give in exchange for his life? 27 For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.[w] 28 I tell you the truth,[x] there are some standing here who will not[y] experience[z] death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”[aa]
The Transfiguration
17 Six days later[ab] Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John the brother of James,[ac] and led them privately up a high mountain. 2 And he was transfigured before them.[ad] His[ae] face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. 3 Then Moses[af] and Elijah[ag] also appeared before them, talking with him. 4 So[ah] Peter said[ai] to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you want, I will make[aj] three shelters[ak]—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 5 While he was still speaking, a[al] bright cloud[am] overshadowed[an] them, and a voice from the cloud said,[ao] “This is my one dear Son,[ap] in whom I take great delight. Listen to him!”[aq] 6 When the disciples heard this, they were overwhelmed with fear and threw themselves down with their faces to the ground.[ar] 7 But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Do not be afraid.” 8 When[as] they looked up, all they saw was Jesus alone.
9 As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them,[at] “Do not tell anyone about the vision until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.”
Psalm 21[a]
For the music director, a psalm of David.
21 O Lord, the king rejoices in the strength you give;[b]
he takes great delight in the deliverance you provide.[c]
2 You grant[d] him his heart’s desire;
you do not refuse his request.[e] (Selah)
3 For you bring him[f] rich[g] blessings;[h]
you place a golden crown on his head.
4 He asked you to sustain his life,[i]
and you have granted him long life and an enduring dynasty.[j]
5 Your deliverance brings him great honor;[k]
you give him majestic splendor.[l]
6 For you grant him lasting blessings;
you give him great joy by allowing him into your presence.[m]
7 For the king trusts[n] in the Lord,
and because of the Most High’s[o] faithfulness he is not shaken.[p]
8 You[q] prevail over[r] all your enemies;
your power is too great for those who hate you.[s]
9 You burn them up like a fiery furnace[t] when you appear.[u]
The Lord angrily devours them;[v]
the fire consumes them.
10 You destroy their offspring[w] from the earth,
their descendants[x] from among the human race.[y]
11 Yes,[z] they intend to do you harm;[aa]
they dream up a scheme,[ab] but they do not succeed.[ac]
12 For you make them retreat[ad]
when you aim your arrows at them.[ae]
13 Rise up, O Lord, in strength![af]
We will sing and praise[ag] your power.
Admonition to Avoid Seduction to Evil[a]
5 My child,[b] be attentive to my wisdom,
pay close attention[c] to my understanding,
2 in order to safeguard[d] discretion,[e]
and that your lips may guard knowledge.
3 For the lips[f] of the adulterous woman drip honey,
and her seductive words[g] are smoother than olive oil,
4 but in the end[h] she is bitter[i] as wormwood,[j]
sharp as a two-edged[k] sword.
5 Her feet go down to death;
her steps lead straight to the grave.[l]
6 Lest[m] she should make level[n] the path leading to life,[o]
her paths have wandered,[p] but she is not able to discern it.[q]
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