Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Prayer for God to Guide
Of David.
25 Lord, I give myself to you.
2 My God, I trust you.
Do not let me be disgraced.
Do not let my enemies laugh at me.
3 No one who trusts you will be disgraced.
But those who sin without excuse will be disgraced.
4 Lord, tell me your ways.
Show me how to live.
5 Guide me in your truth.
Teach me, my God, my Savior.
I trust you all day long.
6 Lord, remember your mercy and love.
You have shown them since long ago.
7 Do not remember the sins
and wrong things I did when I was young.
But remember to love me always
because you are good, Lord.
8 The Lord is good and right.
He points sinners to the right way.
9 He shows those who are not proud how to do right.
He teaches them his ways.
10 All the Lord’s ways are loving and true
for those who follow the demands of his agreement.
Joseph Is Made Ruler over Egypt
37 This seemed like a very good idea to the king. All his officers agreed. 38 And the king asked them, “Can we find a better man than Joseph to take this job? God’s spirit is truly in him!”
39 So the king said to Joseph, “God has shown you all this. There is no one as wise and understanding as you are. 40 I will put you in charge of my palace. All the people will obey your orders. Only I will be greater than you.”
41 Then the king said to Joseph, “Look! I have put you in charge of all the land of Egypt.” 42 Then the king took off from his own finger his ring with the royal seal on it. And he put it on Joseph’s finger. He gave Joseph fine linen clothes to wear. And he put a gold chain around Joseph’s neck. 43 The king had Joseph ride in the second royal chariot. Men walked ahead of his chariot calling, “Bow down!” By doing these things, the king put Joseph in charge of all of Egypt.
44 The king said to him, “I am the king. And I say that no one in all the land of Egypt may lift a hand or a foot unless you say he may.” 45 The king gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah. He also gave Joseph a wife named Asenath. She was the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On. So Joseph traveled through all the land of Egypt.
46 Joseph was 30 years old when he began serving the king of Egypt. And he left the king’s court and traveled through all the land of Egypt. 47 During the seven good years, the crops in the land grew well. 48 And Joseph gathered all the food produced in Egypt during those seven years of good crops. He stored the food in the cities. In every city he stored grain that had been grown in the fields around that city. 49 Joseph stored much grain, as much as the sand of the seashore. He stored so much grain that he could not measure it.
9 “These sons became jealous of Joseph. They sold him to be a slave in Egypt. But God was with him. 10 Joseph had many troubles there, but God saved him from all those troubles. The king of Egypt liked Joseph and respected him because of the wisdom that God gave him. The king made him governor of Egypt. He put Joseph in charge of all the people in his palace.
11 “Then all the land of Egypt and of Canaan became so dry that nothing would grow there. This made the people suffer very much. The sons could not find anything to eat. 12 But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent his sons, our ancestors, there. This was their first trip to Egypt. 13 Then they went there a second time. This time, Joseph told his brothers who he was. And the king learned about Joseph’s family. 14 Then Joseph sent some men to invite Jacob, his father, to come to Egypt. He also invited all his relatives (75 persons altogether). 15 So Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and his sons died. 16 Later their bodies were moved to Shechem and put in a grave there. (It was the same grave that Abraham had bought in Shechem from the sons of Hamor for a sum of money.)
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.