Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

¹³ There was no food anywhere, for the famine was very severe, so that both Egypt and Kena‘an grew weak from hunger. ¹⁴ Yosef collected all the money there was in Egypt and Kena‘an in exchange for the grain they bought, and put the money in Pharaoh’s treasury. ¹⁵ When all the money in Egypt had been spent, and likewise in Kena‘an, all the Egyptians approached Yosef and said, “Give us something to eat, even though we have no money; why should we die before your eyes?” ¹⁶ Yosef replied, “Give me your livestock. If you don’t have money, I will give you food in exchange for your livestock.” ¹⁷ So they brought Yosef their livestock; and Yosef gave them food in exchange for the horses, flocks, cattle and donkeys — all that year he provided them with food in exchange for all their livestock.

¹⁸ When that year was over, they approached Yosef again and said to him, “We won’t hide from my lord that all our money is spent, and the herds of livestock belong to my lord. We have nothing left, as my lord can see, but our bodies and our land. ¹⁹ Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for food, and we and our land will be enslaved to Pharaoh. But also give us seed to plant, so that we can stay alive and not die, and so that the land won’t become barren.” ²⁰ So Yosef acquired all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh, as one by one the Egyptians sold their fields, because the famine weighed on them so severely. Thus the land became the property of Pharaoh. ²¹ As for the people, he reduced them to serfdom city by city, from one end of Egypt’s territory to the other. ²² Only the priests’ land did he not acquire, because the priests were entitled to provisions from Pharaoh, and they ate from what Pharaoh provided them; therefore they did not sell their land.

²³ Then Yosef said to the people, “As of today I have acquired you and your land for Pharaoh. Here is seed for you to sow the land. ²⁴ When harvest time comes, you are to give twenty percent to Pharaoh; eighty percent will be yours to keep for seed to plant in the fields, as well as for your food and for that of your households and your little ones.”

(Maftir) ²⁵ They replied, “You have saved our lives! So if it pleases my lord, we will be Pharaoh’s slaves.” ²⁶ Yosef made it a law for the country of Egypt, valid to this day, that Pharaoh should have twenty percent. Only the property belonging to the priests did not become Pharaoh’s.

¹⁴ Now the talmidim had forgotten to bring bread and had with them in the boat only one loaf. ¹⁵ So when Yeshua said to them, “Watch out! Guard yourselves from the hametz of the P’rushim and the hametz of Herod,” ¹⁶ they thought he had said it because they had no bread. ¹⁷ But, aware of this, he said, “Why are you talking with each other about having no bread? Don’t you see or understand yet? Have your hearts been made like stone? ¹⁸ You have eyes — don’t you see? You have ears — don’t you hear? And don’t you remember? ¹⁹ When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?” “Twelve,” they answered him. ²⁰ “And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?” “Seven,” they answered. ²¹ He said to them, “And you still don’t understand?”