Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Sinful Men—Loving God

36 Sin speaks to the sinful man within his heart. There is no fear of God in his eyes. ² For he makes much of himself in his own eyes. So his sin is not known and hated. ³ The words of his mouth are sinful and false. He has stopped being wise and doing good. ⁴ He plans wrong-doing upon his bed. He sets himself on a path that is not good. He does not hate what is bad.

⁵ O Lord, Your loving-kindness goes to the heavens. You are as faithful as the sky is high. ⁶ You are as right and good as mountains are big. You are as fair when You judge as a sea is deep. O Lord, You keep safe both man and animal. ⁷ Of what great worth is Your loving-kindness, O God! The children of men come and are safe in the shadow of Your wings. ⁸ They are filled with the riches of Your house. And You give them a drink from Your river of joy. ⁹ All life came from You. In Your light we see light.

¹⁰ Keep on giving Your loving-kindness to those who know You. Keep on being right and good to the pure in heart. ¹¹ Do not let the foot of pride come near me. Do not let the hand of the sinful push me away. ¹² There have the wrong-doers fallen. They have been thrown down, and cannot rise.

Joseph Tells His Brothers Who He Is

45 Then Joseph could not hide his feelings in front of all who stood by him. He cried, “Send all the people away from me.” So no one was with him when Joseph told his brothers who he was. ² He cried so loud that the Egyptians heard it, and those of Pharaoh’s house heard of it. ³ Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, for they were afraid in front of him.

⁴ Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me.” So they came near. He said, “I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. ⁵ But do not be troubled or angry with yourselves because you sold me here. For God sent me before you to save your life. ⁶ For the land has been without food these two years. And there are five more years without plowing or gathering. ⁷ God sent me before you to make sure that your people will keep living on the earth. Now many of you will be saved. ⁸ So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and ruler of all his house, and of all the land of Egypt. ⁹ Hurry and go to my father. Say to him, ‘Your son Joseph says to you, “God has made me ruler of all Egypt. Come to me, and do not wait. ¹⁰ You will live in the land of Goshen, you and your children and grandchildren, your flocks and cattle, and all you have. And you will be near me. ¹¹ There I will take care of you, so that you and your family will not be in need. For there are still five years coming without food. By then you would have nothing.”’

¹² “Now your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see, that it is my mouth which is speaking to you. ¹³ You must tell my father of all my greatness in Egypt, and of all you have seen. You must hurry and bring my father here.” ¹⁴ Then he put his arms around his brother Benjamin and cried. And Benjamin cried on his neck. ¹⁵ Joseph kissed all his brothers and cried over them. After that his brothers talked with him.

⁹ “The sons of Jacob sold Joseph to people from the country of Egypt because they were jealous of him. But God was with Joseph. ¹⁰ He helped him in all his troubles. He gave him wisdom and favor with Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. This king made Joseph leader over Egypt and over all the king’s house.

¹¹ “The time came when there was no food to eat in all the land of Egypt and Canaan. The people suffered much. Our early fathers were not able to get food. ¹² Then Jacob heard there was food in Egypt. He sent our early fathers there the first time.

¹³ “The second time they went to the country of Egypt, Joseph made himself known to his brothers. The family of Joseph became known to Pharaoh. ¹⁴ Joseph asked his father Jacob and all his family to come. There were seventy-five people in the family. ¹⁵ Jacob moved down to Egypt and died there. Our early fathers died there also. ¹⁶ They were brought back to the city of Shechem where they were buried. Abraham paid money for the grave from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.