Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

To the Director: By the servant of the Lord, David.

An Oracle from the Lord

Praise to the Lord

Preparing to Return to Egypt

43 Meanwhile, the famine remained severe throughout the region. ² As a result, when Jacob’s family^[a] was beginning to eat the last of the grain that they had brought back from Egypt, their father Jacob^[b] told his sons, “Go back to Egypt and buy us some food.”

³ But Judah reminded him, “The man distinctly warned us: ‘You’ll never see my face unless your brother comes with you.’ ⁴ So if you send our brother with us, we’ll go down and buy some food. ⁵ But if you don’t send him, we’re not going, because the man told us, ‘You’ll never see my face unless your brother is with you.’”

⁶ Israel replied, “Why did you make all this trouble by telling the man that you have another brother?”

⁷ “The man specifically asked about us and our relatives,” they responded. “He asked us, ‘Is your father still alive?’ and ‘Do you have another brother?’ So we answered his questions. How could we have known that he would tell us to bring our brother back with us?”

⁸ “Send the young man with me,” Judah told his father Israel, “and we’ll get up and go so we can survive and not die—and that includes all of us, you and our families.^{[c] 9} I’ll even offer myself to guarantee that I’ll be responsible for him. If I don’t bring him back and present him to you, I’ll personally bear the consequences forever. ¹⁰ After all, if we hadn’t delayed, we could have been there and back^[d] twice by now!”

Jacob Gives Instructions for the Trip

¹¹ “If that’s the way it has to be,” their father Israel replied, “then do this: take some of the best produce of the land in your containers and take them to the man as a gift—some resin ointment, some honey, fragrant resins, myrrh, pistachios, and almonds. ¹² Also take twice as much money with you so you can return the money that had been replaced in the mouth of your sacks. Maybe it was an accounting^[e] mistake on his part. ¹³ And be sure to take your brother, too. So get up, return to the man, ¹⁴ and may God Almighty cause the man to show compassion toward you. May he send all of you back, including your other brother and Benjamin. Now as for me, if I lose my children, I lose them.”

¹⁵ So the men took their gift and twice as much money, got up, took Benjamin with them, and set out for Egypt. Eventually they appeared before Joseph.

Seven Men are Chosen to Help the Apostles

6 In those days, as the number of the disciples was growing larger and larger, a complaint was made by the Hellenistic Jews against the Hebraic Jews that their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food. ² So the Twelve called the whole group of disciples together and said, “It is not desirable for us to neglect messages from^[a] God in order to wait on tables. ³ Therefore, brothers, appoint seven men among you who have a good reputation, who are full of the Spirit and wisdom, and we’ll put them in charge of this work. ⁴ Then we’ll devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

⁵ This suggestion pleased the whole group. So they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a gentile convert to Judaism from Antioch. ⁶ They had these men stand before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.

⁷ So the word of God^[b] continued to spread, and the number of disciples in Jerusalem continued to grow rapidly. Even a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.