Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

36 Sin lurks deep in the hearts of the wicked, forever urging them on to evil deeds. They have no fear of God to hold them back. ² Instead, in their conceit, they think they can hide their evil deeds and not get caught. ³ Everything they say is crooked and deceitful; they are no longer wise and good. ⁴ They lie awake at night to hatch their evil plots instead of planning how to keep away from wrong.

⁵ Your steadfast love, O Lord, is as great as all the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds. ⁶ Your justice is as solid as God’s mountains. Your decisions are as full of wisdom as the oceans are with water. You are concerned^[a] for men and animals alike. ⁷ How precious is your constant love, O God! All humanity takes refuge in the shadow of your wings. ⁸ You feed them with blessings from your own table and let them drink from your rivers of delight.

⁹ For you are the Fountain of life; our light is from your light. ¹⁰ Pour out your unfailing love on those who know you! Never stop giving your blessings^[b] to those who long to do your will.

¹¹ Don’t let these proud men trample me. Don’t let their wicked hands push me around. ¹² Look! They have fallen. They are thrown down and will not rise again.

43 But there was no relief from the terrible famine throughout the land. ² When the grain they had brought from Egypt was almost gone, their father said to them, “Go again and buy us a little food.”

^3-5 But Judah told him, “The man wasn’t fooling one bit when he said, ‘Don’t ever come back again unless your brother is with you.’ We cannot go unless you let Benjamin go with us.”

⁶ “Why did you ever tell him you had another brother?” Israel moaned. “Why did you have to treat me like that?”

⁷ “But the man specifically asked us about our family,” they told him. “He wanted to know whether our father was still living and he asked us if we had another brother, so we told him. How could we know that he was going to say, ‘Bring me your brother’?”

⁸ Judah said to his father, “Send the lad with me and we will be on our way; otherwise we will all die of starvation—and not only we, but you and all our little ones. ⁹ I guarantee his safety. If I don’t bring him back to you, then let me bear the blame forever. ¹⁰ For we could have gone and returned by this time if you had let him come.”

¹¹ So their father Israel finally said to them, “If it can’t be avoided, then at least do this. Load your donkeys with the best products of the land. Take them to the man as gifts—balm, honey, spices, myrrh, pistachio nuts, and almonds. ¹² Take double money so that you can pay back what was in the mouths of your sacks, as it was probably someone’s mistake, ¹³ and take your brother and go. ¹⁴ May God Almighty give you mercy before the man, so that he will release Simeon and return Benjamin. And if I must bear the anguish of their deaths, then so be it.”

¹⁵ So they took the gifts and double money and went to Egypt, and stood before Joseph.

6 But with the believers multiplying rapidly, there were rumblings of discontent. Those who spoke only Greek complained that their widows were being discriminated against, that they were not being given as much food in the daily distribution as the widows who spoke Hebrew. ² So the Twelve called a meeting of all the believers.

“We should spend our time preaching, not administering a feeding program,” they said. ³ “Now look around among yourselves, dear brothers, and select seven men, wise and full of the Holy Spirit, who are well thought of by everyone; and we will put them in charge of this business. ⁴ Then we can spend our time in prayer, preaching, and teaching.”

⁵ This sounded reasonable to the whole assembly, and they elected the following: Stephen (a man unusually full of faith and the Holy Spirit), Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, Nicolaus of Antioch (a Gentile convert to the Jewish faith, who had become a Christian).

⁶ These seven were presented to the apostles, who prayed for them and laid their hands on them in blessing.

⁷ God’s message was preached in ever-widening circles, and the number of disciples increased vastly in Jerusalem; and many of the Jewish priests were converted too.