Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Wicked People and a Good God
For the director of music. Of David, the servant of the Lord.
36 Sin speaks to the wicked in their hearts.
They have no fear of God.
2 They think too much of themselves
so they don’t see their sin and hate it.
3 Their words are wicked lies;
they are no longer wise or good.
4 At night they make evil plans;
what they do leads to nothing good.
They don’t refuse things that are evil.
5 Lord, your love reaches to the heavens,
your loyalty to the skies.
6 Your goodness is as high as the mountains.
Your justice is as deep as the great ocean.
Lord, you protect both people and animals.
7 God, your love is so precious!
You protect people in the shadow of your wings.
8 They eat the rich food in your house,
and you let them drink from your river of pleasure.
9 You are the giver of life.
Your light lets us enjoy life.
10 Continue to love those who know you
and to do good to those who are good.
11 Don’t let proud people attack me
and the wicked force me away.
12 Those who do evil have been defeated.
They are overwhelmed;
they cannot do evil any longer.
The Brothers Go Back to Egypt
43 Still no food grew in the land of Canaan. 2 When Jacob’s family had eaten all the grain they had brought from Egypt, Jacob said to them, “Go to Egypt again and buy a little more grain for us to eat.”
3 But Judah said to Jacob, “The governor of that country strongly warned us, ‘If you don’t bring your brother back with you, you will not be allowed to see me.’ 4 If you will send Benjamin with us, we will go down and buy food for you. 5 But if you refuse to send Benjamin, we will not go. The governor of that country warned us that we would not see him if we didn’t bring Benjamin with us.”
6 Israel[a] said, “Why did you tell the man you had another brother? You have caused me a lot of trouble.”
7 The brothers answered, “He questioned us carefully about ourselves and our family. He asked us, ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?’ We just answered his questions. How could we know he would ask us to bring our other brother to him?”
8 Then Judah said to his father Jacob, “Send Benjamin with me, and we will go at once so that we, you, and our children may live and not die. 9 I will guarantee you that he will be safe, and I will be personally responsible for him. If I don’t bring him back to you, you can blame me all my life. 10 If we had not wasted all this time, we could have already made two trips.”
11 Then their father Jacob said to them, “If it has to be that way, then do this: Take some of the best foods in our land in your packs. Give them to the man as a gift: some balm, some honey, spices, myrrh, pistachio nuts, and almonds. 12 Take twice as much money with you this time, and take back the money that was returned to you in your sacks last time. Maybe it was a mistake. 13 And take Benjamin with you. Now leave and go to the man. 14 I pray that God Almighty will cause the governor to be merciful to you and that he will allow Simeon and Benjamin to come back with you. If I am robbed of my children, then I am robbed of them!”
15 So the brothers took the gifts. They also took twice as much money as they had taken the first time, and they took Benjamin. They hurried down to Egypt and stood before Joseph.
Seven Leaders Are Chosen
6 The number of followers was growing. But during this same time, the Greek-speaking followers had an argument with the other followers. The Greek-speaking widows were not getting their share of the food that was given out every day. 2 The twelve apostles called the whole group of followers together and said, “It is not right for us to stop our work of teaching God’s word in order to serve tables. 3 So, brothers and sisters, choose seven of your own men who are good, full of the Spirit and full of wisdom. We will put them in charge of this work. 4 Then we can continue to pray and to teach the word of God.”
5 The whole group liked the idea, so they chose these seven men: Stephen (a man with great faith and full of the Holy Spirit), Philip,[a] Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas (a man from Antioch who had become a follower of the Jewish religion). 6 Then they put these men before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands[b] on them.
7 The word of God was continuing to spread. The group of followers in Jerusalem increased, and a great number of the Jewish priests believed and obeyed.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.