Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
BOOK ONE
(Psalms 1–41)
1 Blessed is the person who does not
follow the advice of wicked people,
take the path of sinners,
or join the company of mockers.
2 Rather, he delights in the teachings of the Lord
and reflects on his teachings day and night.
3 He is like a tree planted beside streams—
a tree that produces fruit in season
and whose leaves do not wither.
He succeeds in everything he does.[a]
4 Wicked people are not like that.
Instead, they are like husks that the wind blows away.
5 That is why wicked people will not be able to stand in the judgment
and sinners will not be able to stand where righteous people gather.
6 The Lord knows the way of righteous people,
but the way of wicked people will end.
Joseph in Potiphar’s House
39 Joseph had been taken to Egypt. Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s Egyptian officials and captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there.
2 The Lord was with Joseph, so he became a successful man. He worked in the house of his Egyptian master. 3 Joseph’s master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made everything he did successful. 4 Potiphar liked Joseph so much that he made him his trusted servant. He put him in charge of his household and everything he owned. 5 From that time on the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s household because of Joseph. Therefore, the Lord’s blessing was on everything Potiphar owned in his house and in his fields. 6 So he left all that he owned in Joseph’s care. He wasn’t concerned about anything except the food he ate.
Joseph was well-built and handsome. 7 After a while his master’s wife began to desire Joseph, so she said, “Come to bed with me.”
8 But Joseph refused and said to her, “My master doesn’t concern himself with anything in the house. He trusts me with everything he owns. 9 No one in this house is greater than I. He’s kept nothing back from me except you, because you’re his wife. How could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” 10 Although she kept asking Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or be with her.
11 One day he went into the house to do his work, and none of the household servants were there. 12 She grabbed him by his clothes and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he ran outside and left his clothes in her hand.
13 When she realized that he had gone but had left his clothes behind, 14 she called her household servants and said to them, “Look! My husband brought this Hebrew here to fool around with us. He came in and tried to go to bed with me, but I screamed as loud as I could. 15 As soon as he heard me scream, he ran outside and left his clothes with me.”
16 She kept Joseph’s clothes with her until his master came home. 17 Then she told him the same story: “The Hebrew slave you brought here came in and tried to fool around with me. 18 But when I screamed, he ran outside and left his clothes with me.”
19 When Potiphar heard his wife’s story, especially when she said, “This is what your slave did to me,” he became very angry. 20 So Joseph’s master arrested him and put him in the same prison where the king’s prisoners were kept.
While Joseph was in prison, 21 the Lord was with him. The Lord reached out to him with his unchanging love and gave him protection. The Lord also put Joseph on good terms with the warden. 22 So the warden placed Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in that prison. Joseph became responsible for everything that they were doing. 23 The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care because the Lord was with Joseph and made whatever he did successful.
25 I feel that I must send Epaphroditus—my brother, coworker, and fellow soldier—back to you. You sent him as your personal representative to help me in my need. 26 He has been longing to see all of you and is troubled because you heard that he was sick. 27 Indeed, he was so sick that he almost died. But God had mercy not only on him but also on me and kept me from having one sorrow on top of another. 28 So I’m especially eager to send him to you. In this way you will have the joy of seeing him again and I will feel relieved. 29 Give him a joyful Christian welcome. Make sure you honor people like Epaphroditus highly. 30 He risked his life and almost died for the work of Christ in order to make up for the help you couldn’t give me.
Copyright © 1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God’s Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.