Prayer for Help.

Israel Invoked to Praise the Lord.

²⁷ Now Israel lived in the land of Egypt, in ^[a]Goshen, and they ^(A)acquired property in it and ^(B)were fruitful and became very numerous. ²⁸ And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt for ^(C)seventeen years; so the ^[b]length of Jacob’s life was 147 years.

²⁹ When ^[c](D)the time for Israel to die drew near, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “Please, if I have found favor in your sight, ^(E)place your hand under my thigh now and ^(F)deal with me in kindness and ^[d]faithfulness: please do not bury me in Egypt, ³⁰ but when I ^(G)[e]lie down with my fathers, you shall carry me out of Egypt and bury me in ^(H)their burial place.” And he said, “I will do as you have said.” ³¹ And he said, “^(I)Swear to me.” So he swore to him. Then ^(J)Israel bowed in worship at the head of the bed.

Israel’s Last Days

48 Now it came about after these things that ^[f]Joseph was told, “Behold, your father is sick.” So he took his two sons ^(K)Manasseh and Ephraim with him. ² When ^[g]it was told to Jacob, “Behold, your son Joseph has come to you,” Israel ^[h]collected his strength and sat ^[i]up in the bed. ³ Then Jacob said to Joseph, “^[j](L)God Almighty appeared to me at ^(M)Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, ⁴ and He said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and numerous, and I will make you a multitude of peoples, and will give this land to your ^[k]descendants after you as ^(N)an everlasting possession.’ ⁵ Now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; ^(O)Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as ^(P)Reuben and Simeon are. ⁶ But your children that you have fathered after them shall be yours; they shall be called by the ^[l]names of their brothers in their inheritance. ⁷ Now as for me, when I came from ^(Q)Paddan, ^(R)Rachel died, ^[m]to my sorrow, in the land of Canaan on the journey, when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath. I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).”

Avoid Israel’s Mistakes

10 For ^(A)I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our fathers were all ^(B)under the cloud and they all ^(C)passed through the sea; ² and they all were ^(D)baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; ³ and they all ^(E)ate the same spiritual food, ⁴ and all ^(F)drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was ^[a]Christ. ⁵ Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased; for their dead bodies were ^(G)spread out in the wilderness.

⁶ Now these things happened as ^(H)examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as ^(I)they indeed craved them. ⁷ Do not be ^(J)idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “^(K)The people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to ^(L)play.” ⁸ Nor are we to commit sexual immorality, as ^(M)some of them ^[b]did, and ^(N)twenty-three thousand fell in one day. ⁹ Nor are we to put the Lord to the test, as ^(O)some of them ^[c]did, and were killed by the snakes. ¹⁰ Nor ^(P)grumble, as some of them ^[d]did, and ^(Q)were killed by the ^(R)destroyer. ¹¹ Now these things happened to them as an ^(S)example, and ^(T)they were written for our instruction, upon whom ^(U)the ends of the ages have come. ¹² Therefore let the one who ^(V)thinks he stands watch out that he does not fall. ¹³ No temptation has overtaken you except something common to mankind; and ^(W)God is faithful, ^[e]so He will not allow you to be ^(X)tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.

Followers of Tradition

7 ^(A)The Pharisees and some of the scribes *gathered to Him after they came ^(B)from Jerusalem, ² and saw that some of His disciples were eating their bread with ^[a](C)unholy hands, that is, unwashed. ³ (For the Pharisees and all the other Jews do not eat unless they ^[b]carefully wash their hands, thereby holding firmly to the ^(D)tradition of the elders; ⁴ and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they ^[c]completely cleanse themselves; and there are many other things which they have received as traditions to firmly hold, such as the ^[d]washing of ^(E)cups, pitchers, and copper pots.) ⁵ And the Pharisees and the scribes *asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk in accordance with the ^(F)tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with ^(G)[e]unholy hands?” ⁶ But He said to them, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written:

⁸ Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the ^(J)tradition of men.”

⁹ He was also saying to them, “You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your ^(K)tradition. ¹⁰ For Moses said, ‘^(L)Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘^(M)The one who speaks evil of father or mother, is ^[f]certainly to be put to death’; ¹¹ but you say, ‘If a person says to his father or his mother, whatever I have that would help you is ^(N)Corban (that is, ^[g]given to God),’ ¹² you no longer allow him to do anything for his father or his mother; ¹³ thereby invalidating the word of God by your ^(O)tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that.”

The Heart of Man

¹⁴ After He called the crowd to Him again, He began saying to them, “Listen to Me, all of you, and understand: ¹⁵ there is nothing outside the person which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which come out of the person are what defile the person^[h].”

¹⁷ And when He later entered a house, away from the crowd, ^(P)His disciples asked Him about the parable. ¹⁸ And He *said to them, “Are you so lacking in understanding as well? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the person from outside cannot defile him, ¹⁹ because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and ^[i]is eliminated?” (Thereby He declared ^(Q)all foods ^(R)clean.) ²⁰ And He was saying, “^(S)That which comes out of the person, that is what defiles the person. ²¹ For from within, out of the ^[j]hearts of people, come the evil thoughts, acts of sexual immorality, thefts, murders, acts of adultery, ²² deeds of greed, wickedness, deceit, indecent behavior, ^[k](T)envy, slander, ^[l]pride, and foolishness. ²³ All these evil things come from within and defile the person.”