Joseph's Dreams

37 Jacob lived in ^(A)the land of his father's sojournings, in the land of Canaan.

² These are the generations of Jacob.

Joseph, being seventeen years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives. And Joseph brought ^(B)a bad report of them to their father. ³ Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was ^(C)the son of his old age. And he made him ^(D)a robe of many colors.^{[a] 4} But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him.

⁵ Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more. ⁶ He said to them, “Hear this dream that I have dreamed: ⁷ Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, ^(E)my sheaf arose and stood upright. And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and ^(F)bowed down to my sheaf.” ⁸ His brothers said to him, “Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.

⁹ Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, “Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” ¹⁰ But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and ^(G)your mother and your brothers indeed come ^(H)to bow ourselves to the ground before you?” ¹¹ And ^(I)his brothers were jealous of him, ^(J)but his father kept the saying in mind.

Joseph Sold by His Brothers

¹² Now his brothers went to pasture their father's flock near ^(K)Shechem. ¹³ And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” And he said to him, “Here I am.” ¹⁴ So he said to him, “Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock, and bring me word.” So he sent him from the Valley of ^(L)Hebron, and he came to Shechem. ¹⁵ And a man found him wandering in the fields. And the man asked him, “What are you seeking?” ¹⁶ “I am seeking my brothers,” he said. “Tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock.” ¹⁷ And the man said, “They have gone away, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to ^(M)Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at ^(N)Dothan.

¹⁸ They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them ^(O)they conspired against him to kill him. ¹⁹ They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer. ²⁰ Come now, ^(P)let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits.^[b] Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.” ²¹ But when ^(Q)Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.” ²² And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him”—^(R)that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father. ²³ So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, ^(S)the robe of many colors that he wore. ²⁴ And they took him and ^(T)threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.

²⁵ Then they sat down to eat. And looking up they saw a ^(U)caravan of ^(V)Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing ^(W)gum, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. ²⁶ Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it ^(X)if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? ²⁷ Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and ^(Y)let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened to him. ²⁸ Then ^(Z)Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and ^(AA)sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels^[c] of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt.

²⁹ When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not in the pit, he ^(AB)tore his clothes ³⁰ and returned to his brothers and said, “The boy ^(AC)is gone, and I, where shall I go?” ³¹ Then they took ^(AD)Joseph's robe and slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. ³² And they sent the robe of many colors and brought it to their father and said, “This we have found; please identify whether it is your son's robe or not.” ³³ And he identified it and said, “It is my son's robe. ^(AE)A fierce animal has devoured him. Joseph is without doubt torn to pieces.” ³⁴ Then Jacob tore his garments and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days. ³⁵ All his sons and all his daughters ^(AF)rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted and said, “No, ^(AG)I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.” Thus his father wept for him. ³⁶ Meanwhile ^(AH)the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, ^(AI)the captain of the guard.

Judah and Tamar

38 It happened at that time that Judah went down from his brothers and ^(AJ)turned aside to a certain ^(AK)Adullamite, whose name was Hirah. ² There Judah saw the daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was ^(AL)Shua. He took her and went in to her, ³ and she conceived and bore a son, and he called his name ^(AM)Er. ⁴ She conceived again and bore a son, and she called his name ^(AN)Onan. ⁵ Yet again she bore a son, and she called his name ^(AO)Shelah. Judah^[d] was in Chezib when she bore him.

⁶ And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. ⁷ But Er, Judah's firstborn, ^(AP)was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord put him to death. ⁸ Then Judah said to Onan, “Go in to ^(AQ)your brother's wife and ^(AR)perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her, and raise up offspring for your brother.” ⁹ But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his. So whenever he went in to his brother's wife he would waste the semen on the ground, so as not to give offspring to his brother. ¹⁰ And what he did was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and he put him to death also. ¹¹ Then Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, ^(AS)“Remain a widow in your father's house, till Shelah my son grows up”—for he feared that he would die, like his brothers. So Tamar went and remained ^(AT)in her father's house.

¹² In the course of time the wife of Judah, Shua's daughter, died. When Judah ^(AU)was comforted, he went up to ^(AV)Timnah to his sheepshearers, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. ¹³ And when Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep,” ¹⁴ she took off her widow's garments ^(AW)and covered herself with a veil, wrapping herself up, and sat at the entrance to ^(AX)Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. For she saw that Shelah was grown up, ^(AY)and she had not been given to him in marriage. ¹⁵ When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face. ¹⁶ He turned to her at the roadside and said, “Come, let me come in to you,” for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. She said, “What will you give me, that you may come in to me?” ¹⁷ He answered, “I will send you a young goat from the flock.” And she said, “If you give me a pledge, until you send it—” ¹⁸ He said, “What pledge shall I give you?” She replied, ^(AZ)“Your signet and your cord and your staff that is in your hand.” So he gave them to her and went in to her, and she conceived by him. ¹⁹ Then she arose and went away, and taking off ^(BA)her veil she put on the garments of her widowhood.

²⁰ When Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite to take back the pledge from the woman's hand, he did not find her. ²¹ And he asked the men of the place, “Where is the cult prostitute^[e] who was at ^(BB)Enaim at the roadside?” And they said, “No cult prostitute has been here.” ²² So he returned to Judah and said, “I have not found her. Also, the men of the place said, ‘No cult prostitute has been here.’” ²³ And Judah replied, “Let her keep the things as her own, or we shall be laughed at. You see, I sent this young goat, and you did not find her.”

²⁴ About three months later Judah was told, “Tamar your daughter-in-law ^(BC)has been immoral.^[f] Moreover, she is pregnant by immorality.”^[g] And Judah said, “Bring her out, and ^(BD)let her be burned.” ²⁵ As she was being brought out, she sent word to her father-in-law, “By the man to whom these belong, I am pregnant.” And she said, “Please identify whose these are, ^(BE)the signet and the cord and the staff.” ²⁶ Then Judah identified them and said, ^(BF)“She is more righteous than I, since ^(BG)I did not give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not know her again.

²⁷ When the time of her labor came, there were twins in her womb. ²⁸ And when she was in labor, one put out a hand, and the midwife took and tied a scarlet thread on his hand, saying, “This one came out first.” ²⁹ But as he drew back his hand, behold, his brother came out. And she said, “What a breach you have made for yourself!” Therefore his name was called ^(BH)Perez.^{[h] 30} Afterward his brother came out with the scarlet thread on his hand, and his name was called ^(BI)Zerah.

Joseph and Potiphar's Wife

39 Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt, and ^(BJ)Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, ^(BK)had bought him from the ^(BL)Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. ^2 (BM)The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master. ³ His master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord ^(BN)caused all that he did to succeed in his hands. ⁴ So Joseph ^(BO)found favor in his sight and attended him, and he made him overseer of his house ^(BP)and put him in charge of all that he had. ⁵ From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house ^(BQ)for Joseph's sake; the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had, in house and field. ⁶ So he left all that he had in Joseph's charge, and because of him he had no concern about anything but the food he ate.

Now Joseph was ^(BR)handsome in form and appearance. ⁷ And after a time his master's wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, “Lie with me.” ⁸ But he refused and said to his master's wife, “Behold, because of me my master has no concern about anything in the house, and ^(BS)he has put everything that he has in my charge. ⁹ He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and ^(BT)sin against God?” ¹⁰ And as she spoke to Joseph day after day, he ^(BU)would not listen to her, to lie beside her or to be with her.

¹¹ But one day, when he went into the house to do his work and none of the men of the house was there in the house, ^12 (BV)she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand and fled and got out of the house. ¹³ And as soon as she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled out of the house, ¹⁴ she called to the men of her household and said to them, “See, he has brought among us a Hebrew to laugh at us. He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice. ¹⁵ And as soon as he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried out, he left his garment beside me and fled and got out of the house.” ¹⁶ Then she laid up his garment by her until his master came home, ¹⁷ and she told him the same story, saying, “The Hebrew servant, whom you have brought among us, came in to me to laugh at me. ¹⁸ But as soon as I lifted up my voice and cried, he left his garment beside me and fled out of the house.”

¹⁹ As soon as his master heard the words that his wife spoke to him, “This is the way your servant treated me,” his anger was kindled. ²⁰ And Joseph's master took him and ^(BW)put him into the ^(BX)prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison. ²¹ But ^(BY)the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love ^(BZ)and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. ²² And the keeper of the prison ^(CA)put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. ²³ The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph's charge, because ^(CB)the Lord was with him. And whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed.

How Majestic Is Your Name

To the choirmaster: according to The ^(A)Gittith.^[a] A Psalm of David.

Laborers in the Vineyard

20 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. ² After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius^[a] a day, he sent them into his vineyard. ³ And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, ⁴ and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ ⁵ So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. ⁶ And ^(A)about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ ⁷ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ ⁸ And ^(B)when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his ^(C)foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ ⁹ And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. ¹⁰ Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. ¹¹ And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, ¹² saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and ^(D)the scorching heat.’ ¹³ But he replied to one of them, ^(E)‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? ¹⁴ Take ^(F)what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. ^15 (G)Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or ^(H)do you begrudge my generosity?’^{[b] 16} So ^(I)the last will be first, and the first last.”

Jesus Foretells His Death a Third Time

^17 (J)And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, ¹⁸ “See, ^(K)we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will ^(L)condemn him to death ¹⁹ and ^(M)deliver him over to the Gentiles ^(N)to be mocked and flogged and ^(O)crucified, and he will be raised on ^(P)the third day.”

A Mother's Request

^20 (Q)Then ^(R)the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and ^(S)kneeling before him she asked him for something. ²¹ And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Say that these two sons of mine ^(T)are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, ^(U)in your kingdom.” ²² Jesus answered, ^(V)“You do not know what you are asking. Are you able ^(W)to drink the cup that I am to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.” ²³ He said to them, ^(X)“You will drink ^(Y)my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, ^(Z)but it is for those for whom it has been ^(AA)prepared by my Father.” ²⁴ And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. ²⁵ But Jesus called them to him and said, ^(AB)“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles ^(AC)lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. ^26 (AD)It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,^{[c] 27} and whoever would be first among you must be your slave,^{[d] 28} even as the Son of Man came not to be served but ^(AE)to serve, and ^(AF)to give his life as a ransom for ^(AG)many.”

Jesus Heals Two Blind Men

^29 (AH)And as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him. ³⁰ And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord,^[e] have mercy on us, ^(AI)Son of David!” ³¹ The crowd ^(AJ)rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” ³² And stopping, Jesus called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” ³³ They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” ³⁴ And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him.

The Triumphal Entry

21 ^(AK)Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to ^(AL)the Mount of Olives, then Jesus ^(AM)sent two disciples, ² saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. ³ If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” ⁴ This took place ^(AN)to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,

⁶ The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. ⁷ They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. ⁸ Most of the crowd ^(AQ)spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹ And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, ^(AR)“Hosanna to ^(AS)the Son of David! ^(AT)Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna ^(AU)in the highest!” ¹⁰ And ^(AV)when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” ¹¹ And the crowds said, “This is ^(AW)the prophet Jesus, ^(AX)from Nazareth of Galilee.”

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

^12 (AY)And Jesus entered the temple^[g] and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of ^(AZ)the money-changers and the seats of those who sold ^(BA)pigeons. ¹³ He said to them, “It is written, ^(BB)‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but ^(BC)you make it a den of robbers.”

^14 (BD)And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. ^15 (BE)But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, ^(BF)“Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant, ¹⁶ and they said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; ^(BG)have you never read,

¹⁷ And ^(BJ)leaving them, he ^(BK)went out of the city to ^(BL)Bethany and lodged there.

Jesus Curses the Fig Tree

^18 (BM)In the morning, as he was returning to the city, ^(BN)he became hungry. ^19 (BO)And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. And he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” And the fig tree withered at once.

²⁰ When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?” ²¹ And Jesus answered them, ^(BP)“Truly, I say to you, ^(BQ)if you have faith and ^(BR)do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ^(BS)‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. ²² And ^(BT)whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, ^(BU)if you have faith.”

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

^23 (BV)And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him ^(BW)as he was teaching, and said, ^(BX)“By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” ²⁴ Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. ²⁵ The baptism of John, ^(BY)from where did it come? ^(BZ)From heaven or from man?” And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ^(CA)‘Why then did you not believe him?’ ²⁶ But if we say, ‘From man,’ ^(CB)we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was ^(CC)a prophet.” ²⁷ So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

The Parable of the Two Sons

^28 (CD)“What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in ^(CE)the vineyard today.’ ²⁹ And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he ^(CF)changed his mind and went. ³⁰ And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go. ³¹ Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, ^(CG)the tax collectors and ^(CH)the prostitutes go into ^(CI)the kingdom of God before you. ³² For John came to you ^(CJ)in the way of righteousness, and ^(CK)you did not believe him, but ^(CL)the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward ^(CM)change your minds and believe him.

The Parable of the Tenants

^33 (CN)“Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted ^(CO)a vineyard ^(CP)and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and ^(CQ)leased it to tenants, and ^(CR)went into another country. ³⁴ When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants^[h] to the tenants ^(CS)to get his fruit. ^35 (CT)And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and ^(CU)stoned another. ^36 (CV)Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them. ³⁷ Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ ³⁸ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ^(CW)‘This is the heir. Come, ^(CX)let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ ³⁹ And they took him and ^(CY)threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. ^40 (CZ)When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” ⁴¹ They said to him, ^(DA)“He will put those wretches to a miserable death and ^(DB)let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”

⁴² Jesus said to them, ^(DC)“Have you never read in the Scriptures:

⁴³ Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God ^(DE)will be taken away from you and given to a people ^(DF)producing its fruits. ⁴⁴ And ^(DG)the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and ^(DH)when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”^[j]

⁴⁵ When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. ⁴⁶ And ^(DI)although they were seeking to arrest him, ^(DJ)they feared the crowds, because they held him to be ^(DK)a prophet.