Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Prayer for protection, guidance, and pardon.

A Psalm of David.

¹⁴ Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon: and he shaved himself, and changed his raiment, and came in unto Pharaoh. ¹⁵ And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I have dreamed a dream, and there is none that can interpret it: and I have heard say of thee, that when thou hearest a dream thou canst interpret it. ¹⁶ And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me: God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace. ¹⁷ And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, In my dream, behold, I stood upon the brink of the river: ¹⁸ and, behold, there came up out of the river seven kine, fat-fleshed and well-favored; and they fed in the reed-grass: ¹⁹ and, behold, seven other kine came up after them, poor and very ill-favored and lean-fleshed, such as I never saw in all the land of Egypt for badness: ²⁰ and the lean and ill-favored kine did eat up the first seven fat kine: ²¹ and when they had eaten them up, it could not be known that they had eaten them; but they were still ill-favored, as at the beginning. So I awoke. ²² And I saw in my dream, and, behold, seven ears came up upon one stalk, full and good: ²³ and, behold, seven ears, withered, thin, and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them: ²⁴ and the thin ears swallowed up the seven good ears: and I told it unto the magicians; but there was none that could declare it to me.

²⁵ And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one: what God is about to do he hath declared unto Pharaoh. ²⁶ The seven good kine are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years: the dream is one. ²⁷ And the seven lean and ill-favored kine that came up after them are seven years, and also the seven empty ears blasted with the east wind; they shall be seven years of famine. ²⁸ That is the thing which I spake unto Pharaoh: what God is about to do he hath showed unto Pharaoh. ²⁹ Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt: ³⁰ and there shall arise after them seven years of famine; and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine shall consume the land; ³¹ and the plenty shall not be known in the land by reason of that famine which followeth; for it shall be very grievous. ³² And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh, it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass. ³³ Now therefore let Pharaoh look out a man discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt. ³⁴ Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint overseers over the land, and take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt in the seven plenteous years. ³⁵ And let them gather all the food of these good years that come, and lay up grain under the hand of Pharaoh for food in the cities, and let them keep it. ³⁶ And the food shall be for a store to the land against the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land of Egypt; that the land perish not through the famine.

¹⁴ What doth it profit, my brethren, if a man say he hath faith, but have not works? can that faith save him? ¹⁵ If a brother or sister be naked and in lack of daily food, ¹⁶ and one of you say unto them, Go in peace, be ye warmed and filled; and yet ye give them not the things needful to the body; what doth it profit? ¹⁷ Even so faith, if it have not works, is dead in itself. ^18 [a]Yea, a man will say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith apart from thy works, and I by my works will show thee my faith. ¹⁹ Thou believest that ^[b]God is one; thou doest well: the demons also believe, and shudder. ²⁰ But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith apart from works is barren? ²¹ Was not Abraham our father justified by works, in that he offered up Isaac his son upon the altar? ^22 [c]Thou seest that faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect; ²³ and the scripture was fulfilled which saith, ^[d]And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness; ^[e]and he was called the friend of God. ²⁴ Ye see that by works a man is justified, and not only by faith. ²⁵ And in like manner was not also Rahab the harlot justified by works, in that she received the messengers, and sent them out another way? ²⁶ For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, even so faith apart from works is dead.