Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
15 When Joseph’s brothers had seen that their father was dead, they said, “(A)What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back in full for all the wrong which we did to him!” 16 So they sent instructions to Joseph, saying, “Your father commanded us before he died, saying, 17 ‘This is what you shall say to Joseph: “Please forgive, I beg you, the offense of your brothers and their sin, for they did you wrong.”’ And now, please forgive the offense of the servants of the God of your father.” And Joseph wept when they spoke to him. 18 Then his brothers also came and (B)fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” 19 But Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in God’s place? 20 As for you, (C)you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about [a]this present result, to keep many people alive. 21 So therefore, do not be afraid; (D)I will provide for you and your little ones.” So he comforted them and spoke [b]kindly to them.
Praise for the Lord’s Mercies.
A Psalm of David.
103 (A)Bless the Lord, my soul,
And all that is within me, bless His (B)holy name.
2 Bless the Lord, my soul,
And (C)do not forget any of His benefits;
3 Who (D)pardons all your guilt,
Who (E)heals all your diseases;
4 Who (F)redeems your life from the pit,
Who (G)crowns you with favor and compassion;
5 Who (H)satisfies your [a]years with good things,
So that your youth is (I)renewed like the eagle.
8 The Lord is (A)compassionate and gracious,
(B)Slow to anger and abounding in mercy.
9 He (C)will not always contend with us,
Nor will He (D)keep His anger forever.
10 He has (E)not dealt with us according to our sins,
Nor rewarded us according to our guilty deeds.
11 For as high (F)as the heavens are above the earth,
So great is His mercy toward those who [a]fear Him.
12 As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He (G)removed our wrongdoings from us.
13 Just (H)as a father has compassion on his children,
So the Lord has compassion on those who [b]fear Him.
Principles of Conscience
14 Now (A)accept the one who is (B)weak [a]in faith, but not [b]to have quarrels over opinions. 2 (C)One person has faith that he may eat all things, but the one who is (D)weak eats only vegetables. 3 The one who eats is not to (E)regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to (F)judge the one who eats, for God has (G)accepted him. 4 (H)Who are you to judge the [c]servant of another? To his own [d]master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
5 (I)One person [e]values one day over another, another [f]values every day the same. Each person must be (J)fully convinced in his own mind. 6 The one who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and the one who eats, [g]does so with regard to the Lord, for he (K)gives thanks to God; and the one who does not eat, it is for the Lord that he does not eat, and he gives thanks to God. 7 For not one of us (L)lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; 8 for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore (M)whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. 9 For to this end (N)Christ died and lived again, that He might be (O)Lord both of the dead and of the living.
10 But as for you, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or you as well, why do you (P)regard your brother or sister with contempt? For (Q)we will all appear before the judgment seat of God. 11 For it is written:
“(R)As I live, says the Lord, (S)to Me every knee will bow,
And every tongue will [h]give praise to God.”
12 So then (T)each one of us will give an account of himself to God.
Forgiveness
21 Then Peter came up and said to Him, “Lord, (A)how many times shall my brother sin against me and I still forgive him? Up to (B)seven times?” 22 Jesus *said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to [a](C)seventy-seven times.
23 “For this reason (D)the kingdom of heaven [b]is like a king who wanted to (E)settle accounts with his slaves. 24 And when he had begun to settle them, one who owed him [c]ten thousand talents was brought to him. 25 But since he [d](F)did not have the means to repay, his master commanded that he (G)be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment be made. 26 So the slave fell to the ground and (H)prostrated himself before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.’ 27 And the master of that slave felt compassion, and he released him and (I)forgave him the [e]debt. 28 But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred [f]denarii; and he seized him and began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe!’ 29 So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you.’ 30 But he was unwilling, [g]and went and threw him in prison until he would pay back what was owed. 31 So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their master all that had happened. 32 Then summoning him, his master *said to him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 (J)Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?’ 34 And his master, moved with anger, handed him over to the [h]torturers until he would repay all that was owed him. 35 (K)My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your [i]heart.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.