Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Prayer for Guidance and Protection[a]
25 To you, O Lord, I offer my prayer;
2 in you, my God, I trust.
Save me from the shame of defeat;
don't let my enemies gloat over me!
3 Defeat does not come to those who trust in you,
but to those who are quick to rebel against you.
4 Teach me your ways, O Lord;
make them known to me.
5 Teach me to live according to your truth,
for you are my God, who saves me.
I always trust in you.
6 Remember, O Lord, your kindness and constant love
which you have shown from long ago.
7 Forgive the sins and errors of my youth.
In your constant love and goodness,
remember me, Lord!
8 Because the Lord is righteous and good,
he teaches sinners the path they should follow.
9 He leads the humble in the right way
and teaches them his will.
10 With faithfulness and love he leads
all who keep his covenant and obey his commands.
Joseph Is Made Governor over Egypt
37 The king and his officials approved this plan, 38 and he said to them, “We will never find a better man than Joseph, a man who has God's spirit in him.” 39 The king said to Joseph, “God has shown you all this, so it is obvious that you have greater wisdom and insight than anyone else. 40 (A)I will put you in charge of my country, and all my people will obey your orders. Your authority will be second only to mine. 41 I now appoint you governor over all Egypt.” 42 (B)The king removed from his finger the ring engraved with the royal seal and put it on Joseph's finger. He put a fine linen robe on him, and placed a gold chain around his neck. 43 He gave him the second royal chariot to ride in, and his guard of honor went ahead of him and cried out, “Make way! Make way!” And so Joseph was appointed governor over all Egypt. 44 The king said to him, “I am the king—and no one in all Egypt shall so much as lift a hand or a foot without your permission.” 45-46 He gave Joseph the Egyptian name Zaphenath Paneah, and he gave him a wife, Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, a priest in the city of Heliopolis.
Joseph was thirty years old when he began to serve the king of Egypt. He left the king's court and traveled all over the land. 47 During the seven years of plenty the land produced abundant crops, 48 all of which Joseph collected and stored in the cities. In each city he stored the food from the fields around it. 49 There was so much grain that Joseph stopped measuring it—it was like the sand of the sea.
9 (A)“Jacob's sons became jealous of their brother Joseph and sold him to be a slave in Egypt. But God was with him 10 (B)and brought him safely through all his troubles. When Joseph appeared before the king of Egypt, God gave him a pleasing manner and wisdom, and the king made Joseph governor over the country and the royal household. 11 (C)Then there was a famine all over Egypt and Canaan, which caused much suffering. Our ancestors could not find any food, 12 and when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent his sons, our ancestors, on their first visit there. 13 (D)On the second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and the king of Egypt came to know about Joseph's family. 14 (E)So Joseph sent a message to his father Jacob, telling him and the whole family, seventy-five people in all, to come to Egypt. 15 (F)Then Jacob went to Egypt, where he and his sons died. 16 (G)Their bodies were taken to Shechem, where they were buried in the grave which Abraham had bought from the clan of Hamor for a sum of money.
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.