Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

How Good and Pleasant Is Unity

A Song of Ascents. Of David.

²⁹ Then he commanded them and said to them, “I am about to be ^(A)gathered to my people; ^(B)bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in ^(C)the field of Ephron the Hittite, ³⁰ in the ^(D)cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field from Ephron the Hittite as a possession for a burial site. ³¹ There they buried ^(E)Abraham and his wife ^(F)Sarah, there they buried ^(G)Isaac and his wife Rebekah, and there I buried Leah— ³² the field and the cave that is in it, purchased from the sons of Heth.” ³³ So Jacob finished commanding his sons. And he drew his feet into the bed and ^(H)breathed his last and was ^(I)gathered to his people.

50 Then Joseph fell on his father’s face and wept over him and kissed him. ² And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father. So the physicians ^(J)embalmed Israel. ³ Then the forty days to do this were fulfilled, because in this manner the days of embalming are fulfilled. And the Egyptians ^(K)wept for him seventy days.

⁴ Then the days of weeping for him were past, and Joseph spoke to the household of Pharaoh, saying, “If now I have found favor in your sight, please speak in the ears of Pharaoh, saying, ⁵ ‘^(L)My father made me swear, saying, “Behold, I am about to die; in my grave ^(M)which I dug for myself in the land of Canaan, there you shall bury me.” So now, please let me go up and bury my father; then I will return.’” ⁶ And Pharaoh said, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear.”

⁷ So Joseph went up to bury his father, and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his household, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, ⁸ and all the household of Joseph and his brothers and his father’s household; they left only their little ones and their flocks and their herds in the land of Goshen. ⁹ There also went up with him both chariots and horsemen; and it was a very ^[a]immense camp. ¹⁰ And they came to the ^[b]threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, and they ^(N)lamented there with a very great and ^[c]immense lamentation; and he ^[d]observed seven days of mourning for his father. ¹¹ Now the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning at ^[e]the threshing floor of Atad, and they said, “This is an ^[f]immense ^[g]mourning for the Egyptians.” Therefore it was named ^[h]Abel-mizraim, which is beyond the Jordan.

Jacob’s Burial at Machpelah

¹² Thus his sons did for him as he had commanded them. ¹³ Indeed, his sons carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in ^(O)the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre, which Abraham had bought along with the field for his possession as a burial site from Ephron the Hittite. ¹⁴ After he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, he and his brothers, and all who had gone up with him to bury his father.

¹³ Therefore let us not ^(A)judge one another anymore, but rather judge this—^(B)not to put a stumbling block or offense before a brother. ¹⁴ I know and am convinced ^[a]in the Lord Jesus that ^(C)nothing is defiled in itself; but to him who ^(D)considers anything to be defiled, to him it is defiled. ¹⁵ For if because of food your brother is grieved, you are no longer ^(E)walking according to love. ^(F)Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died. ¹⁶ Therefore ^(G)do not let what is for you a good thing be ^[b]slandered; ¹⁷ for the kingdom of God ^(H)is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and ^(I)peace and ^(J)joy in the Holy Spirit. ¹⁸ For he who in this way ^(K)serves Christ is ^(L)pleasing to God and approved by men. ¹⁹ So then ^[c]let us ^(M)pursue the things which make for peace and the ^(N)building up of one another. ^20 (O)Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. ^(P)All things indeed are clean, but ^(Q)they are evil for the man who eats ^[d]and gives offense. ^21 (R)It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles. ²² The faith which you have, have ^[e]as your own conviction before God. Blessed is he who ^(S)does not judge himself in what he approves. ²³ But ^(T)he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin.

Bearing the Weaknesses of Others

15 Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of ^(U)those without strength and not just please ourselves. ² Each of us is to ^(V)please his neighbor ^[f]for his good, to his ^(W)building up.