Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

(By David.)

The Lord's Wonderful Love

⁵³ Egypt's seven years of plenty came to an end, ^54 (A) and the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. There was not enough food in other countries, but all over Egypt there was plenty. ^55 (B) When the famine finally struck Egypt, the people asked the king for food, but he said, “Go to Joseph and do what he tells you to do.”

⁵⁶ The famine became bad everywhere in Egypt, so Joseph opened the storehouses and sold the grain to the Egyptians. ⁵⁷ People from all over the world came to Egypt to buy grain, because the famine was so severe in their countries.

Joseph's Brothers Go to Egypt To Buy Grain

42 When Jacob found out there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why are you just sitting here, staring at one another? ^2 (C) I have heard there is grain in Egypt. Go down and buy some, so we won't starve to death.”

³ Ten of Joseph's brothers went to Egypt to buy grain. ⁴ But Jacob did not send Joseph's younger brother Benjamin with them; he was afraid that something might happen to him. ⁵ So Jacob's sons joined others from Canaan who were going to Egypt because of the terrible famine.

⁶ Since Joseph was governor of Egypt and in charge of selling grain, his brothers came to him and bowed with their faces to the ground. ^7-8 They did not recognize Joseph, but at once he knew who they were, though he pretended not to know. Instead, he spoke harshly and asked, “Where do you come from?”

“From the land of Canaan,” they answered. “We've come here to buy grain.”

^9 (D) Joseph remembered what he had dreamed about them and said, “You're spies! You've come here to find out where our country is weak.”

¹⁰ “No sir,” they replied. “We're your servants, and we have only come to buy grain. ¹¹ We're honest men, and we come from the same family—we're not spies.”

¹² “That isn't so!” Joseph insisted. “You've come here to find out where our country is weak.”

¹³ But they explained, “Sir, we come from a family of twelve brothers. The youngest is still with our father in Canaan, and one of our brothers is dead.”

¹⁴ Joseph replied:

It's like I said. You're spies, ¹⁵ and I'm going to find out the truth. I swear by the life of the king that you won't leave this place until your youngest brother comes here. ¹⁶ Choose one of you to go after your brother, while the rest of you stay here in jail. That will show whether you are telling the truth. But if you are lying, I swear by the life of the king that you are spies!

¹⁷ Joseph kept them all under guard for three days,

^9 (A) These men were our ancestors.

Joseph was also one of our famous ancestors. His brothers were jealous of him and sold him as a slave to be taken to Egypt. But God was with him ^10 (B) and rescued him from all his troubles. God made him so wise that the Egyptian king Pharaoh thought highly of him. The king even made Joseph governor over Egypt and put him in charge of everything he owned.

^11 (C) Everywhere in Egypt and Canaan the grain crops failed. There was terrible suffering, and our ancestors could not find enough to eat. ¹² But when Jacob heard there was grain in Egypt, he sent our ancestors there for the first time. ^13 (D) It was on their second trip that Joseph told his brothers who he was, and the king learned about Joseph's family.

^14 (E) Joseph sent for his father and his relatives. In all, there were 75 of them. ^15 (F) His father went to Egypt and died there, just as our ancestors did. ^16 (G) Later their bodies were taken back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor.