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.

²⁵ Then they sat down to eat ^[a]a meal. But as they raised their eyes and looked, behold, a caravan of ^(A)Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels carrying ^(B)labdanum resin, ^(C)balsam, and ^[b]myrrh, ^[c]on their way to bring them down to Egypt. ²⁶ And Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it for us to kill our brother and ^(D)cover up his blood? ^27 (E)Come, and let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened to him. ²⁸ Then some ^(F)Midianite traders passed by, so they pulled him out and lifted Joseph out of the pit, and ^(G)sold ^[d]him to the Ishmaelites for ^[e]twenty shekels of silver. So ^(H)they brought Joseph into Egypt.

²⁹ Now Reuben returned to the pit, and behold, Joseph was not in the pit; so he ^(I)tore his garments. ³⁰ He returned to his brothers and said, “^(J)The boy is not there; as for me, where am I to go?” ³¹ So ^(K)they took Joseph’s tunic, and slaughtered a male goat, and dipped the tunic in the blood; ³² and they sent the ^[f]multicolored tunic and brought it to their father and said, “We found this; please ^[g]examine it to see whether it is your son’s tunic or not.” ³³ Then he ^[h]examined it and said, “It is my son’s tunic. ^(L)A vicious animal has devoured him; ^(M)Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!” ³⁴ So Jacob ^(N)tore his clothes, and put on a sackcloth undergarment over his waist, and mourned for his son many days. ³⁵ Then all his sons and all his daughters got up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. And he said, “Surely I will ^(O)go down to Sheol in mourning for my son.” So his father wept for him. ³⁶ Meanwhile, the ^[i]Midianites ^(P)sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, Pharaoh’s officer, the captain of the bodyguard.

Paul’s Reliance upon the Spirit

2 And when I came to you, brothers and sisters, I ^(A)did not come as someone superior in ^[a]speaking ability or ^[b]wisdom, as I proclaimed to you ^(B)the ^[c]testimony of God. ² For I determined to know nothing among you except ^(C)Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. ³ I also was with you in ^(D)weakness and ^(E)fear, and in great trembling, ⁴ and my ^[d]message and my preaching were ^(F)not in persuasive words of ^[e]wisdom, but in demonstration of ^(G)the Spirit and of power, ⁵ so that your faith would not ^[f]rest on the ^[g]wisdom of mankind, but on ^(H)the power of God.

⁶ Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are ^(I)mature; a wisdom, however, not of ^(J)this age nor of the rulers of ^(K)this age, who are ^(L)passing away; ⁷ but we speak God’s wisdom in a ^(M)mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ^(N)predestined before the ^(O)ages to our glory; ⁸ the wisdom ^(P)which none of the rulers of ^(Q)this age has understood; for if they had understood it, they would not have crucified ^(R)the Lord of glory; ⁹ but just as it is written:

^10 [h](T)For to us God revealed them ^(U)through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the ^(V)depths of God. ¹¹ For who among people knows the thoughts of a person except the ^(W)spirit of the person that is in him? So also the thoughts of God no one knows, except the Spirit of God. ¹² Now we ^(X)have not received the spirit of ^(Y)the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God. ¹³ We also speak these things, ^(Z)not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, ^[i]combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.

Crowds Healed

^29 (A)And immediately after they left ^(B)the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with ^[a]James and John. ³⁰ Now Simon’s mother-in-law was lying sick with a fever; and they immediately *spoke to ^[b]Jesus about her. ³¹ And He came to her and raised her up, taking her by the hand, and the fever left her, and she served them.

³² Now ^(C)when evening came, ^(D)after the sun had set, they began bringing to Him all who were ill and those who were ^(E)demon-possessed. ³³ And the whole ^(F)city had gathered at the door. ³⁴ And He ^(G)healed many who were ill with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew ^[c]who He was.

^35 (H)And in the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and ^(I)prayed there for a time. ³⁶ Simon and his companions eagerly searched for Him; ³⁷ and they found Him and *said to Him, “Everyone is looking for You.” ³⁸ He *said to them, “Let’s go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may also ^[d]preach there; for this is why I came.” ^39 (J)And He went into their synagogues ^[e]preaching throughout Galilee, and casting out the demons.

^40 (K)And a man with ^[f]leprosy *came to ^[g]Jesus, imploring Him and ^(L)kneeling down, and saying to Him, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” ⁴¹ Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out with His hand and touched him, and *said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” ⁴² And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed. ⁴³ And He sternly warned him and immediately sent him away, ⁴⁴ and He *said to him, “^(M)See that you say nothing to anyone; but ^(N)go, show yourself to the priest and ^(O)offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” ⁴⁵ But he went out and began to ^(P)proclaim it ^[h]freely and to ^(Q)spread the news around, to such an extent that ^[i]Jesus could no longer publicly enter a city, but ^[j]stayed out in unpopulated areas; and ^(R)they were coming to Him from everywhere.