Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 103[a]
Praise of Divine Goodness
1 Of David.
I
Bless the Lord, my soul;
all my being, bless his holy name!
2 Bless the Lord, my soul;
and do not forget all his gifts,
3 Who pardons all your sins,
and heals all your ills,
4 Who redeems your life from the pit,(A)
and crowns you with mercy and compassion,
5 Who fills your days with good things,
so your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.[b]
II
6 The Lord does righteous deeds,
brings justice to all the oppressed.(B)
7 He made known his ways to Moses,
to the Israelites his deeds.
8 Merciful and gracious is the Lord,
slow to anger, abounding in mercy.(A)
9 He will not always accuse,
and nurses no lasting anger;
10 He has not dealt with us as our sins merit,
nor requited us as our wrongs deserve.
III
11 For as the heavens tower over the earth,
so his mercy towers over those who fear him.(B)
12 As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our sins from us.
13 As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him.
53 When the seven years of abundance enjoyed by the land of Egypt came to an end, 54 the seven years of famine set in, just as Joseph had said. Although there was famine in all the other countries, food was available throughout the land of Egypt.(A) 55 When all the land of Egypt became hungry and the people cried to Pharaoh for food, Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians: “Go to Joseph and do whatever he tells you.” 56 When the famine had spread throughout the land, Joseph opened all the cities that had grain and rationed it to the Egyptians, since the famine had gripped the land of Egypt. 57 Indeed, the whole world came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, for famine had gripped the whole world.
Chapter 42
The Brothers’ First Journey to Egypt.[a] 1 When Jacob learned that grain rations were for sale in Egypt, he said to his sons: “Why do you keep looking at one another?” 2 He went on, “I hear that grain is for sale in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, that we may stay alive and not die.”(B) 3 So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. 4 But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he thought some disaster might befall him. 5 And so the sons of Israel were among those who came to buy grain, since there was famine in the land of Canaan.(C)
6 Joseph, as governor of the country, was the one who sold grain to all the people of the land. When Joseph’s brothers came, they bowed down to him with their faces to the ground.(D) 7 He recognized them as soon as he saw them. But he concealed his own identity from them and spoke harshly to them. “Where do you come from?” he asked them. They answered, “From the land of Canaan, to buy food.”
8 When Joseph recognized his brothers, although they did not recognize him, 9 he was reminded of the dreams he had about them. He said to them: “You are spies.(E) You have come to see the weak points[b] of the land.” 10 “No, my lord,” they replied. “On the contrary, your servants have come to buy food. 11 All of us are sons of the same man. We are honest men; your servants have never been spies.” 12 But he answered them: “Not so! It is the weak points of the land that you have come to see.” 13 “We your servants,” they said, “are twelve brothers, sons of a certain man in Canaan; but the youngest one is at present with our father, and the other one is no more.”(F) 14 “It is just as I said,” Joseph persisted; “you are spies. 15 This is how you shall be tested: I swear by the life of Pharaoh that you shall not leave here unless your youngest brother comes here. 16 So send one of your number to get your brother, while the rest of you stay here under arrest. Thus will your words be tested for their truth; if they are untrue, as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!” 17 With that, he locked them up in the guardhouse for three days.
9 “And the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into slavery in Egypt; but God was with him(A) 10 and rescued him from all his afflictions. He granted him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, who put him in charge of Egypt and [of] his entire household.(B) 11 Then a famine and great affliction struck all Egypt and Canaan, and our ancestors could find no food;(C) 12 but when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our ancestors there a first time.(D) 13 The second time, Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph’s family became known to Pharaoh.(E) 14 Then Joseph sent for his father Jacob, inviting him and his whole clan, seventy-five persons;(F) 15 and Jacob went down to Egypt. And he and our ancestors died(G) 16 and were brought back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had purchased for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor at Shechem.(H)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.