Joseph Tests His Brothers

44 Then he commanded ^(A)the steward of his house, ^(B)“Fill the men's sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put each man's money in the mouth of his sack, ² and put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, with his money for the grain.” And he did as Joseph told him.

³ As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away with their donkeys. ⁴ They had gone only a short distance from the city. Now Joseph said to his ^(C)steward, “Up, follow after the men, and when you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid evil for good?^{[a] 5} Is it not from this that my lord drinks, and ^(D)by this that he practises divination? You have done evil in doing this.’”

⁶ When he overtook them, he spoke to them these words. ⁷ They said to him, “Why does my lord speak such words as these? Far be it from your servants to do such a thing! ⁸ Behold, ^(E)the money that we found in the mouths of our sacks we brought back to you from the land of Canaan. How then could we steal silver or gold from your lord's house? ^9 (F)Whichever of your servants is found with it shall die, and we also will be ^(G)my lord's servants.” ¹⁰ He said, “Let it be as you say: he who is found with it shall be my servant, and the rest of you shall be innocent.” ¹¹ Then each man quickly lowered his sack to the ground, and each man opened his sack. ¹² And he searched, beginning with the eldest and ending with the youngest. And the cup was found in Benjamin's sack. ¹³ Then they ^(H)tore their clothes, and every man loaded his donkey, and they returned to the city.

¹⁴ When Judah and his brothers came to Joseph's house, he was still there. They ^(I)fell before him to the ground. ¹⁵ Joseph said to them, “What deed is this that you have done? Do you not know that a man like me ^(J)can indeed practise divination?” ¹⁶ And Judah said, “What shall we say to my lord? What shall we speak? Or how can we clear ourselves? God has found out ^(K)the guilt of your servants; behold, we are ^(L)my lord's servants, both we and he also in whose hand the cup has been found.” ¹⁷ But he said, “Far be it from me that I should do so! Only the man in whose hand the cup was found shall be my servant. But as for you, go up in peace to your father.”

¹⁸ Then Judah went up to him and said, ^(M)“Oh, my lord, please let your servant speak a word in my lord's ears, and ^(N)let not your anger burn against your servant, for ^(O)you are like Pharaoh himself. ¹⁹ My lord asked his servants, saying, ‘Have you a father, or a brother?’ ²⁰ And we said to my lord, ‘We have a father, an old man, ^(P)and a young brother, ^(Q)the child of his old age. His brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother's children, and his father loves him.’ ²¹ Then you said to your servants, ^(R)‘Bring him down to me, that I may set my eyes on him.’ ²² We said to my lord, ‘The boy cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his father, ^(S)his father would die.’ ²³ Then you said to your servants, ^(T)‘Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you shall not see my face again.’

²⁴ “When we went back to your servant my father, we told him the words of my lord. ²⁵ And when ^(U)our father said, ‘Go again, buy us a little food’, ²⁶ we said, ‘We cannot go down. If our youngest brother goes with us, then we will go down. For we cannot see the man's face unless our youngest brother is with us.’ ²⁷ Then your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me ^(V)two sons. ²⁸ One left me, and I said, ^(W)Surely he has been torn to pieces, and I have never seen him since. ²⁹ If you ^(X)take this one also from me, ^(Y)and harm happens to him, you will bring down my grey hairs in evil to Sheol.’

³⁰ “Now therefore, as soon as I come to your servant my father, and the boy is not with us, then, as his life is bound up in the boy's life, ³¹ as soon as he sees that the boy is not with us, he will die, and your servants will bring down the grey hairs of your servant our father with sorrow to Sheol. ³² For your servant became a pledge of safety for the boy to my father, saying, ^(Z)‘If I do not bring him back to you, then I shall bear the blame before my father all my life.’ ³³ Now therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the boy as a servant to my lord, and let the boy go back with his brothers. ³⁴ For how can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? I fear to see the evil that would find my father.”

The Plot to Kill Jesus

14 ^(A)It was now two days before ^(B)the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes ^(C)were seeking how to arrest him by stealth and kill him, ² for they said, “Not during the feast, ^(D)lest there be an uproar from the people.”

Jesus Anointed at Bethany

^3 (E)And while he was at ^(F)Bethany in the house of Simon the leper,^[a] as he was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head. ⁴ There were some who said to themselves indignantly, “Why was the ointment wasted like that? ⁵ For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii^[b] and ^(G)given to the poor.” And they ^(H)scolded her. ⁶ But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. ⁷ For ^(I)you always have the poor with you, and whenever ^(J)you want, you can do good for them. But ^(K)you will not always have me. ^8 (L)She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand ^(M)for burial. ⁹ And truly, I say to you, wherever ^(N)the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told ^(O)in memory of her.”

Judas to Betray Jesus

^10 (P)Then ^(Q)Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, ^(R)went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. ¹¹ And when they heard it, they were glad and promised to give him money. And he sought an opportunity to ^(S)betray him.

The Passover with the Disciples

^12 (T)And on ^(U)the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they ^(V)sacrificed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, “Where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?” ¹³ And he sent ^(W)two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him, ¹⁴ and wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, ^(X)‘The Teacher says, Where is ^(Y)my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ ¹⁵ And he will show you ^(Z)a large upper room furnished and ready; there prepare for us.” ¹⁶ And the disciples set out and went to the city and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.

^17 (AA)And when it was evening, he came with the twelve. ¹⁸ And as they were reclining at table and eating, ^(AB)Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me, ^(AC)one who is eating with me.” ¹⁹ They began to be sorrowful and to say to him one after another, “Is it I?” ²⁰ He said to them, “It is ^(AD)one of the twelve, ^(AE)one who is dipping bread into the dish with me. ²¹ For the Son of Man goes ^(AF)as it is written of him, but ^(AG)woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! ^(AH)It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.”

Institution of the Lord's Supper

^22 (AI)And as they were eating, he took bread, and after ^(AJ)blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; ^(AK)this is my body.” ²³ And he took a cup, and when he had ^(AL)given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. ²⁴ And he said to them, ^(AM)“This is my ^(AN)blood of the^[c] covenant, which is poured out for ^(AO)many. ²⁵ Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

Jesus Foretells Peter's Denial

^26 (AP)And when they had sung a hymn, ^(AQ)they went out to ^(AR)the Mount of Olives. ²⁷ And Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away, for it is written, ‘I will ^(AS)strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’ ²⁸ But after I am raised up, ^(AT)I will go before you to Galilee.” ^29 (AU)Peter said to him, “Even though they all fall away, I will not.” ³⁰ And ^(AV)Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before ^(AW)the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times.” ³¹ But ^(AX)he said emphatically, “If I must die with you, I will not deny you.” And they all said the same.

Jesus Prays in Gethsemane

^32 (AY)And they went ^(AZ)to a place called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” ³³ And he took with him ^(BA)Peter and James and John, and began ^(BB)to be greatly distressed and troubled. ³⁴ And he said to them, ^(BC)“My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and ^(BD)watch.”^{[d] 35} And going a little farther, he fell on the ground ^(BE)and prayed that, if it were possible, ^(BF)the hour might pass from him. ³⁶ And he said, ^(BG)“Abba, Father, ^(BH)all things are possible for you. Remove ^(BI)this cup from me. ^(BJ)Yet not what I will, but what you will.” ³⁷ And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour? ^38 (BK)Watch and ^(BL)pray that you may not ^(BM)enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” ³⁹ And again he went away and prayed, ^(BN)saying the same words. ⁴⁰ And again he came and found them sleeping, for ^(BO)their eyes were very heavy, and ^(BP)they did not know what to answer him. ⁴¹ And he came the third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? ^(BQ)It is enough; ^(BR)the hour has come. ^(BS)The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴² Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.”

Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus

^43 (BT)And immediately, while he was still speaking, ^(BU)Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. ⁴⁴ Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man. Seize him and lead him away under guard.” ⁴⁵ And when he came, he went up to him at once and said, ^(BV)“Rabbi!” And he ^(BW)kissed him. ⁴⁶ And they laid hands on him and seized him. ⁴⁷ But one of those who stood by drew his ^(BX)sword and struck the servant^[e] of the high priest and cut off his ear. ⁴⁸ And Jesus said to them, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? ^49 (BY)Day after day I was with you in the temple ^(BZ)teaching, and you did not seize me. But ^(CA)let the Scriptures be fulfilled.” ^50 (CB)And they all left him and fled.

A Young Man Flees

⁵¹ And a young man followed him, with nothing but ^(CC)a linen cloth about his body. And they seized him, ⁵² but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked.

Jesus Before the Council

^53 (CD)And ^(CE)they led Jesus to the high priest. And all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes came together. ^54 (CF)And ^(CG)Peter had followed him at a distance, ^(CH)right into ^(CI)the courtyard of the high priest. And he was sitting with ^(CJ)the guards and ^(CK)warming himself at the fire. ⁵⁵ Now the chief priests and the whole Council^[f] were seeking testimony against Jesus to put him to death, but they found none. ^56 (CL)For many bore false witness against him, but their testimony ^(CM)did not agree. ⁵⁷ And some stood up and bore false witness against him, saying, ^58 (CN)“We heard him say, ^(CO)‘I will destroy this temple ^(CP)that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, ^(CQ)not made with hands.’” ⁵⁹ Yet even about this their testimony did not agree. ⁶⁰ And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?”^{[g] 61} But ^(CR)he remained silent and made no answer. ^(CS)Again the high priest asked him, “Are you ^(CT)the Christ, the Son of ^(CU)the Blessed?” ⁶² And Jesus said, “I am, and ^(CV)you will see the Son of Man ^(CW)seated at the right hand of Power, and ^(CX)coming with the clouds of heaven.” ⁶³ And the high priest ^(CY)tore his garments and said, “What further witnesses do we need? ⁶⁴ You have heard ^(CZ)his blasphemy. What is your decision?” And they ^(DA)all condemned him as ^(DB)deserving death. ^65 (DC)And some began ^(DD)to spit on him and ^(DE)to cover his face and to strike him, saying to him, “Prophesy!” And the guards received him ^(DF)with blows.

Peter Denies Jesus

^66 (DG)And as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came, ⁶⁷ and seeing Peter ^(DH)warming himself, she looked at him and said, “You also were with the Nazarene, Jesus.” ⁶⁸ But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you mean.” And he went out into the gateway^[h] and ^(DI)the cock crowed.^{[i] 69} And the servant girl saw him and began again to say to the bystanders, “This man is one of them.” ⁷⁰ But again he denied it. And after a little while the bystanders again said to Peter, “Certainly you are one of them, for you are a Galilean.” ⁷¹ But he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know this man of whom you speak.” ⁷² And immediately the cock crowed ^(DJ)a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had said to him, ^(DK)“Before the cock crows twice, you will ^(DL)deny me three times.” And he broke down and wept.^[j]

Job Continues: A Plea to God