Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Song of Praise
133 See, how good and how pleasing it is for brothers to live together as one! 2 It is like oil of great worth poured on the head, flowing down through the hair on the face, even the face of Aaron, and flowing down to his coat. 3 It is like the morning water of Hermon coming down upon the hills of Zion. For there the Lord has given the gift of life that lasts forever.
The Death of Jacob
29 Then he told them, “I will soon be with my people who have died before me. Bury me with my fathers in the grave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, 30 in the grave that is in the field of Machpelah, east of Mamre, in the land of Canaan. Abraham bought this grave and the field from Ephron the Hittite for a burying place. 31 There they buried Abraham and his wife Sarah. There they buried Isaac and his wife Rebekah. And there I buried Leah. 32 The field and the grave that is in it were bought from the sons of Heth.”
33 When Jacob finished telling his sons what to do, he lay back down on his bed and died.
50 Then Joseph threw himself upon his father, and cried over him and kissed him. 2 Joseph told his servants the doctors to make his father ready to be buried. So the doctors made Israel ready. 3 Forty days were needed for this. For this is how much time it took for making the body ready to be buried. And the Egyptians cried for him seventy days.
4 When the days of sorrow for him were past, Joseph said to those of Pharaoh’s house, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, speak to Pharaoh, saying, 5 ‘My father had me make a promise to him. He said, “See, I am about to die. Bury me in my grave which I dug for myself in the land of Canaan.” So let me go and bury my father. Then I will return.’” 6 Pharaoh answered, “Go and bury your father as he made you promise.”
7 So Joseph went to bury his father. With him went all the servants of Pharaoh, the leaders of his house and all the important men of the land of Egypt, 8 and all those of the house of Joseph, and his brothers, and those of his father’s house. They left only their little ones and their flocks and cattle in the land of Goshen. 9 Wagons and men on horses went with him also. It was a very large group of people.
10 They came to the grain-floor of Atad on the other side of the Jordan. There they cried with much sorrow. Joseph cried in sorrow for his father for seven days. 11 When those who lived in the land, the Canaanites, saw the people crying in sorrow at the grain-floor of Atad, they said, “This is a great sorrow for the Egyptians.” So the place was given the name Abel-mizraim. It is on the other side of the Jordan.
12 Jacob’s sons did as he had told them. 13 They carried him to the land of Canaan. They buried him in the grave of the field of Machpelah, east of Mamre, which Abraham had bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite for a burying place. 14 After he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt with his brothers and all who had gone with him to bury his father.
13 So you should stop saying that you think other people are wrong. Instead, decide to live so that your Christian brother will not have a reason to trip or fall into sin because of you. 14 Christ has made me know that everything in itself is clean. But if a person thinks something is not clean, then to him it is not clean. 15 If your Christian brother is hurt because of some foods you eat, then you are no longer living by love. Do not destroy the man for whom Christ died by the food you eat. 16 Do not let what is good for you be talked about as bad. 17 For the holy nation of God is not food and drink. It is being right with God. It is peace and joy given by the Holy Spirit. 18 If you follow Christ in these things, God will be happy with you. Men will think well of you also.
19 Work for the things that make peace and help each other become stronger Christians. 20 Do not destroy what God has done just because of some food. All food is good to eat. But it is wrong to eat anything that will make someone fall into sin. 21 Do not eat meat or drink wine or do anything else if it would make your Christian brother fall into sin. 22 Keep the faith you have between yourself and God. A man is happy if he knows he is doing right. 23 But if he has doubts about the food he eats, God says he is guilty when he eats it. It is because he is eating without faith. Anything that is not done in faith is sin.
15 We who have strong faith should help those who are weak. We should not live to please ourselves. 2 Each of us should live to please his neighbor. This will help him grow in faith.
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