The Daily Audio Bible

Joseph Buries His Father

50 Joseph threw himself on his father, cried over him, and kissed him. ² Then Joseph ordered the doctors in his service to embalm his father. So the doctors embalmed Israel. ³ The embalming was completed in the usual time—40 days. The Egyptians mourned for him 70 days.

⁴ When the time of mourning for Jacob was over, Joseph spoke to the Pharaoh’s palace staff. He said, “Please speak directly to Pharaoh. Tell him, ⁵ ‘My father made me swear an oath. He said, “I’m about to die. Bury me in the tomb I bought for myself in Canaan.” Please let me go there and bury my father; then I’ll come back.’ ”

⁶ Pharaoh replied, “Go and bury your father, as you have promised him.”

⁷ So Joseph left to bury his father. All Pharaoh’s officials, the leaders in his palace staff, and all the leaders of Egypt went with him. ⁸ Joseph’s household, his brothers, and his father’s household also went with him. (Only their children, their flocks, and their cattle were left in Goshen.) ⁹ Chariots and horsemen went with him. It was a very large group.

¹⁰ When they came to the threshing floor ^[a] of Atad, which is on the east side of the Jordan River, they began a great and solemn ceremony to mourn Jacob’s death. Joseph took seven days to mourn his father’s death. ¹¹ When the Canaanites living there saw the funeral ceremonies at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “These funeral ceremonies are taken very seriously by the Egyptians.” That’s why that place on the east side of the Jordan was named Abel Mizraim [Egyptian Funeral Ceremonies].

¹² Jacob’s sons did for him what he had told them to do. ¹³ They carried him back to Canaan and buried him in the cave in the field of Machpelah, east of Mamre. Abraham had bought this tomb from Ephron the Hittite.

¹⁴ After Joseph had buried his father, he went back to Egypt along with his brothers and everyone who had gone there with him to bury his father.

Joseph Forgives His Brothers

¹⁵ Joseph’s brothers realized what their father’s death could mean. So they thought, “What if Joseph holds a grudge against us? What if he decides to pay us back for all the evil we did to him?” ¹⁶ They sent a messenger to Joseph to say, “Before your father died, he commanded us, ¹⁷ ‘This is what you should say to Joseph, “I’m begging you to forgive the crime and the sin your brothers committed against you. What they did to you was very evil.” ’ So now, please forgive our crime, because we are servants of your father’s God.” Joseph cried when he got their message.

¹⁸ Then his brothers also came and immediately bowed down in front of him. “We are your slaves!” they said.

¹⁹ Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid! I can’t take God’s place. ²⁰ Even though you planned evil against me, God planned good to come out of it. This was to keep many people alive, as he is doing now. ²¹ Don’t be afraid! I will provide for you and your children.” In this way he reassured them, setting their minds at ease.

²² Joseph and his father’s family stayed in Egypt. Joseph lived to be 110 years old. ²³ He saw his grandchildren, Ephraim’s children. Even the children of Machir, son of Manasseh, were adopted by Joseph at birth.

²⁴ At last Joseph said to his brothers, “I’m about to die. God will definitely take care of you and take you out of this land to the land he swore with an oath to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” ²⁵ Joseph made Israel’s sons swear an oath. He said, “God will definitely take care of you. So be sure to carry my bones back with you.”

²⁶ Joseph died when he was 110 years old. His body was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt.

Israel Comes to Egypt

1 These are the names of the sons of Israel (that is, Jacob) who came with him to Egypt with their families: ² Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah; ³ Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin; ⁴ Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher. ⁵ Joseph was already in Egypt. The total number of Jacob’s descendants was 70.

⁶ Eventually, Joseph, all his brothers, and that entire generation died. ⁷ But the descendants of Israel had many children. They became so numerous and strong that the land was filled with them.

The Israelites Become Slaves

⁸ Then a new king, who knew nothing about Joseph, began to rule in Egypt. ⁹ He said to his people, “There are too many Israelites, and they are stronger than we are. ¹⁰ We have to outsmart them, or they’ll increase in number. Then, if war breaks out, they will join our enemies, fight against us, and leave the country.”

¹¹ So the Egyptians put slave drivers in charge of them in order to oppress them through forced labor. They built Pithom and Rameses as supply cities for Pharaoh. ¹² But the more the Israelites were oppressed, the more they increased in number and spread out. The Egyptians couldn’t stand them ⌞any longer⌟. ¹³ So they forced the Israelites to work hard as slaves. ¹⁴ They made their lives bitter with back-breaking work in mortar and bricks and every kind of work in the fields. All the jobs the Egyptians gave them were brutally hard.

Pharaoh Tells the Midwives to Kill All Hebrew Baby Boys

¹⁵ Then the king of Egypt told the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, ¹⁶ “When you help the Hebrew women in childbirth, look at the child when you deliver it. If it’s a boy, kill it, but if it’s a girl, let it live.”

¹⁷ However, the midwives feared God and didn’t obey the king of Egypt’s orders. They let the boys live. ¹⁸ So the king of Egypt called for the midwives. He asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?”

¹⁹ The midwives answered Pharaoh, “Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women. They are so healthy that they have their babies before a midwife arrives.”

²⁰ God was good to the midwives. So the people increased in number and became very strong. ²¹ Because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.

²² Then Pharaoh commanded all his people to throw into the Nile every ⌞Hebrew⌟ boy that was born, but to let every girl live.

Pharaoh’s Daughter Adopts Moses

2 A man from Levi’s family married a Levite woman. ² The woman became pregnant and had a son. She saw how beautiful he was and hid him for three months. ³ When she couldn’t hide him any longer, she took a basket made of papyrus plants and coated it with tar and pitch. She put the baby in it and set it among the papyrus plants near the bank of the Nile River. ⁴ The baby’s sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.

⁵ While Pharaoh’s daughter came to the Nile to take a bath, her servants walked along the bank of the river. She saw the basket among the papyrus plants and sent her slave girl to get it. ⁶ Pharaoh’s daughter opened the basket, looked at the baby, and saw it was a boy. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. She said, “This is one of the Hebrew children.”

⁷ Then the baby’s sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, “Should I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?”

⁸ She answered, “Yes!” So the girl brought the baby’s mother.

⁹ Pharaoh’s daughter said to the woman, “Take this child, nurse him for me, and I will pay you.”

She took the child and nursed him. ¹⁰ When the child was old enough, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. Pharaoh’s daughter named him Moses [Pulled Out] and said, “I pulled him out of the water.”

Peter Declares His Belief about Jesus^(A)

¹³ When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

¹⁴ They answered, “Some say you are John the Baptizer, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

¹⁵ He asked them, “But who do you say I am?”

¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God!”

¹⁷ Jesus replied, “Simon, son of Jonah, you are blessed! No human revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven revealed it to you. ¹⁸ You are Peter, and I can guarantee that on this rock ^[a] I will build my church. And the gates of hell will not overpower it. ¹⁹ I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you imprison, God will imprison. And whatever you set free, God will set free.”

²⁰ Then he strictly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

Jesus Foretells That He Will Die and Come Back to Life^(B)

²¹ From that time on Jesus began to inform his disciples that he had to go to Jerusalem. There he would have to suffer a lot because of the leaders, the chief priests, and the experts in Moses’ Teachings. He would be killed, but on the third day he would be brought back to life.

²² Peter took him aside and objected to this. He said, “Heaven forbid, Lord! This must never happen to you!”

²³ But Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get out of my way, Satan! You are tempting me to sin. You aren’t thinking the way God thinks but the way humans think.”

What It Means to Follow Jesus^(C)

²⁴ Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Those who want to come with me must say no to the things they want, pick up their crosses, and follow me. ²⁵ Those who want to save their lives will lose them. But those who lose their lives for me will find them. ²⁶ What good will it do for people to win the whole world and lose their lives? Or what will a person give in exchange for life? ²⁷ The Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory. Then he will pay back each person based on what that person has done. ²⁸ I can guarantee this truth: Some people who are standing here will not die until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

Moses and Elijah Appear with Jesus^(D)

17 After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John (the brother of James) and led them up a high mountain where they could be alone.

² Jesus’ appearance changed in front of them. His face became as bright as the sun and his clothes as white as light. ³ Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared to them and were talking with Jesus.

⁴ Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it’s good that we’re here. If you want, I’ll put up three tents here—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

⁵ He was still speaking when a bright cloud overshadowed them. Then a voice came out of the cloud and said, “This is my Son, whom I love and with whom I am pleased. Listen to him!”

⁶ The disciples were terrified when they heard this and fell facedown on the ground. ⁷ But Jesus touched them and said, “Get up, and don’t be afraid!” ⁸ As they raised their heads, they saw no one but Jesus.

⁹ On their way down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen. Wait until the Son of Man has been brought back to life.”

For the choir director; a psalm by David.

Avoid Adultery