²³ So it came to pass, when Joseph had come to his brothers, that they ^(A)stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him. ²⁴ Then they took him and cast him into a pit. And the pit was empty; there was no water in it.

^25 (B)And they sat down to eat a meal. Then they lifted their eyes and looked, and there was a company of ^(C)Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead with their camels, bearing spices, ^(D)balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry them down to Egypt. ²⁶ So Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is there if we kill our brother and ^(E)conceal his blood? ²⁷ Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and ^(F)let not our hand be upon him, for he is ^(G)our brother and ^(H)our flesh.” And his brothers listened. ²⁸ Then ^(I)Midianite traders passed by; so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, ^(J)and sold him to the Ishmaelites for ^(K)twenty shekels of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.

^5 (A)having predestined us to ^(B)adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, ^(C)according to the good pleasure of His will, ⁶ to the praise of the glory of His grace, ^(D)by which He ^[a]made us accepted in ^(E)the Beloved.

⁹ By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, ^(A)dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, ^(B)the heirs with him of the same promise; ¹⁰ for he waited for ^(C)the city which has foundations, ^(D)whose builder and maker is God.

¹¹ By faith ^(E)Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and ^(F)she^[a] bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him ^(G)faithful who had promised. ¹² Therefore from one man, and him as good as ^(H)dead, were born as many as the ^(I)stars of the sky in multitude—innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.

The Heavenly Hope

¹³ These all died in faith, ^(J)not having received the ^(K)promises, but ^(L)having seen them afar off ^[b]were assured of them, embraced them and ^(M)confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

⁹ But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of ^(A)darkness into His marvelous light; ^10 (B)who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.

Living Before the World

¹¹ Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts ^(C)which war against the soul,