Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 103[a]
Praise of God’s Providence
1 Of David.
Bless the Lord, O my soul;[b]
my entire being, bless his holy name.
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and do not forget all his benefits.
3 He forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases.[c]
4 He redeems[d] your life from the pit
and crowns you with kindness and mercy.
5 He satisfies your years with good things
and renews your youth like an eagle’s.[e]
6 The Lord performs acts of righteousness
and administers justice for all who are oppressed.
7 [f]He made known his ways[g] to Moses,
his wondrous deeds to the people of Israel.
8 [a]The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in kindness.
9 He will not always rebuke,
nor will he remain angry forever.
10 He does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our offenses.
11 As high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his kindness toward those who fear him.[b]
12 As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.[c]
13 [d]As a father has compassion for his children,
so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him.
12 Sold as a Slave.[a] His brothers went out to pasture the flocks of their father at Shechem. 13 Israel said to Joseph, “You know that your brothers have gone to pasture at Shechem. Come, I wish to send you to them.”
He answered, “Here I am.”
14 He said, “Go to see how things are going for your brothers and the animals, then return and tell me.” He had him leave from the Valley of Hebron and travel to Shechem.
15 As Joseph was wandering through the fields, he found a man who asked him, “For whom are you looking?”
16 He answered, “I am looking for my brothers. Tell me how to find where they are pasturing their flocks.”
17 That man said, “They pulled up their camp from here and I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’ ”
Joseph therefore went in search of his brothers, and he found them in Dothan. 18 They saw him from a distance, and, before he could draw close to them, they plotted to put him to death.
19 They said to one another, “Here comes the dreamer. 20 Come, let us kill him and throw him in some cistern. We will say, ‘A wild animal devoured him.’ Then we will see what becomes of his dreams.”
21 But Reuben heard this and wanted to save him from their hands. He said, “Let us not take his life.” 22 Then he said to them, “Do not spill his blood. Throw him into this cistern in the desert, but do not lay your hands upon him.” He intended to save him from their hands and restore him to their father.
23 When Joseph reached his brothers, they stripped him of his tunic, the long tunic that he wore. 24 They took him and cast him into a dry cistern.
25 They then sat down to eat. When they looked up, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites from Gilead with camels laden with gums, balm, and myrrh. It was carrying these things to Egypt.
26 Judah said to his brothers, “What would we gain if we killed our brother and concealed his blood? 27 Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites. This way, we will not have laid hands on him, for he is our brother and our flesh.” His brothers agreed with him.
28 Now some Ishmaelite traders passed by, and his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. Thus Joseph was brought into Egypt.
29 When Reuben returned to the cistern, he found that Joseph was no longer there. He ripped his garments, 30 and he returned to his brothers and said, “The boy is gone! Where can I turn?”
31 They took Joseph’s tunic, slaughtered a goat, and dipped the tunic in its blood. 32 They then sent their father the long tunic and dispatched this message, “We have found this; do you know if this is your son’s tunic?”
33 He recognized it and said, “It is my son’s tunic! A wild animal has devoured him. Joseph has been torn to pieces.”
34 Then Jacob ripped his clothes, put sackcloth on his loins, and mourned his son for many days. 35 All his sons and his daughters came to console him, but he did not want to be consoled. He said, “No! I wish to go down into the netherworld mourning my son!” Thus did his father weep for him.
36 Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, a counselor of Pharaoh and a commander of the guard.
The Message of Love[a]
11 For from the beginning
you have heard the message
that we should love one another,
12 unlike Cain who was from the evil one
and slew his brother.
And why did he slay him?
Because his own deeds were evil
while those of his brother were righteous.
13 Do not be surprised, my brethren,
if the world hates you.
14 We know that we have passed
from death to life
because we love our brethren.
Whoever does not love remains in death.
15 Anyone who hates his brother
is a murderer,
and you know that no murderer
has eternal life abiding in him.
16 This is how we know what love is:
he laid down his life for us,
and we in turn must be prepared
to lay down our lives for our brethren.
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