Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

³ Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him (for they were astonished at his presence).

⁴ Again, Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come near to me.” And they came near. And he said, “I am Joseph, your brother; whom you sold into Egypt.

⁵ “Now, therefore, do not be sad or angry with yourselves, that you sold me here. For God sent me before you for your preservation.

⁶ “For now, two years of famine have been through the land; and five years are still to come wherein there shall be neither earing nor harvest.

⁷ “Therefore, God sent me before you to preserve your posterity in this land, and to save you alive by a great deliverance.

⁸ “Now, then, you did not send me here, but God, Who has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his house and ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.

⁹ “Hurry and go up to my father, and tell him, ‘Thus says your son, Joseph, “God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me, do not delay.

¹⁰ ‘And you shall dwell in the land of Goshen and shall be near me (you and your children and your children’s children and your sheep and your beasts and all that you have).

¹¹ ‘Also, I will nourish you there (for there still remains five years of famine), lest you perish through poverty, (you and your household and all that you have).’

¹⁵ Moreover, he kissed all his brothers, and wept upon them. And afterward, his brothers talked with him.

37 Do not fret because of wicked men, nor be envious of evildoers.

² For they shall soon be cut down like grass and shall wither as the green herb.

³ Trust in the LORD and do good. Dwell in the land, and you shall assuredly be fed.

⁴ And delight yourself in the LORD; and He shall give you your heart’s desire.

⁵ Commit your way to the LORD, and trust in Him; and He shall make it so.

⁶ And He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your judgment as the noon day.

⁷ Wait patiently upon the LORD, and hope in Him. Do not fret over him who prospers in his way, nor over the man who executes wicked schemes.

⁸ Cease from anger and abandon wrath. Do not fret. It leads only to evil.

⁹ For evildoers shall be cut off; and those who wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the land.

¹⁰ Therefore, yet a little while and the wicked shall not appear; and you shall look for his place and he shall not be found.

¹¹ But meek men shall possess the Earth and shall have their delight in the multitude of peace.

³⁹ But the salvation of the righteous men shall be from the LORD. He shall be their strength in the time of trouble.

⁴⁰ For the LORD shall help them and deliver them. He shall deliver them from the wicked, and shall save them, because they trust in Him. A Psalm of David, for remembrance.

³⁵ But someone will say, “How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come forth?”

³⁶ O fool. That which you sow does not come alive unless it dies.

³⁷ And that which you sow, you do not sow the body that shall be, but bare corn as it falls, of wheat, or of some other.

³⁸ But God gives it a body at His pleasure, even to every seed his own body.

⁴² So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption and is raised in incorruption.

⁴³ It is sown in dishonor and is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness and is raised in power.

⁴⁴ It is sown a natural body and is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

⁴⁵ As it is also written, “The first man, Adam, was made a living soul.” And the last Adam was made a life-giving Spirit.

⁴⁶ But that which is spiritual was not first; but that which is natural, and afterward that which is spiritual.

⁴⁷ The first man is of the Earth, earthly. The second Man is the Lord from Heaven.

⁴⁸ As is the earthly, such are those who are earthly. And as is the heavenly, such are those also who are heavenly.

⁴⁹ And as we have borne the image of the earthly, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly.

⁵⁰ This I say, brothers: that flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption.

²⁷ “But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies. Do well to those who hate you.

²⁸ “Bless those who curse you and pray for those who hurt you.

²⁹ “And to the one who strikes you on the cheek, offer also the other, and the one who takes away your cloak, do not forbid to take your coat also.

³⁰ “Give to everyone who asks of you. And from the one who takes away what is yours, do not ask for it back.

³¹ “And as you would have men do to you, so likewise do to them.

³² “For if you love those who love you, what thanks shall you have? For even the sinners love those who love them.

³³ And if you do good to those who do good to you, what thanks shall you have? For even the sinners do the same.

³⁴ “And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what thanks shall you have? For even the sinners lend to sinners to receive the same.

³⁵ “Therefore, love your enemies. And do good. And lend, looking for nothing in return. And your reward shall be great. And you shall be the children of the Most High. For He is kind to the ungrateful and to the evil.

³⁶ “Therefore, be merciful, as your Father is also merciful.

³⁷ “Do not judge. And you shall not be judged. Do not condemn. And you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you shall be forgiven.

³⁸ “Give, and it shall be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, shall be laid in your lap. For with what measure you measure, it shall be measured to you again.”