Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Psalm 36

For the choir director: A psalm of David, the servant of the Lord.

The Brothers Return to Egypt

43 But the famine continued to ravage the land of Canaan. ² When the grain they had brought from Egypt was almost gone, Jacob said to his sons, “Go back and buy us a little more food.”

³ But Judah said, “The man was serious when he warned us, ‘You won’t see my face again unless your brother is with you.’ ⁴ If you send Benjamin with us, we will go down and buy more food. ⁵ But if you don’t let Benjamin go, we won’t go either. Remember, the man said, ‘You won’t see my face again unless your brother is with you.’”

⁶ “Why were you so cruel to me?” Jacob^[a] moaned. “Why did you tell him you had another brother?”

⁷ “The man kept asking us questions about our family,” they replied. “He asked, ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?’ So we answered his questions. How could we know he would say, ‘Bring your brother down here’?”

⁸ Judah said to his father, “Send the boy with me, and we will be on our way. Otherwise we will all die of starvation—and not only we, but you and our little ones. ⁹ I personally guarantee his safety. You may hold me responsible if I don’t bring him back to you. Then let me bear the blame forever. ¹⁰ If we hadn’t wasted all this time, we could have gone and returned twice by now.”

¹¹ So their father, Jacob, finally said to them, “If it can’t be avoided, then at least do this. Pack your bags with the best products of this land. Take them down to the man as gifts—balm, honey, gum, aromatic resin, pistachio nuts, and almonds. ¹² Also take double the money that was put back in your sacks, as it was probably someone’s mistake. ¹³ Then take your brother, and go back to the man. ¹⁴ May God Almighty^[b] give you mercy as you go before the man, so that he will release Simeon and let Benjamin return. But if I must lose my children, so be it.”

¹⁵ So the men packed Jacob’s gifts and double the money and headed off with Benjamin. They finally arrived in Egypt and presented themselves to Joseph.

Seven Men Chosen to Serve

6 But as the believers^[a] rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent. The Greek-speaking believers complained about the Hebrew-speaking believers, saying that their widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food.

² So the Twelve called a meeting of all the believers. They said, “We apostles should spend our time teaching the word of God, not running a food program. ³ And so, brothers, select seven men who are well respected and are full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will give them this responsibility. ⁴ Then we apostles can spend our time in prayer and teaching the word.”

⁵ Everyone liked this idea, and they chose the following: Stephen (a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit), Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas of Antioch (an earlier convert to the Jewish faith). ⁶ These seven were presented to the apostles, who prayed for them as they laid their hands on them.

⁷ So God’s message continued to spread. The number of believers greatly increased in Jerusalem, and many of the Jewish priests were converted, too.