Joseph Reveals Himself to His Brothers

45 Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out, “Send everyone away from me.” So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers.^{(A) 2} And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it.^{(B) 3} Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, so dismayed were they at his presence.^(C)

⁴ Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come closer to me.” And they came closer. He said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt.^{(D) 5} And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.^{(E) 6} For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are five more years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. ⁷ God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to keep alive for you many survivors. ⁸ So it was not you who sent me here but God; he has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.^{(F) 9} Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me; do not delay. ¹⁰ You shall settle in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children’s children, as well as your flocks, your herds, and all that you have.^{(G) 11} I will provide for you there, since there are five more years of famine to come, so that you and your household and all that you have will not come to poverty.’ ¹² And now your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see that it is my own mouth that speaks to you. ¹³ You must tell my father how greatly I am honored in Egypt and all that you have seen. Hurry and bring my father down here.”^{(H) 14} Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept, while Benjamin wept upon his neck. ¹⁵ And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them, and after that his brothers talked with him.

³² I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the affairs of the Lord, how to please the Lord,^{(A) 33} but the married man is anxious about the affairs of the world, how to please his wife, ³⁴ and his interests are divided. And the unmarried woman and the virgin are anxious about the affairs of the Lord, so that they may be holy in body and spirit, but the married woman is anxious about the affairs of the world, how to please her husband.^{(B) 35} I say this for your own benefit, not to put any restraint upon you but to promote good order and unhindered devotion to the Lord.

³⁶ If anyone thinks that he is behaving indecently toward his fiancée,^[a] if his passions are strong and so it has to be, let him marry as he wishes; it is no sin. Let them marry. ³⁷ But if someone stands firm in his resolve, being under no necessity but having his own desire under control, and has determined in his own mind to keep her as his fiancée,^[b] he will do well. ³⁸ So then, he who marries his fiancée^[c] does well, and he who refrains from marriage will do better.

³⁹ A wife is bound as long as her husband lives. But if the husband dies,^[d] she is free to marry anyone she wishes, only in the Lord.^{(C) 40} But in my opinion she is more blessed if she remains as she is. And I think that I, too, have the Spirit of God.

The Rejection of Jesus at Nazareth

6 He left that place and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. ² On the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said, “Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands!^{(A) 3} Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary^[a] and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense^[b] at him.^{(B) 4} Then Jesus said to them, “Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown and among their own kin and in their own house.”^{(C) 5} And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them.^{(D) 6} And he was amazed at their unbelief.

The Mission of the Twelve

Then he went about among the villages teaching.^{(E) 7} He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over the unclean spirits.^{(F) 8} He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff: no bread, no bag, no money in their belts, ⁹ but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics. ¹⁰ He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. ¹¹ If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” ¹² So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent.^{(G) 13} They cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.^(H)