Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

(A song for worship.)

Living Together in Peace

Joseph's Brothers Go to Egypt To Buy Grain

42 When Jacob found out there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why are you just sitting here, staring at one another? ^2 (A) I have heard there is grain in Egypt. Go down and buy some, so we won't starve to death.”

³ Ten of Joseph's brothers went to Egypt to buy grain. ⁴ But Jacob did not send Joseph's younger brother Benjamin with them; he was afraid that something might happen to him. ⁵ So Jacob's sons joined others from Canaan who were going to Egypt because of the terrible famine.

⁶ Since Joseph was governor of Egypt and in charge of selling grain, his brothers came to him and bowed with their faces to the ground. ^7-8 They did not recognize Joseph, but at once he knew who they were, though he pretended not to know. Instead, he spoke harshly and asked, “Where do you come from?”

“From the land of Canaan,” they answered. “We've come here to buy grain.”

^9 (B) Joseph remembered what he had dreamed about them and said, “You're spies! You've come here to find out where our country is weak.”

¹⁰ “No sir,” they replied. “We're your servants, and we have only come to buy grain. ¹¹ We're honest men, and we come from the same family—we're not spies.”

¹² “That isn't so!” Joseph insisted. “You've come here to find out where our country is weak.”

¹³ But they explained, “Sir, we come from a family of twelve brothers. The youngest is still with our father in Canaan, and one of our brothers is dead.”

¹⁴ Joseph replied:

It's like I said. You're spies, ¹⁵ and I'm going to find out the truth. I swear by the life of the king that you won't leave this place until your youngest brother comes here. ¹⁶ Choose one of you to go after your brother, while the rest of you stay here in jail. That will show whether you are telling the truth. But if you are lying, I swear by the life of the king that you are spies!

¹⁷ Joseph kept them all under guard for three days, ¹⁸ before saying to them:

Since I respect God, I'll give you a chance to save your lives. ¹⁹ If you are honest men, one of you must stay here in jail, and the rest of you can take the grain back to your starving families. ²⁰ But you must bring your youngest brother to me. Then I'll know that you are telling the truth, and you won't be put to death.

Joseph's brothers agreed ²¹ and said to one another, “We're being punished because of Joseph. We saw the trouble he was in, but we refused to help him when he begged us. That's why these terrible things are happening.”

^22 (C) Reuben spoke up, “Didn't I tell you not to harm the boy? But you wouldn't listen, and now we have to pay the price for killing him.”

²³ They did not know that Joseph could understand them, since he was speaking through an interpreter. ²⁴ Joseph turned away from them and cried, but soon he turned back and spoke to them again. Then he had Simeon tied up and taken away while they watched.

Joseph's Brothers Return to Canaan

²⁵ Joseph gave orders for his brothers' grain sacks to be filled with grain and for their money^[a] to be put in their sacks. He also gave orders for them to be given food for their journey home. After this was done, ²⁶ they each loaded the grain on their donkeys and left.

²⁷ When they stopped for the night, one of them opened his sack to get some grain for his donkey, and at once he saw his moneybag. ²⁸ “Here's my money!” he told his brothers. “Right here in my sack.”

They were trembling with fear as they stared at one another and asked themselves, “What has God done to us?”^[b]

Jesus Heals Sick People in Gennesaret

(Mark 6.53-56)

³⁴ Jesus and his disciples crossed the lake and came to shore near the town of Gennesaret. ³⁵ The people found out he was there, and they sent word to everyone who lived in this part of the country. So they brought all the sick people to Jesus. ³⁶ They begged him just to let them touch his clothes, and everyone who did was healed.