Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

In Your Light We See Light

For the choir director. Of the servant of Yahweh, of David.

Joseph Sends for Jacob

45 Then Joseph could not restrain himself before all those who stood by him, and he called out, “Have everyone go out from me.” So there ^[a]was no man with him ^(A)when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. ^2 (B)Then he ^[b]wept loudly. And the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. ³ Then Joseph said to his brothers, “^(C)I am Joseph! ^(D)Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, for ^(E)they were terrified at his presence.

⁴ Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come near to me.” And they came near. And he said, “I am Joseph, your brother, whom you ^(F)sold into Egypt. ⁵ So now do not be grieved or angry ^[c]with yourselves because ^(G)you sold me here, for ^(H)God sent me before you to preserve life. ⁶ For the famine has been in the land ^(I)these two years, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. ^7 (J)So God sent me before you to establish for you a remnant in the earth and to keep you alive for a great remnant of survivors. ⁸ So now, it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has set me as a ^(K)father to Pharaoh and lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt. ⁹ Hurry and go up to my father, and ^(L)say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph, “God has set me as lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay. ¹⁰ And you shall ^[d]live in the land of ^(M)Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children’s children and your flocks and your herds and all that you have. ¹¹ There I will also ^(N)provide for you, for there are still five years of famine to come, lest you and your household and all that you have be impoverished.”’ ¹² And behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see, that it is my mouth which is speaking to you. ¹³ So you must tell my father of all my glory in Egypt and all that you have seen; and you must hurry and ^(O)bring my father down here.” ¹⁴ Then he fell on his brother Benjamin’s neck and ^(P)wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. ¹⁵ He kissed all his brothers and wept on them, and afterward his brothers talked with him.

⁹ “And the patriarchs, ^(A)becoming jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt. Yet God was with him, ¹⁰ and rescued him from all his afflictions, and ^(B)granted him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he appointed him governor over Egypt and all his household.

¹¹ “Now ^(C)a famine came over all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction with it, and our fathers ^[a]could find no food. ¹² But ^(D)when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our fathers there the first time. ¹³ And on the second visit ^(E)Joseph ^[b]made himself known to his brothers, and ^(F)Joseph’s family was disclosed to Pharaoh. ¹⁴ Then ^(G)Joseph sent word and invited Jacob his father and all his relatives to come to him, ^(H)seventy-five ^[c](I)persons in all. ¹⁵ And ^(J)Jacob went down to Egypt and there he and our fathers died. ¹⁶ And from there they were removed to ^[d](K)Shechem and placed in the tomb which Abraham had purchased for a sum of money from the sons of ^[e]Hamor in ^[f]Shechem.