Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
8 They who dwell in the (A)ends of the earth stand in awe of Your signs;
You make the [a]dawn and the sunset shout for joy.
9 You visit the earth and (B)cause it to overflow;
You greatly (C)enrich it;
The [b](D)stream of God is full of water;
You prepare their (E)grain, for thus You prepare [c]the earth.
10 You water its furrows abundantly,
You [d]settle its ridges,
You soften it (F)with showers,
You bless its growth.
11 You have crowned the year [e]with Your [f](G)bounty,
And Your [g]paths (H)drip with fatness.
12 (I)The pastures of the wilderness drip,
And the (J)hills gird themselves with rejoicing.
13 The meadows are (K)clothed with flocks
And the valleys are (L)covered with grain;
They (M)shout for joy, yes, they sing.
2 (A)God spoke to Israel [a]in visions of the night and said, “(B)Jacob, Jacob.” And he said, “Here I am.” 3 He said, “(C)I am God, the God of your father; do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will (D)make you a great nation there. 4 (E)I will go down with you to Egypt, and (F)I will also surely bring you up again; and (G)Joseph will [b]close your eyes.”
5 Then Jacob arose from Beersheba; and the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob and their little ones and their wives in the (H)wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him. 6 They took their livestock and their property, which they had acquired in the land of Canaan, and (I)came to Egypt, Jacob and all his [c]descendants with him: 7 his sons and his grandsons with him, his daughters and his granddaughters, and all his [d]descendants he brought with him to Egypt.
Those Who Came to Egypt
8 Now these are the (J)names of the sons of Israel, Jacob and his sons, who went to Egypt: Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn. 9 The sons of Reuben: Hanoch and Pallu and Hezron and Carmi. 10 The (K)sons of Simeon: [e]Jemuel and Jamin and Ohad and [f]Jachin and [g]Zohar and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman. 11 The sons of Levi: [h]Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 12 The sons of Judah: Er and Onan and Shelah and Perez and Zerah (but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan). And the (L)sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul. 13 The sons of Issachar: Tola and [i]Puvvah and [j]Iob and Shimron. 14 The sons of Zebulun: Sered and Elon and Jahleel. 15 These are the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Paddan-aram, with his daughter Dinah; [k]all his sons and his daughters numbered thirty-three. 16 The (M)sons of Gad: [l]Ziphion and Haggi, Shuni and [m]Ezbon, Eri and [n]Arodi and Areli. 17 The (N)sons of Asher: Imnah and Ishvah and Ishvi and Beriah and their sister Serah. And the (O)sons of Beriah: Heber and Malchiel. 18 These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah; and she bore to Jacob these sixteen persons. 19 The sons of Jacob’s wife Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin. 20 (P)Now to Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, bore to him. 21 The (Q)sons of Benjamin: Bela and Becher and Ashbel, Gera and Naaman, [o]Ehi and Rosh, [p]Muppim and [q]Huppim and Ard. 22 These are the sons of Rachel, who were born to Jacob; there were fourteen persons in all. 23 The sons of Dan: [r]Hushim. 24 The sons of Naphtali: [s]Jahzeel and Guni and Jezer and [t]Shillem. 25 These are the (R)sons of Bilhah, whom (S)Laban gave to his daughter Rachel, and she bore these to Jacob; there were seven persons in all. 26 (T)All the persons belonging to Jacob, who came to Egypt, [u]his direct descendants, not including the wives of Jacob’s sons, were sixty-six persons in all, 27 and the sons of Joseph, who were born to him in Egypt were [v]two; (U)all the persons of the house of Jacob, who came to Egypt, were seventy.
28 Now he sent Judah before him to Joseph, to point out the way before him to (V)Goshen; and they came into the land of Goshen. 29 Joseph [w]prepared his chariot and went up to Goshen to meet his father Israel; as soon as he appeared [x]before him, he fell on his neck and (W)wept on his neck a long time. 30 Then Israel said to Joseph, “Now let me die, since I have seen your face, that you are still alive.” 31 Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s household, “(X)I will go up and tell Pharaoh, and will say to him, ‘My brothers and my father’s household, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me; 32 and the men are shepherds, for they have been [y]keepers of livestock; and they have brought their flocks and their herds and all that they have.’ 33 When Pharaoh calls you and says, ‘(Y)What is your occupation?’ 34 you shall say, ‘Your servants have been [z](Z)keepers of livestock from our youth even until now, both we and our fathers,’ that you may [aa]live in the land of (AA)Goshen; for every shepherd is [ab](AB)loathsome to the Egyptians.”
Jacob’s Family Settles in Goshen
47 Then (AC)Joseph went in and told Pharaoh, and said, “My father and my brothers and their flocks and their herds and all that they have, have come out of the land of Canaan; and behold, they are in the land of (AD)Goshen.” 2 He took five men from among his brothers and (AE)presented them to Pharaoh. 3 Then Pharaoh said to his brothers, “(AF)What is your occupation?” So they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants are (AG)shepherds, both we and our fathers.” 4 They said to Pharaoh, “(AH)We have come to sojourn in the land, for there is no pasture for your servants’ flocks, for (AI)the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. Now, therefore, please let your servants [ac](AJ)live in the land of Goshen.” 5 Then Pharaoh said to [ad]Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. 6 The land of Egypt is [ae]at your disposal; [af]settle your father and your brothers in (AK)the best of the land, let them [ag]live in the land of Goshen; and if you know any (AL)capable men among them, then [ah]put them in charge of my livestock.”
7 Then Joseph brought his father Jacob and [ai]presented him to Pharaoh; and Jacob (AM)blessed Pharaoh. 8 Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How many [aj]years have you lived?” 9 So Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The [ak](AN)years of my sojourning are one hundred and [al]thirty; few and [am]unpleasant have been the [an]years of my life, nor have they [ao]attained (AO)the [ap]years [aq]that my fathers lived during the days of their sojourning.” 10 And Jacob (AP)blessed Pharaoh, and went out from [ar]his presence. 11 So Joseph [as]settled his father and his brothers and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in (AQ)the best of the land, in the land of (AR)Rameses, as Pharaoh had ordered. 12 Joseph (AS)provided his father and his brothers and all his father’s household with [at]food, according to their little ones.
Parable of the Mustard Seed
30 (A)And He said, “How shall we [a](B)picture the kingdom of God, or by what parable shall we present it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the soil, though it is smaller than all the seeds that are upon the soil, 32 yet when it is sown, it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and forms large branches; so that (C)the birds of the [b]air can nest under its shade.”
33 With many such parables He was speaking the word to them, so far as they were able to hear it; 34 and He did not speak to them (D)without a parable; but He was (E)explaining everything privately to His own disciples.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.