Prayer for Protection from the Wicked.

For the music director; for ^[a]flute accompaniment. A Psalm of David.

Praise for Jerusalem’s Restoration and Prosperity.

¹⁶ Now when ^(A)the ^[a]news was heard in Pharaoh’s house ^[b]that Joseph’s brothers had come, it ^[c]pleased Pharaoh and his servants. ¹⁷ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Say to your brothers, ‘Do this: load your livestock and ^[d]go to the land of Canaan, ¹⁸ and take your father and your households and come to me; and ^(B)I will give you the ^[e]best of the land of Egypt, and you will eat the fat of the land.’ ¹⁹ Now you are ordered, ‘Do this: ^[f]take ^(C)wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives, and bring your father and come. ²⁰ And do not ^[g]concern yourselves with your property, for the ^[h]best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’”

²¹ Then the sons of Israel did so; and Joseph gave them ^(D)wagons according to the ^[i]command of Pharaoh, and gave them provisions for the journey. ²² To ^[j]each of them he gave ^(E)changes of garments, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and ^(F)five changes of garments. ²³ And to his father he sent ^[k]the following: ten male donkeys loaded with the ^[l]best things of Egypt, ten female donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and sustenance for his father ^[m]on the journey.

²⁴ So he sent his brothers away, and ^[n]as they departed, he said to them, “Do not ^[o]quarrel on the journey.” ²⁵ Then they went up from Egypt, and came to the land of Canaan, to their father Jacob. ²⁶ And they told him, saying, “Joseph is still alive, and indeed he is ruler over all the land of Egypt.” But ^[p]he was stunned, for ^(G)he did not believe them. ²⁷ When they told him all the words of Joseph that he had spoken to them, and when he saw the ^(H)wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, then the spirit of their father Jacob revived. ²⁸ Then Israel said, “It is enough; my son Joseph is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”

Take Care with Your Liberty

8 Now concerning ^(A)food sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have ^(B)knowledge. Knowledge ^[a](C)makes one conceited, but love ^(D)edifies people. ^2 (E)If anyone thinks that he knows anything, he has not yet ^(F)known as he ought to know; ³ but if anyone loves God, he ^(G)is known by Him.

⁴ Therefore, concerning the eating of ^(H)food sacrificed to idols, we know that an ^(I)idol is ^[b]nothing at all in the world, and that ^(J)there is no God but one. ⁵ For even if ^(K)there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords, ⁶ yet for us ^(L)there is only one God, ^(M)the Father, ^(N)from whom are all things, and we exist for Him; and ^(O)one Lord, Jesus Christ, ^(P)by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.

⁷ However, not all people ^(Q)have this knowledge; but ^(R)some, being accustomed to the idol until now, eat food as if it were sacrificed to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. ⁸ Now ^(S)food will not bring us ^[c]close to God; we are neither ^[d]the worse if we do not eat, nor ^[e]the better if we do eat. ⁹ But ^(T)take care that this ^[f]freedom of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the ^(U)weak. ¹⁰ For if someone sees you, the one who has ^(V)knowledge, dining in an idol’s temple, will his conscience, if he is weak, not be strengthened to eat ^(W)things sacrificed to idols? ¹¹ For through ^(X)your knowledge the one who is weak ^(Y)is ruined, the brother or sister for whose sake Christ died. ^12 (Z)And so, by sinning against the brothers and sisters and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin ^(AA)against Christ. ¹³ Therefore, ^(AB)if food causes my brother to sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause my brother to sin.

¹³ And they were casting out many demons and ^(A)were anointing with oil many sick people and healing them.

John’s Fate Recalled

^14 (B)And King Herod heard about it, for His name had become well known; and people were saying, “^(C)John the Baptist has risen from the dead, and that is why these miraculous powers are at work in Him.” ¹⁵ But others were saying, “He is ^(D)Elijah.” And others were saying, “He is ^(E)a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” ¹⁶ But when Herod heard about it, he kept saying, “John, whom I beheaded, has risen!”

¹⁷ For Herod himself had sent men and had John arrested and bound in prison on account of ^(F)Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, because he had married her. ¹⁸ For John had been saying to Herod, “^(G)It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” ¹⁹ And ^(H)Herodias held a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death, and could not do so; ²⁰ for ^(I)Herod was afraid of John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he had been protecting him. And when he heard him, he was very perplexed; and yet he ^[a]used to enjoy listening to him. ²¹ An opportune day came when Herod, on his birthday, ^(J)held a banquet for his nobles and military commanders, and the leading people ^(K)of Galilee; ²² and when the daughter of ^(L)Herodias herself came in and danced, she pleased Herod and ^[b]his dinner guests; and the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you want, and I will give it to you.” ²³ And he swore to her, “Whatever you ask of me, I will give it to you, up to ^(M)half of my kingdom.” ²⁴ And she went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.” ²⁵ Immediately she came in a hurry to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” ²⁶ And although the king was very sorry, because of his oaths and ^[c]his dinner guests, he was unwilling to refuse her. ²⁷ Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded him to bring back his head. And he went and beheaded him in the prison, ²⁸ and brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother. ²⁹ When his disciples heard about this, they came and carried away his body, and laid it in a tomb.