Joseph’s Dreams

37 Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed,^(A) the land of Canaan.^(B)

² This is the account^(C) of Jacob’s family line.

Joseph,^(D) a young man of seventeen,^(E) was tending the flocks^(F) with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah^(G) and the sons of Zilpah,^(H) his father’s wives, and he brought their father a bad report^(I) about them.

³ Now Israel^(J) loved Joseph more than any of his other sons,^(K) because he had been born to him in his old age;^(L) and he made an ornate^[a] robe^(M) for him.^{(N) 4} When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him^(O) and could not speak a kind word to him.

Joseph Sold by His Brothers

¹² Now his brothers had gone to graze their father’s flocks near Shechem,^{(A) 13} and Israel^(B) said to Joseph, “As you know, your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem.^(C) Come, I am going to send you to them.”

“Very well,” he replied.

¹⁴ So he said to him, “Go and see if all is well with your brothers^(D) and with the flocks, and bring word back to me.” Then he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron.^(E)

When Joseph arrived at Shechem, ¹⁵ a man found him wandering around in the fields and asked him, “What are you looking for?”

¹⁶ He replied, “I’m looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are grazing their flocks?”

¹⁷ “They have moved on from here,” the man answered. “I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.^(F)’”

So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan. ¹⁸ But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.^(G)

¹⁹ “Here comes that dreamer!^(H)” they said to each other. ²⁰ “Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns^(I) and say that a ferocious animal^(J) devoured him.^(K) Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.”^(L)

²¹ When Reuben^(M) heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. “Let’s not take his life,” he said.^{(N) 22} “Don’t shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern^(O) here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.” Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father.^(P)

²³ So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the ornate robe^(Q) he was wearing— ²⁴ and they took him and threw him into the cistern.^(R) The cistern was empty; there was no water in it.

²⁵ As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites^(S) coming from Gilead.^(T) Their camels were loaded with spices, balm^(U) and myrrh,^(V) and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt.^(W)

²⁶ Judah^(X) said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood?^{(Y) 27} Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother,^(Z) our own flesh and blood.^(AA)” His brothers agreed.

²⁸ So when the Midianite^(AB) merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern^(AC) and sold^(AD) him for twenty shekels^[a] of silver^(AE) to the Ishmaelites,^(AF) who took him to Egypt.^(AG)

⁹ There he went into a cave^(A) and spent the night.

The Lord Appears to Elijah

And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”^(B)

¹⁰ He replied, “I have been very zealous^(C) for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant,^(D) torn down your altars,^(E) and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left,^(F) and now they are trying to kill me too.”

¹¹ The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain^(G) in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”^(H)

Then a great and powerful wind^(I) tore the mountains apart and shattered^(J) the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. ¹² After the earthquake came a fire,^(K) but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.^{(L) 13} When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face^(M) and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

¹⁴ He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left,^(N) and now they are trying to kill me too.”

¹⁵ The Lord said to him, “Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael^(O) king over Aram. ¹⁶ Also, anoint^(P) Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha^(Q) son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah^(R) to succeed you as prophet. ¹⁷ Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael,^(S) and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu.^{(T) 18} Yet I reserve^(U) seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed^(V) him.”

Psalm 105^(A)

⁵ Moses writes this about the righteousness that is by the law: “The person who does these things will live by them.”^{[a](A) 6} But the righteousness that is by faith^(B) says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’”^[b](C) (that is, to bring Christ down) ⁷ “or ‘Who will descend into the deep?’”^[c](D) (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).^{(E) 8} But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,”^[d](F) that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: ⁹ If you declare^(G) with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,”^(H) and believe^(I) in your heart that God raised him from the dead,^(J) you will be saved.^{(K) 10} For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. ¹¹ As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”^{[e](L) 12} For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile^(M)—the same Lord is Lord of all^(N) and richly blesses all who call on him, ¹³ for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord^(O) will be saved.”^[f](P)

¹⁴ How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? ¹⁵ And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”^[g](Q)