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Joseph’s Dreams
37 But Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed,[a] in the land of Canaan.[b]
2 This is the account of Jacob.
Joseph, his seventeen-year-old son,[c] was taking care of[d] the flocks with his brothers. Now he was a youngster[e] working with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives.[f] Joseph brought back a bad report about them[g] to their father.
3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons[h] because he was a son born to him late in life,[i] and he made a special[j] tunic for him. 4 When Joseph’s[k] brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them,[l] they hated Joseph[m] and were not able to speak to him kindly.[n]
5 Joseph[o] had a dream,[p] and when he told his brothers about it[q] they hated him even more.[r] 6 He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had:[s] 7 There we were,[t] binding sheaves of grain in the middle of the field. Suddenly my sheaf rose up and stood upright and your sheaves surrounded my sheaf and bowed down[u] to it!” 8 Then his brothers asked him, “Do you really think you will rule over us or have dominion over us?”[v] They hated him even more[w] because of his dream and because of what he said.[x]
9 Then he had another dream,[y] and told it to his brothers. “Look,”[z] he said. “I had another dream. The sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” 10 When he told his father and his brothers, his father rebuked him, saying, “What is this dream that you had?[aa] Will I, your mother, and your brothers really come and bow down to you?”[ab] 11 His brothers were jealous[ac] of him, but his father kept in mind what Joseph said.[ad]
12 When his brothers had gone to graze their father’s flocks near Shechem, 13 Israel said to Joseph, “Your brothers[ae] are grazing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I will send you to them.” “I’m ready,”[af] Joseph replied.[ag] 14 So Jacob[ah] said to him, “Go now and check on[ai] the welfare[aj] of your brothers and of the flocks, and bring me word.” So Jacob[ak] sent him from the valley of Hebron.
15 When Joseph reached Shechem,[al] a man found him wandering[am] in the field, so the man asked him, “What are you looking for?” 16 He replied, “I’m looking for my brothers. Please tell[an] me where they are grazing their flocks.” 17 The man said, “They left this area,[ao] for I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.
18 Now Joseph’s brothers[ap] saw him from a distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him. 19 They said to one another, “Here comes this master of dreams![aq] 20 Come now, let’s kill him, throw him into one of the cisterns, and then say that a wild[ar] animal ate him. Then we’ll see how his dreams turn out!”[as]
21 When Reuben heard this, he rescued Joseph[at] from their hands,[au] saying,[av] “Let’s not take his life!”[aw] 22 Reuben continued,[ax] “Don’t shed blood! Throw him into this cistern that is here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.”[ay] (Reuben said this[az] so he could rescue Joseph[ba] from them[bb] and take him back to his father.)
23 When Joseph reached his brothers, they stripped him[bc] of his tunic, the special tunic that he wore. 24 Then they took him and threw him into the cistern. (Now the cistern was empty;[bd] there was no water in it.)
25 When they sat down to eat their food, they looked up[be] and saw[bf] a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying spices, balm, and myrrh down to Egypt.[bg] 26 Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is there if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? 27 Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites, but let’s not lay a hand on him,[bh] for after all, he is our brother, our own flesh.” His brothers agreed.[bi] 28 So when the Midianite[bj] merchants passed by, Joseph’s brothers pulled[bk] him[bl] out of the cistern and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. The Ishmaelites[bm] then took Joseph to Egypt.
29 Later Reuben returned to the cistern to find that Joseph was not in it![bn] He tore his clothes, 30 returned to his brothers, and said, “The boy isn’t there! And I, where can I go?” 31 So they took Joseph’s tunic, killed a young goat,[bo] and dipped the tunic in the blood. 32 Then they brought the special tunic to their father[bp] and said, “We found this. Determine now whether it is your son’s tunic or not.”
33 He recognized it and exclaimed, “It is my son’s tunic! A wild animal has eaten him![bq] Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!” 34 Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth,[br] and mourned for his son many days. 35 All his sons and daughters stood by[bs] him to console him, but he refused to be consoled. “No,” he said, “I will go to the grave mourning my son.”[bt] So Joseph’s[bu] father wept for him.
36 Now[bv] in Egypt the Midianites[bw] sold Joseph[bx] to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard.[by]
Judah and Tamar
38 At that time Judah left[bz] his brothers and stayed[ca] with an Adullamite man[cb] named Hirah. 2 There Judah saw the daughter of a Canaanite man named Shua.[cc] Judah acquired her as a wife[cd] and slept with her.[ce] 3 She became pregnant[cf] and had a son. Judah named[cg] him Er. 4 She became pregnant again and had another son, whom she named Onan. 5 Then she had[ch] yet another son, whom she named Shelah. She gave birth to him in Kezib.[ci]
6 Judah acquired[cj] a wife for Er his firstborn; her name was Tamar. 7 But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was evil in the Lord’s sight, so the Lord killed him.
8 Then Judah said to Onan, “Sleep with[ck] your brother’s wife and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her so that you may raise up[cl] a descendant for your brother.”[cm] 9 But Onan knew that the child[cn] would not be considered his.[co] So whenever[cp] he slept with[cq] his brother’s wife, he wasted his emission on the ground[cr] so as not to give his brother a descendant. 10 What he did was evil in the Lord’s sight, so the Lord[cs] killed him too.
11 Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Live as a widow in your father’s house until Shelah my son grows up.” For he thought,[ct] “I don’t want him to die like his brothers.”[cu] So Tamar went and lived in her father’s house.
12 After some time[cv] Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shua, died. After Judah was consoled, he left for Timnah to visit his sheepshearers, along with[cw] his friend Hirah the Adullamite. 13 Tamar was told,[cx] “Look, your father-in-law is going up[cy] to Timnah to shear his sheep.” 14 So she removed her widow’s clothes and covered herself with a veil. She wrapped herself and sat at the entrance to Enaim which is on the way to Timnah. (She did this because[cz] she saw that she had not been given to Shelah as a wife, even though he had now grown up.)[da]
15 When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute[db] because she had covered her face. 16 He turned aside to her along the road and said, “Come, please, I want to sleep with you.”[dc] (He did not realize it was his daughter-in-law.) She asked, “What will you give me so that you may sleep with me?” 17 He replied, “I’ll send you a young goat from the flock.” She asked, “Will you give me a pledge until you send it?”[dd] 18 He said, “What pledge should I give you?” She replied, “Your seal, your cord, and the staff that’s in your hand.” So he gave them to her, then slept with her,[de] and she became pregnant by him. 19 She left immediately,[df] removed her veil, and put on her widow’s clothes.
20 Then Judah had his friend Hirah[dg] the Adullamite take a young goat to get back from the woman the items he had given in pledge,[dh] but Hirah[di] could not find her. 21 He asked the men who were there,[dj] “Where is the cult prostitute[dk] who was at Enaim by the road?” But they replied, “There has been no cult prostitute here.” 22 So he returned to Judah and said, “I couldn’t find her. Moreover, the men of the place said, ‘There has been no cult prostitute here.’” 23 Judah said, “Let her keep the things[dl] for herself. Otherwise we will appear to be dishonest.[dm] I did indeed send this young goat, but you couldn’t find her.”
24 After three months Judah was told,[dn] “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has turned to prostitution,[do] and as a result she has become pregnant.”[dp] Judah said, “Bring her out and let her be burned!” 25 While they were bringing her out, she sent word[dq] to her father-in-law: “I am pregnant by the man to whom these belong.”[dr] Then she said, “Identify[ds] the one to whom the seal, cord, and staff belong.” 26 Judah recognized them and said, “She is more upright[dt] than I am, because I wouldn’t give her to Shelah my son.” He was not physically intimate with her again.[du]
27 When it was time for her to give birth, there were twins in her womb. 28 While she was giving birth, one child[dv] put out his hand, and the midwife took a scarlet thread and tied it on his hand, saying, “This one came out first.” 29 But then he drew back his hand, and his brother came out before him.[dw] She said, “How you have broken out of the womb!”[dx] So he was named Perez.[dy] 30 Afterward his brother came out—the one who had the scarlet thread on his hand—and he was named Zerah.[dz]
Jesus and Beelzebul
22 Then they brought to him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute. Jesus[a] healed him so that he could speak and see.[b] 23 All the crowds were amazed and said, “Could this one be the Son of David?” 24 But when the Pharisees[c] heard this they said, “He does not cast out demons except by the power of Beelzebul,[d] the ruler[e] of demons!” 25 Now when Jesus[f] realized what they were thinking, he said to them,[g] “Every kingdom divided against itself is destroyed,[h] and no town or house divided against itself will stand. 26 So if[i] Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons[j] cast them[k] out? For this reason they will be your judges. 28 But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God[l] has already overtaken[m] you. 29 How[n] else can someone enter a strong man’s[o] house and steal his property, unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can thoroughly plunder the house.[p] 30 Whoever is not with me is against me,[q] and whoever does not gather with me scatters.[r] 31 For this reason I tell you, people will be forgiven for every sin and blasphemy,[s] but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven.[t] But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven,[u] either in this age or in the age to come.
Trees and Their Fruit
33 “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad[v] and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is known by its fruit. 34 Offspring of vipers! How are you able to say anything good, since you are evil? For the mouth speaks from what fills the heart. 35 The good person[w] brings good things out of his[x] good treasury,[y] and the evil person brings evil things out of his evil treasury. 36 I[z] tell you that on the day of judgment, people will give an account for every worthless word they speak. 37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
The Sign of Jonah
38 Then some of the experts in the law[aa] along with some Pharisees[ab] answered him,[ac] “Teacher, we want to see a sign[ad] from you.” 39 But he answered them,[ae] “An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For just as Jonah was in the belly of the huge fish[af] for three days and three nights,[ag] so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. 41 The people[ah] of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented when Jonah preached to them[ai]—and now,[aj] something greater than Jonah is here! 42 The queen of the South[ak] will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon—and now,[al] something greater than Solomon is here!
The Return of the Unclean Spirit
43 “When[am] an unclean spirit[an] goes out of a person,[ao] it passes through waterless places[ap] looking for rest but[aq] does not find it. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to the home I left.’[ar] When it returns,[as] it finds the house[at] empty, swept clean, and put in order.[au] 45 Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there, so[av] the last state of that person is worse than the first. It will be that way for this evil generation as well!”
Psalm 16[a]
A prayer[b] of David.
16 Protect me, O God, for I have taken shelter in you.[c]
2 I say to the Lord, “You are the Lord,
my only source of well-being.”[d]
3 As for God’s chosen people who are in the land,
and the leading officials I admired so much[e]—
4 their troubles multiply;
they desire other gods.[f]
I will not pour out drink offerings of blood to their gods,[g]
nor will I make vows in the name of their gods.[h]
5 Lord, you give me stability and prosperity;[i]
you make my future secure.[j]
6 It is as if I have been given fertile fields
or received a beautiful tract of land.[k]
7 I will praise[l] the Lord who[m] guides[n] me;
yes, during the night I reflect and learn.[o]
8 I constantly trust in the Lord;[p]
because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
9 So my heart rejoices
and I am happy;[q]
my life is safe.[r]
10 You will not abandon me[s] to Sheol;[t]
you will not allow your faithful follower[u] to see[v] the Pit.[w]
11 You lead me in[x] the path of life.[y]
I experience absolute joy in your presence;[z]
you always give me sheer delight.[aa]
Wisdom Demonstrated in Relationships with People
27 Do not withhold good from those who need it,[a]
when you[b] have the ability[c] to help.[d]
28 Do not say to your neighbor, “Go! Return tomorrow
and I will give it,” when you have it with you at the time.[e]
29 Do not plot[f] evil against your neighbor
when[g] he dwells by you unsuspectingly.
30 Do not accuse[h] anyone[i] without legitimate cause,[j]
if he has not treated you wrongly.
31 Do not envy a violent man,[k]
and do not choose any of his ways;
32 for one who goes astray[l] is an abomination[m] to the Lord,
but he reveals[n] his intimate counsel[o] to the upright.
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