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.” ¹⁰ Now ^(I)the eyes of Israel were dim with age, so that he could not see. So Joseph brought them near him, ^(J)and he kissed them and embraced them. ¹¹ And Israel said to Joseph, ^(K)“I never expected to see your face; and behold, God has let me see your offspring also.” ¹² Then Joseph removed them from his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth. ¹³ And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right hand, and brought them near him. ^14 (L)And Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, ^(M)crossing his hands (for Manasseh was the firstborn). ¹⁵ And he blessed Joseph and said,

¹⁷ When Joseph saw that his father ^(S)laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him, and he took his father's hand to move it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head. ¹⁸ And Joseph said to his father, “Not this way, my father; since this one is the firstborn, put your right hand on his head.” ¹⁹ But his father refused and said, ^(T)“I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great. Nevertheless, ^(U)his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his offspring shall become a multitude^[d] of nations.” ²⁰ So he blessed them that day, saying,

Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh. ²¹ Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am about to die, but ^(W)God will be with you and will bring you again to the land of your fathers. ²² Moreover, I have given to ^(X)you rather than to your brothers one mountain slope^[e] that I took from the hand of the Amorites with my sword and with my bow.”

Jacob Blesses His Sons

49 ^(Y)Then Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you what shall happen to you ^(Z)in days to come.

Jacob's Death and Burial

²⁸ All these are the twelve tribes of Israel. This is what their father said to them as he blessed them, blessing each with the blessing suitable to him. ²⁹ Then he commanded them and said to them, “I am to be ^(BQ)gathered to my people; ^(BR)bury me with my fathers ^(BS)in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, ³⁰ in the cave that is in the field at Machpelah, to the east of Mamre, in the land of Canaan, ^(BT)which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite to possess as a burying place. ^31 (BU)There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife. There ^(BV)they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah— ³² the field and the cave that is in it were bought from the Hittites.” ³³ When Jacob finished commanding his sons, he drew up his feet into the bed and breathed his last and ^(BW)was gathered to his people.

50 Then Joseph ^(BX)fell on his father's face and wept over him and kissed him. ² And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to ^(BY)embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel. ³ Forty days were required for it, for that is how many are required for embalming. And the Egyptians ^(BZ)wept for him seventy days.

⁴ And when the days of weeping for him were past, Joseph spoke to the household of Pharaoh, saying, ^(CA)“If now I have found favor in your eyes, please speak in the ears of Pharaoh, saying, ⁵ ‘My father made me swear, saying, “I am about to die: in my tomb ^(CB)that I hewed out for myself in the land of Canaan, there shall you bury me.” Now therefore, let me please go up and bury my father. Then I will return.’” ⁶ And Pharaoh answered, “Go up, and bury your father, as he made you swear.” ⁷ So Joseph went up to bury his father. With him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his household, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, ⁸ as well as all the household of Joseph, his brothers, and his father's household. Only their children, their flocks, and their herds were left ^(CC)in the land of Goshen. ⁹ And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen. It was a very great company. ¹⁰ When they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, ^(CD)they lamented there with a very great and grievous lamentation, and he ^(CE)made a mourning for his father seven days. ¹¹ When the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning on the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a grievous mourning by the Egyptians.” Therefore the place was named Abel-mizraim;^[o] it is beyond the Jordan. ¹² Thus his sons did for him as he had commanded them, ¹³ for ^(CF)his sons carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave of the field at Machpelah, to the east of Mamre, which Abraham ^(CG)bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite to possess as a burying place. ¹⁴ After he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt with his brothers and all who had gone up with him to bury his father.

God's Good Purposes

¹⁵ When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him.” ¹⁶ So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this command before he died: ¹⁷ ‘Say to Joseph, “Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.”’ And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of ^(CH)the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him. ¹⁸ His brothers also came and ^(CI)fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” ¹⁹ But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for ^(CJ)am I in the place of God? ²⁰ As for you, you meant evil against me, but ^(CK)God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people^[p] should be kept alive, as they are today. ²¹ So do not fear; ^(CL)I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.

The Death of Joseph

²² So Joseph remained in Egypt, he and his father's house. Joseph lived 110 years. ²³ And Joseph saw Ephraim's children ^(CM)of the third generation. The ^(CN)children also of Machir the son of Manasseh were ^(CO)counted as Joseph's own.^{[q] 24} And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but ^(CP)God will visit you and bring you up out of this land to the land ^(CQ)that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” ²⁵ Then ^(CR)Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.” ²⁶ So Joseph died, being 110 years old. They ^(CS)embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.

Women Accompanying Jesus

8 Soon afterward he went on ^(A)through cities and villages, proclaiming and ^(B)bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, ² and also ^(C)some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: ^(D)Mary, called Magdalene, ^(E)from whom seven demons had gone out, ³ and ^(F)Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them^[a] out of their means.

The Parable of the Sower

^4 (G)And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable, ^5 (H)“A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. ⁶ And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, ^(I)it withered away, because it had no moisture. ⁷ And some fell among ^(J)thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. ⁸ And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded ^(K)a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, ^(L)“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

The Purpose of the Parables

⁹ And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, ¹⁰ he said, ^(M)“To you it has been given to know ^(N)the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so ^(O)that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’ ^11 (P)Now the parable is this: The seed is ^(Q)the word of God. ¹² The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not ^(R)believe and be saved. ¹³ And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it ^(S)with joy. But these have no root; they ^(T)believe for a while, and in time of testing ^(U)fall away. ¹⁴ And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but ^(V)as they go on their way they are choked by the ^(W)cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. ¹⁵ As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and ^(X)bear fruit ^(Y)with patience.

A Lamp Under a Jar

^16 (Z)(AA)“No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. ^17 (AB)For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light. ^18 (AC)Take care then how you hear, ^(AD)for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.”

Jesus' Mother and Brothers

^19 (AE)Then his mother and ^(AF)his brothers^[b] came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. ²⁰ And he was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see you.” ²¹ But he answered them, “My mother and my brothers are those ^(AG)who hear the word of God and do it.”

Jesus Calms a Storm

^22 (AH)One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of ^(AI)the lake.” So they set out, ²³ and as they sailed he fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on ^(AJ)the lake, and they were filling with water and were in danger. ²⁴ And they went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And he awoke and ^(AK)rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, ^(AL)and there was a calm. ²⁵ He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they ^(AM)were afraid, and they ^(AN)marveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that ^(AO)he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?”

Jesus Heals a Man with a Demon

^26 (AP)Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes,^[c] which is opposite Galilee. ²⁷ When Jesus^[d] had stepped out on land, there met him a man from the city who had demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house ^(AQ)but among the tombs. ²⁸ When he saw Jesus, he ^(AR)cried out and fell down before him and said ^(AS)with a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, ^(AT)Son of ^(AU)the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.” ²⁹ For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many a time it had seized him. He was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon ^(AV)into the desert.) ³⁰ Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, ^(AW)“Legion,” for many demons had entered him. ³¹ And they begged him not to command them to depart into ^(AX)the abyss. ³² Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. ³³ Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into ^(AY)the lake and drowned.

³⁴ When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. ³⁵ Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting ^(AZ)at the feet of Jesus, ^(BA)clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. ³⁶ And those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed^[e] man had been healed. ³⁷ Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes ^(BB)asked him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. ³⁸ The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, ³⁹ “Return to your home, and ^(BC)declare how much God has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.

Jesus Heals a Woman and Jairus's Daughter

⁴⁰ Now when Jesus returned, the crowd ^(BD)welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. ^41 (BE)And there came a man named Jairus, who was ^(BF)a ruler of the synagogue. And falling at Jesus' feet, he implored him to come to his house, ⁴² for he had ^(BG)an only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying.

As Jesus went, the people ^(BH)pressed around him. ⁴³ And there was a woman ^(BI)who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and though she had spent all her ^(BJ)living on physicians,^[f] she could not be healed by anyone. ⁴⁴ She came up behind him and touched ^(BK)the fringe of his garment, and ^(BL)immediately her discharge of blood ceased. ⁴⁵ And Jesus said, “Who was it that touched me?” When all denied it, Peter^[g] said, “Master, the crowds surround you and are pressing in on you!” ⁴⁶ But Jesus said, “Someone touched me, for I perceive that ^(BM)power has gone out from me.” ⁴⁷ And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. ⁴⁸ And he said to her, “Daughter, ^(BN)your faith has made you well; ^(BO)go in peace.”

⁴⁹ While he was still speaking, someone from ^(BP)the ruler's house came and said, “Your daughter is dead; ^(BQ)do not trouble ^(BR)the Teacher any more.” ⁵⁰ But Jesus on hearing this answered him, “Do not fear; only believe, and she will be well.” ⁵¹ And when he came to the house, he allowed no one to enter with him, except ^(BS)Peter and ^(BT)John and James, and the father and mother of the child. ⁵² And all were weeping and ^(BU)mourning for her, but he ^(BV)said, “Do not weep, for ^(BW)she is not dead but ^(BX)sleeping.” ⁵³ And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. ⁵⁴ But ^(BY)taking her by the hand he called, saying, “Child, ^(BZ)arise.” ⁵⁵ And ^(CA)her spirit returned, and she got up at once. And he directed that something should be given her to eat. ⁵⁶ And her parents were amazed, but ^(CB)he charged them to tell no one what had happened.