Book of Common Prayer

A psalm of David.

A psalm of David.

For the director of music. According to gittith. A psalm of David.

For the director of music. According to gittith. A psalm of the Sons of Korah.

¹⁴ So Pharaoh sent for Joseph. He was quickly brought out of the prison. Joseph shaved and changed his clothes. Then he came to Pharaoh.

¹⁵ Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream. No one can tell me what it means. But I’ve heard that when you hear a dream you can explain it.”

¹⁶ “I can’t do it,” Joseph replied to Pharaoh. “But God will give Pharaoh the answer he wants.”

¹⁷ Then Pharaoh told Joseph what he had dreamed. He said, “I was standing on the bank of the Nile River. ¹⁸ Seven cows came up out of the river. They were fat and looked healthy. They were eating the tall grass growing along the river. ¹⁹ After them, seven other cows came up. They were bony and very ugly and thin. I had never seen such ugly cows in the whole land of Egypt. ²⁰ The thin, ugly cows ate up the seven fat cows that came up first. ²¹ But no one could tell that the thin cows had eaten the fat cows. That’s because the thin cows looked just as ugly as they had before. Then I woke up.

²² “In my dream I also saw seven heads of grain. They were full and good. They were all growing on one stem. ²³ After them, seven other heads of grain came up. They were weak and thin and dried up by the east wind. ²⁴ The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good heads. I told my dream to the magicians. But none of them could explain it to me.”

²⁵ Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Both of Pharaoh’s dreams have the same meaning. God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. ²⁶ The seven good cows are seven years. And the seven good heads of grain are seven years. Both dreams mean the same thing. ²⁷ The seven thin, ugly cows that came up later are seven years. So are the seven worthless heads of grain dried up by the east wind. They are seven years when there won’t be enough food.

²⁸ “It’s just as I said to Pharaoh. God has shown Pharaoh what he’s about to do. ²⁹ Seven years with plenty of food are coming to the whole land of Egypt. ³⁰ But seven years when there won’t be enough food will follow them. Then everyone will forget about all the food Egypt had. Terrible hunger will destroy the land. ³¹ There won’t be anything left to remind people of the years when there was plenty of food in the land. That’s how bad the hunger that follows will be. ³² God gave the dream to Pharaoh in two forms. That’s because the matter has been firmly decided by God. And it’s because God will do it soon.

³³ “So Pharaoh should look for a wise and understanding man. He should put him in charge of the land of Egypt. ³⁴ Pharaoh should appoint officials to be in charge of the land. They should take a fifth of the harvest in Egypt during the seven years when there’s plenty of food. ³⁵ They should collect all the extra food of the good years that are coming. Pharaoh should give them authority to store up the grain. They should keep it in the cities for food. ³⁶ The grain should be stored up for the country to use later. It will be needed during the seven years when there isn’t enough food in Egypt. Then the country won’t be destroyed just because it doesn’t have enough food.”

³⁷ The plan seemed good to Pharaoh and all his officials. ³⁸ So Pharaoh said to them, “The spirit of God is in this man. We can’t find anyone else like him, can we?”

³⁹ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “God has made all this known to you. No one is as wise and understanding as you are. ⁴⁰ You will be in charge of my palace. All my people must obey your orders. I will be greater than you only because I’m the one who sits on the throne.”

Joseph Is Put in Charge of Egypt

⁴¹ So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I’m putting you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.” ⁴² Then Pharaoh took from his finger the ring he used to give his official stamp. He put it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in robes made out of fine linen. He put a gold chain around Joseph’s neck. ⁴³ He also had him ride in a chariot. Joseph was now next in command after Pharaoh. People went in front of Joseph and shouted, “Get down on your knees!” By doing all these things, Pharaoh put Joseph in charge of the whole land of Egypt.

⁴⁴ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh. But unless you give an order, no one will do anything in the whole land of Egypt.” ⁴⁵ Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah. He gave Joseph a wife. She was Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera. Potiphera was the priest of On. Joseph traveled all over the land of Egypt.

³ All of us were baptized into Christ Jesus. Don’t you know that we were baptized into his death? ⁴ By being baptized, we were buried with Christ into his death. Christ has been raised from the dead by the Father’s glory. And like Christ we also can live a new life.

⁵ By being baptized, we have been joined with him in a death like his. So we will certainly also be joined with him in a resurrection like his. ⁶ We know that what we used to be was nailed to the cross with him. That happened so our bodies that were ruled by sin would lose their power. So we are no longer slaves of sin. ⁷ That’s because those who have died have been set free from sin.

⁸ We died with Christ. So we believe that we will also live with him. ⁹ We know that Christ was raised from the dead and will never die again. Death doesn’t control him anymore. ¹⁰ When he died, he died once and for all time. He did this to break the power of sin. Now that he lives, he lives in the power of God.

¹¹ In the same way, consider yourselves to be dead as far as sin is concerned. Now you believe in Christ Jesus. So consider yourselves to be alive as far as God is concerned. ¹² So don’t let sin rule your body, which is going to die. Don’t obey its evil desires. ¹³ Don’t give any part of yourself to serve sin. Don’t let any part of yourself be used to do evil. Instead, give yourselves to God. You have been brought from death to life. So give every part of yourself to God to do what is right. ¹⁴ Sin will no longer control you like a master. That’s because the law does not rule you. God’s grace has set you free.

¹⁹ Jesus answered, “What I’m about to tell you is true. The Son can do nothing by himself. He can do only what he sees his Father doing. What the Father does, the Son also does. ²⁰ This is because the Father loves the Son. The Father shows him everything he does. Yes, and the Father will show the Son even greater works than these. And you will be amazed. ²¹ The Father raises the dead and gives them life. In the same way, the Son gives life to anyone he wants to. ²² Also, the Father does not judge anyone. He has given the Son the task of judging. ²³ Then all people will honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.

²⁴ “What I’m about to tell you is true. Anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. They will not be judged. They have crossed over from death to life.