Joseph a Slave in Egypt

39 Now Joseph had been taken ^(A)down to Egypt. And ^(B)Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, ^(C)bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him down there. ^2 (D)The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. ³ And his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord ^(E)made all he did ^[a]to prosper in his hand. ⁴ So Joseph ^(F)found favor in his sight, and served him. Then he made him ^(G)overseer of his house, and all that he had he put ^[b]under his authority. ⁵ So it was, from the time that he had made him overseer of his house and all that he had, that ^(H)the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had in the house and in the field. ⁶ Thus he left all that he had in Joseph’s ^[c]hand, and he did not know what he had except for the ^[d]bread which he ate.

Now Joseph ^(I)was handsome in form and appearance.

⁷ And it came to pass after these things that his master’s wife ^[e]cast longing eyes on Joseph, and she said, ^(J)“Lie with me.”

⁸ But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not know what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand. ⁹ There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. ^(K)How then can I do this great wickedness, and ^(L)sin against God?”

¹⁰ So it was, as she spoke to Joseph day by day, that he ^(M)did not heed her, to lie with her or to be with her.

¹¹ But it happened about this time, when Joseph went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the house was inside, ¹² that she ^(N)caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand, and fled and ran outside. ¹³ And so it was, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and fled outside, ¹⁴ that she called to the men of her house and spoke to them, saying, “See, he has brought in to us a ^(O)Hebrew to ^[f]mock us. He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice. ¹⁵ And it happened, when he heard that I lifted my voice and cried out, that he left his garment with me, and fled and went outside.”

¹⁶ So she kept his garment with her until his master came home. ¹⁷ Then she ^(P)spoke to him with words like these, saying, “The Hebrew servant whom you brought to us came in to me to mock me; ¹⁸ so it happened, as I lifted my voice and cried out, that he left his garment with me and fled outside.”

¹⁹ So it was, when his master heard the words which his wife spoke to him, saying, “Your servant did to me after this manner,” that his ^(Q)anger was aroused. ²⁰ Then Joseph’s master took him and ^(R)put him into the ^(S)prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were confined. And he was there in the prison. ²¹ But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He ^(T)gave^[g] him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. ²² And the keeper of the prison ^(U)committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners who were in the prison; whatever they did there, it was his doing. ²³ The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under ^[h]Joseph’s authority, because ^(V)the Lord was with him; and whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper.

The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins

25 “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet ^(A)the bridegroom. ^2 (B)Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. ³ Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, ⁴ but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. ⁵ But while the bridegroom was delayed, ^(C)they all slumbered and slept.

⁶ “And at midnight ^(D)a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom ^[a]is coming; go out to meet him!’ ⁷ Then all those virgins arose and ^(E)trimmed their lamps. ⁸ And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ ⁹ But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ ¹⁰ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and ^(F)the door was shut.

¹¹ “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ^(G)‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ ¹² But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, ^(H)I do not know you.’

^13 (I)“Watch therefore, for you ^(J)know neither the day nor the hour ^[b]in which the Son of Man is coming.

The Parable of the Talents^(K)

^14 (L)“For the kingdom of heaven is ^(M)like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. ¹⁵ And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, ^(N)to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. ¹⁶ Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. ¹⁷ And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. ¹⁸ But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money. ¹⁹ After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.

²⁰ “So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ ²¹ His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were ^(O)faithful over a few things, ^(P)I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into ^(Q)the joy of your lord.’ ²² He also who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.’ ²³ His lord said to him, ^(R)‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into ^(S)the joy of your lord.’

²⁴ “Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. ²⁵ And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’

²⁶ “But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You ^(T)wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. ²⁷ So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. ²⁸ So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents.

^29 (U)‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. ³⁰ And cast the unprofitable servant ^(V)into the outer darkness. ^(W)There will be weeping and ^(X)gnashing of teeth.’

The Prisoners’ Dreams

40 It came to pass after these things that the ^(A)butler and the baker of the king of Egypt offended their lord, the king of Egypt. ² And Pharaoh was ^(B)angry with his two officers, the chief butler and the chief baker. ^3 (C)So he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison, the place where Joseph was confined. ⁴ And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them; so they were in custody for a while.

⁵ Then the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, ^(D)had a dream, both of them, each man’s dream in one night and each man’s dream with its own interpretation. ⁶ And Joseph came in to them in the morning and looked at them, and saw that they were ^[a]sad. ⁷ So he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him in the custody of his lord’s house, saying, ^(E)“Why do you look so sad today?”

⁸ And they said to him, ^(F)“We each have had a dream, and there is no interpreter of it.”

So Joseph said to them, ^(G)“Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell them to me, please.”

⁹ Then the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, “Behold, in my dream a vine was before me, ¹⁰ and in the vine were three branches; it was as though it budded, its blossoms shot forth, and its clusters brought forth ripe grapes. ¹¹ Then Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand; and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.”

¹² And Joseph said to him, ^(H)“This is the interpretation of it: The three branches ^(I)are three days. ¹³ Now within three days Pharaoh will ^(J)lift up your head and restore you to your ^[b]place, and you will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand according to the former manner, when you were his butler. ¹⁴ But ^(K)remember me when it is well with you, and ^(L)please show kindness to me; make mention of me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this house. ¹⁵ For indeed I was ^(M)stolen away from the land of the Hebrews; ^(N)and also I have done nothing here that they should put me into the dungeon.”

¹⁶ When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said to Joseph, “I also was in my dream, and there were three ^[c]white baskets on my head. ¹⁷ In the uppermost basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, and the birds ate them out of the basket on my head.”

¹⁸ So Joseph answered and said, ^(O)“This is the interpretation of it: The three baskets are three days. ^19 (P)Within three days Pharaoh will lift ^[d]off your head from you and ^(Q)hang you on a tree; and the birds will eat your flesh from you.”

²⁰ Now it came to pass on the third day, which was Pharaoh’s ^(R)birthday, that he ^(S)made a feast for all his servants; and he ^(T)lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants. ²¹ Then he ^(U)restored the chief butler to his butlership again, and ^(V)he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand. ²² But he ^(W)hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them. ²³ Yet the chief butler did not remember Joseph, but ^(X)forgot him.

Bearing Others’ Burdens

15 We ^(A)then who are strong ought to bear with the ^[a]scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves. ^2 (B)Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to ^[b]edification. ^3 (C)For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, ^(D)“The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.” ⁴ For ^(E)whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the ^[c]patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. ^5 (F)Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, ⁶ that you may ^(G)with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Glorify God Together

⁷ Therefore ^(H)receive one another, just ^(I)as Christ also received ^[d]us, to the glory of God. ⁸ Now I say that ^(J)Jesus Christ has become a ^[e]servant to the circumcision for the truth of God, ^(K)to confirm the promises made to the fathers, ⁹ and ^(L)that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy, as it is written:

¹⁰ And again he says:

¹¹ And again:

¹² And again, Isaiah says:

¹³ Now may the God of hope fill you with all ^(Q)joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

From Jerusalem to Illyricum

¹⁴ Now ^(R)I myself am confident concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, ^(S)filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish ^[f]one another. ¹⁵ Nevertheless, brethren, I have written more boldly to you on some points, as reminding you, ^(T)because of the grace given to me by God, ¹⁶ that ^(U)I might be a minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the ^(V)offering ^[g]of the Gentiles might be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. ¹⁷ Therefore I have reason to glory in Christ Jesus ^(W)in the things which pertain to God. ¹⁸ For I will not dare to speak of any of those things ^(X)which Christ has not accomplished through me, in word and deed, ^(Y)to make the Gentiles obedient— ^19 (Z)in mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem and round about to Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. ²⁰ And so I have made it my aim to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, ^(AA)lest I should build on another man’s foundation, ²¹ but as it is written:

Plan to Visit Rome

²² For this reason ^(AC)I also have been much hindered from coming to you. ²³ But now no longer having a place in these parts, and ^(AD)having a great desire these many years to come to you, ²⁴ whenever I journey to Spain, ^[h]I shall come to you. For I hope to see you on my journey, ^(AE)and to be helped on my way there by you, if first I may ^(AF)enjoy your company for a while. ²⁵ But now ^(AG)I am going to Jerusalem to ^[i]minister to the saints. ²⁶ For ^(AH)it pleased those from Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints who are in Jerusalem. ²⁷ It pleased them indeed, and they are their debtors. For ^(AI)if the Gentiles have been partakers of their spiritual things, ^(AJ)their duty is also to minister to them in material things. ²⁸ Therefore, when I have performed this and have sealed to them ^(AK)this fruit, I shall go by way of you to Spain. ^29 (AL)But I know that when I come to you, I shall come in the fullness of the blessing ^[j]of the gospel of Christ.

³⁰ Now I beg you, brethren, through the Lord Jesus Christ, and ^(AM)through the love of the Spirit, ^(AN)that you strive together with me in prayers to God for me, ^31 (AO)that I may be delivered from those in Judea who ^[k]do not believe, and that ^(AP)my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, ^32 (AQ)that I may come to you with joy ^(AR)by the will of God, and may ^(AS)be refreshed together with you. ³³ Now ^(AT)the God of peace be with you all. Amen.