Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Davidic^[a]

A Prayer for Help and Forgiveness

Pharaoh Tells Joseph His Dream

¹⁴ Pharaoh sent word to summon Joseph quickly from the dungeon, so they shaved his beard, changed his clothes, and then sent him straight to Pharaoh. ¹⁵ “I’ve had a dream,” Pharaoh told Joseph, “but nobody can interpret it. I’ve heard that you can interpret dreams.”

¹⁶ “I can’t do that,” Joseph replied, “but God is concerned about Pharaoh’s well-being.”

¹⁷ So Pharaoh told Joseph, “In my dream, I was standing on the bank of the Nile River, ¹⁸ and all of a sudden seven healthy, plump, beautiful cows emerged from the Nile and began to graze among the reeds that line the bank.^{[a] 19} Just then, seven other cows emerged after them, poor, ugly, and appearing very gaunt in their flesh. I’ve never seen anything as ugly as those cows anywhere in the entire land of Egypt! ²⁰ But those thin, gaunt cows gobbled up the first seven healthy cows! ²¹ Not only that,” Pharaoh continued,^[b] “after they had finished devouring the cows, nobody could tell that they had gobbled them up, because they were just as ugly as before. Then I woke up. ²² Later, I also dreamed about seven plump, fruit-filled ears of grain^[c] that grew up out of a single stalk. ²³ All of a sudden, seven thin, withered ears of grain,^[d] scorched by the east wind, sprouted up after them. ²⁴ But the thin ears gobbled up the seven good ears. I told all this to my advisors, but nobody was able to explain it to me.”

Joseph Interprets Pharaoh’s Dream

²⁵ “Pharaoh’s dreams are identical,” Joseph replied. “God has told Pharaoh what he is getting ready to do. ²⁶ The seven healthy cows represent seven years, as do the seven healthy ears. The dreams are identical. ²⁷ The seven gaunt cows that arose after the healthy cows^[e] are seven years, as are the seven gaunt ears scorched by the east wind. There will be seven years of famine. ²⁸ So the message that I have for Pharaoh is that God is telling Pharaoh what he is getting ready to do. ²⁹ Be advised that seven years of phenomenal abundance are coming throughout all the land of Egypt, ³⁰ but after them seven years of famine are ahead, during which all of the abundance will be forgotten throughout the land of Egypt. The famine will ravage the land so severely that^{[f] 31} there will be no surplus in the land due to the coming famine, because it will be very severe.

³² “Now since Pharaoh had that dream twice, it means that this event has been scheduled by God, and God will bring it to pass very soon. ³³ Therefore let Pharaoh select a wise, discerning person to place in charge over the land of Egypt. ³⁴ Also, let Pharaoh immediately proceed to appoint supervisors over the land of Egypt, who will collect one fifth of its agricultural production^[g] during the coming seven years of abundance. ³⁵ Let them collect all the food during the coming fruitful years, store up the grain in cities governed by Pharaoh’s authority,^[h] and place it under guard. ³⁶ Let the food be kept in reserve to feed^[i] the land for the seven years of famine that will occur throughout Egypt, so the people don’t^[j] die during the famine.”

Faith is Shown by Actions

¹⁴ What good does it do, my brothers, if someone claims to have faith but does not prove it with actions? This kind of faith cannot save him, can it? ¹⁵ Suppose a brother or sister does not have any clothes or daily food ¹⁶ and one of you tells them, “Go in peace! Stay warm and eat heartily.” If you do not provide for their bodily needs, what good does it do? ¹⁷ In the same way, faith by itself, if it does not prove itself with actions, is dead.

¹⁸ But someone may say, “You have faith, and I have actions.” Show me your faith without any actions, and I will show you my faith by my actions. ¹⁹ You believe that there is one God. That’s fine! Even the demons believe that and tremble with fear. ²⁰ Do you want proof, you foolish person, that faith without actions is worthless? ²¹ Our ancestor Abraham was justified by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar, wasn’t he? ²² You^[a] see that his faith worked together with what he did, and by his actions his faith was made complete. ²³ And so the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”^[b] And so he was called God’s friend. ²⁴ You^[c] observe that a person is justified through actions and not through faith alone. ²⁵ Likewise, Rahab the prostitute was justified through actions when she welcomed the messengers^[d] and sent them away on a different road, wasn’t she? ²⁶ For just as the body without the spirit^[e] is dead, so faith without actions is also dead.