Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Wicked Men and a Good God
For the director of music. Of David, the servant of the Lord.
36 Sin speaks to the wicked man in his heart.
He has no fear of or respect for God.
2 He thinks too much of himself.
He doesn’t see his sin and hate it.
3 His words are wicked lies.
He is no longer wise or good.
4 At night he makes evil plans.
What he does leads to nothing good.
He doesn’t refuse things that are evil.
5 Lord, your love reaches to the heavens.
Your loyalty goes to the skies.
6 Your goodness is as high as the mountains.
Your justice is as deep as the great ocean.
Lord, you protect both men and animals.
7 God, your love is so precious!
You protect people as a bird protects her young under her wings.
8 They eat the rich food in your house.
You let them drink from your river of pleasure.
9 You are the giver of life.
Your light lets us enjoy life.
10 Continue to love those who know you.
And continue to do good to those who are good.
11 Don’t let proud people attack me.
Don’t let the wicked force me away.
12 Those who do evil have been defeated.
They are overwhelmed; they cannot do evil any longer.
Joseph Buys Land for the King
13 The hunger became worse, and there was no food anywhere in the land. The land of Egypt and the land of Canaan became very poor because of this. 14 Joseph collected all the money that was to be found in Egypt and Canaan. People paid him this money for the grain they were buying. He brought that money to the king’s palace. 15 After some time, the people in Egypt and Canaan had no money left. So they went to Joseph and said, “Please give us food. Our money is gone. If we don’t eat, we will die here in front of you.”
16 Joseph answered, “Since you have no money, give me your farm animals. I will give you food in return.” 17 So people brought their farm animals to Joseph. And he gave them food in exchange for their horses, sheep, cattle and donkeys. So he kept them alive by trading food for their farm animals that year.
18 The next year the people came to Joseph and said, “You know we have no money left. And all our animals belong to you. We have nothing left except our bodies and our land. 19 Surely both we and our land will die here in front of you. Buy us and our land in exchange for food. And we will be slaves to the king, together with our land. Give us seed to plant. Then we will live and not die. And the land will not become a desert.”
20 So Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for the king. Every Egyptian sold Joseph his field, because the hunger was very great. So the land became the king’s. 21 And Joseph made the people slaves from one end of Egypt to the other. 22 The only land he did not buy was the land the priests owned. They did not need to sell their land because the king paid them for their work. So they had money to buy food.
23 Joseph said to the people, “Now I have bought you and your land for the king. So I will give you seed. And you can plant your fields. 24 At harvest time you must give one-fifth to the king. You may keep four-fifths for yourselves. Use it as seed for the field and as food for yourselves, your families and your children.”
25 The people said, “You have saved our lives. If you like, we will become slaves of the king.”
26 So Joseph made a law in Egypt, which continues today: One-fifth of everything from the land belongs to the king. The only land the king did not get was the priests’ land.
Guard Against Wrong Teachings
14 The followers had only one loaf of bread with them in the boat. They had forgotten to bring more bread. 15 Jesus warned them, “Be careful! Guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.”
16 Among themselves, his disciples discussed the meaning of this. They said, “He said this because we have no bread.”
17 Jesus knew what his followers were talking about. So he asked them, “Why are you talking about having no bread? You still don’t see or understand? Are your minds closed? 18 You have eyes, but you don’t really see. You have ears, but you don’t really listen. Remember what I did before, when we did not have enough bread? 19 I divided five loaves of bread for 5,000 people. Remember how many baskets you filled with pieces of food that were not eaten?”
They answered, “We filled 12 baskets.”
20 “And remember that I divided seven loaves of bread for 4,000 people. Remember how many baskets you filled with pieces of food that were not eaten?”
They answered, “We filled 7 baskets.”
21 Then Jesus said to them, “You remember these things I did, but you still don’t understand?”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.