Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Joseph’s Dreams
37 Now Jacob lived in (A)the land where his father had lived as a stranger, in the land of Canaan. 2 These are the records of the generations of Jacob.
Joseph, when he was (B)seventeen years of age, was pasturing the flock with his brothers, while he was still a youth, along with (C)the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives. And Joseph brought back a (D)bad report about them to their father. 3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his other sons, because he was (E)the son of his old age; and he made him a [a](F)multicolored tunic. 4 And his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers; and so they (G)hated him and could not speak to him [b]on friendly terms.
12 Then his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock in Shechem. 13 And Israel said to Joseph, “Are your brothers not pasturing the flock in (A)Shechem? Come, and I will send you to them.” And he said to him, “[a]I will go.” 14 Then he said to him, “Go now and see about the welfare of your brothers and the welfare of the flock, and bring word back to me.” So he sent him from the Valley of (B)Hebron, and he came to Shechem.
15 A man found him, and behold, he was wandering in the field; and the man asked him, “[b]What are you looking for?” 16 He said, “I am looking for my brothers; please tell me where they are pasturing the flock.” 17 Then the man said, “They have moved from here; for I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to (C)Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.
The Plot against Joseph
18 [c]When they saw him from a distance, and before he came closer to them, they (D)plotted against him to put him to death. 19 They said to one another, “[d]Here comes this dreamer! 20 Now then, come and let’s kill him, and throw him into one of the pits; and (E)we will say, ‘A vicious animal devoured him.’ Then we will see what will become of his dreams!” 21 But (F)Reuben heard this and rescued him out of their hands [e]by saying, “Let’s not [f]take his life.” 22 Then Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him”—so that later he might rescue him out of their hands, to return him to his father. 23 So it came about, when Joseph [g]reached his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the [h]multicolored tunic that was on him; 24 and they took him and threw him into the pit. Now the pit was empty, without any water in it.
25 Then they sat down to eat [i]a meal. But as they raised their eyes and looked, behold, a caravan of (G)Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels carrying (H)labdanum resin, (I)balsam, and [j]myrrh, [k]on their way to bring them down to Egypt. 26 And Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it for us to kill our brother and (J)cover up his blood? 27 (K)Come, and let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened to him. 28 Then some (L)Midianite traders passed by, so they pulled him out and lifted Joseph out of the pit, and (M)sold [l]him to the Ishmaelites for [m]twenty shekels of silver. So (N)they brought Joseph into Egypt.
The Lord’s Wonderful Works in Behalf of Israel.
105 (A)Give thanks to the Lord, (B)call upon His name;
(C)Make His deeds known among the peoples.
2 Sing to Him, (D)sing praises to Him;
[a](E)Tell of all His [b]wonders.
3 Boast in His holy name;
May the (F)heart of those who seek the Lord be joyful.
4 Seek the Lord and (G)His strength;
(H)Seek His face continually.
5 Remember His [c](I)wonders which He has done,
His marvels and the (J)judgments [d]spoken by His mouth,
6 You [e]descendants of (K)Abraham, His servant,
You sons of (L)Jacob, His (M)chosen ones!
16 And He (A)called for a famine upon the land;
He (B)broke the whole staff of bread.
17 He (C)sent a man before them,
Joseph, who was (D)sold as a slave.
18 They forced his (E)feet into shackles,
[a]He was put in irons;
19 Until the time that his (F)word came to pass,
The word of the Lord (G)refined him.
20 The (H)king sent and released him,
The ruler of peoples, and set him free.
21 He (I)made him lord of his house,
And ruler over all his possessions,
22 To [b]imprison his high officials [c](J)at will,
That he might teach his elders wisdom.
5 For Moses writes of the righteousness that is [a]based on the Law, that the person who performs [b]them (A)will live by [c]them. 6 But (B)the righteousness [d]based on faith speaks as follows: “(C)Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will go up into heaven?’ (that is, to bring Christ down), 7 or ‘Who will descend into the (D)abyss?’ (that is, to (E)bring Christ up from the dead).” 8 But what does it say? “(F)The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, 9 [e]that (G)if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and (H)believe in your heart that (I)God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, [f]resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, [g]resulting in salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “(J)Whoever believes in Him will not be [h]put to shame.” 12 For (K)there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is (L)Lord of (M)all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; 13 for “(N)Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
14 How then are they to call on Him in whom they have not believed? How are they to believe in Him (O)whom they have not heard? And how are they to hear without (P)a preacher? 15 But how are they to preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written: “(Q)How beautiful are the feet of those who [i](R)bring good news of good things!”
Jesus Walks on the Water
22 (A)Immediately afterward He compelled the disciples to get into the boat and to go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away. 23 After He had sent the crowds away, (B)He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone. 24 But the boat was already [a]a long distance from the land, [b]battered by the waves; for the wind was [c](C)contrary. 25 And in (D)the [d]fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. 26 When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is (E)a ghost!” And they cried out [e]in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “(F)Take courage, [f]it is I; (G)do not be afraid.”
28 Peter responded and said to Him, “Lord, if [g]it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” 29 And He said, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water, and came toward Jesus. 30 But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and when he began to sink, he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” 31 Immediately Jesus reached out with His hand and took hold of him, and *said to him, “(H)You of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 When they got into the boat, the wind stopped. 33 And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “You are truly (I)God’s Son!”
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