Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Prayer for Protection, Guidance, and Pardon.

A Psalm of David.

Joseph Interprets

¹⁴ Then Pharaoh sent word and ^(A)called for Joseph, and they ^(B)hurriedly brought him out of the dungeon; and when he had shaved himself and changed his clothes, he came to Pharaoh. ¹⁵ Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, ^(C)but no one can interpret it; and ^(D)I have heard ^[a]it said about you, that ^[b]when you hear a dream you can interpret it.” ¹⁶ Joseph then answered Pharaoh, saying, “^[c](E)It has nothing to do with me; ^(F)God will ^[d]give Pharaoh an answer for his own good.” ¹⁷ So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream, there I was, standing on the bank of the Nile; ¹⁸ and behold, seven cows, ^[e]fat and fine-looking came up out of the Nile, and they grazed in the marsh grass. ¹⁹ Then behold, seven other cows came up after them, poor and very ^[f]ugly and ^[g]thin, such as I had never seen for ^[h]ugliness in all the land of Egypt; ²⁰ and the thin and ugly cows ate the first seven fat cows. ²¹ Yet when they had ^[i]devoured them, it could not be ^[j]detected that they had ^[k]devoured them, ^[l]for they were just as ugly as ^[m]before. Then I awoke. ²² I saw also in my dream, and behold, seven ears of grain, full and good, came up on a single stalk; ²³ and behold, seven ears, withered, thin, and scorched by the east wind sprouted up after them; ²⁴ and the thin ears swallowed the seven good ears. Then ^(G)I told it to the soothsayer priests, but there was no one who could explain it to me.”

²⁵ And Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Pharaoh’s ^[n]dreams are one and the same; ^(H)God has told to Pharaoh what He is about to do. ²⁶ The seven good cows are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years; the ^[o]dreams are one and the same. ²⁷ The seven thin and ugly cows that came up after them are seven years, and the seven thin ears scorched by the east wind ^(I)will be seven years of famine. ^28 [p]It is as I have spoken to Pharaoh: ^(J)God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do. ²⁹ Behold, ^(K)seven years of great abundance are coming in all the land of Egypt; ³⁰ and after them ^(L)seven years of famine will ^[q]come, and all the abundance will be forgotten in the land of Egypt, and the famine will ^[r]ravage the land. ³¹ So the abundance will be unknown in the land because of that subsequent famine; for it will be very severe. ³² Now as for the repeating of the dream to Pharaoh twice, it means that ^(M)the matter is confirmed by God, and God will quickly bring it about. ³³ So now let Pharaoh look for a man ^(N)discerning and wise, and appoint him over the land of Egypt. ³⁴ Let Pharaoh take action to appoint overseers ^[s]in charge of the land, and let him take a fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt as a tax in the seven years of abundance. ³⁵ Then have them ^(O)collect all the food of these good years that are coming, and store up the grain for food in the cities under Pharaoh’s authority, and have them guard it. ³⁶ Let the food be used as a reserve for the land for the seven years of famine which will occur in the land of Egypt, so that the land will not perish during the famine.”

Faith and Works

^14 (A)What use is it, ^(B)my brothers and sisters, if someone says he has faith, but he has no works? Can ^[a]that faith save him? ^15 (C)If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, ¹⁶ and one of you says to them, “^(D)Go in peace, ^[b]be warmed and be filled,” yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? ¹⁷ In the same way, ^(E)faith also, if it has no works, is ^[c]dead, being by itself.

^18 (F)But someone ^[d]may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your ^(G)faith without the works, and I will ^(H)show you my faith ^(I)by my works.” ¹⁹ You believe that ^[e](J)God is one. ^(K)You do well; ^(L)the demons also believe, and shudder. ²⁰ But are you willing to acknowledge, ^(M)you foolish person, that ^(N)faith without works is useless? ^21 (O)Was our father Abraham not justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? ²² You see that ^(P)faith was working with his works, and ^[f]as a result of the ^(Q)works, faith was ^[g]perfected; ²³ and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “^(R)And Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called a ^(S)friend of God. ²⁴ You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. ²⁵ In the same way, was ^(T)Rahab the prostitute not justified by works also ^(U)when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? ²⁶ For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also ^(V)faith without works is dead.