Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

A Prayer for Help, and Praise for Its Answer.

A Psalm of David.

Joseph’s Success in Egypt

39 Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an Egyptian officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the bodyguard, bought him ^[a]from the ^(A)Ishmaelites, who had taken him down there. ^2 (B)The Lord was with Joseph, so he became a ^[b]successful man. And he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. ³ Now his master ^(C)saw that the Lord was with him and how the Lord ^(D)caused all that he did to prosper in his hand. ⁴ So Joseph ^(E)found favor in his sight and ^[c]became his personal servant; and he made him overseer over his house, and ^(F)all that he owned he put in his ^[d]charge. ⁵ It came about that from the time he made him overseer in his house and over all that he owned, the Lord ^(G)blessed the Egyptian’s house on account of Joseph; thus ^(H)the Lord’s blessing was upon all that he owned, in the house and in the field. ⁶ So he left everything he owned in Joseph’s ^[e]charge; and with him there he did not ^[f]concern himself with anything except the ^[g]food which he ^[h]ate.

Now Joseph was ^(I)handsome in form and appearance. ⁷ It came about after these events ^(J)that his master’s wife ^[i]looked with desire at Joseph, and she said, “^(K)Lie with me.” ⁸ But ^(L)he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Behold, with me here, my master ^[j]does not concern himself with anything in the house, and he has put all that he owns in my ^[k]charge. ^9 [l](M)There is no one greater in this house than I, and he has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great evil and ^(N)sin against God?” ¹⁰ As she spoke to Joseph day after day, he did not listen to her to lie beside her or be with her. ¹¹ Now it happened ^[m]one day that he went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the household was there inside. ¹² She caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me!” And he left his garment in her hand and fled, and went outside. ^13 [n]When she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled outside, ¹⁴ she called to the men of her household and said to them, “See, he has brought in a ^[o]Hebrew to us to make sport of us; he came in to me to lie with me, and I ^[p]screamed. ¹⁵ When he heard that I raised my voice and ^[q]screamed, he left his garment beside me and fled and went outside.” ¹⁶ So she ^[r]left his garment beside her until his master came home. ¹⁷ Then she ^(O)spoke to him ^[s]with these words, “^[t]The Hebrew slave, whom you brought to us, came in to me to make sport of me; ¹⁸ and as I raised my voice and ^[u]screamed, he left his garment beside me and fled outside.”

Joseph Imprisoned

¹⁹ Now when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spoke to him, saying, “^[v]This is what your slave did to me,” ^(P)his anger burned. ²⁰ So Joseph’s master took him and ^(Q)put him into the jail, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined; and he was there in the jail. ²¹ But ^(R)the Lord was with Joseph and extended kindness to him, and ^(S)gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer. ²² The chief jailer ^(T)committed to Joseph’s ^[w]charge all the prisoners who were in the jail; so that whatever was done there, he was ^[x]responsible for it. ^23 (U)The chief jailer did not supervise anything under ^[y]Joseph’s charge because ^(V)the Lord was with him; and whatever he did, ^(W)the Lord made to prosper.

^14 (A)What shall we say then? ^(B)There is no injustice with God, is there? ^(C)May it never be! ¹⁵ For He says to Moses, “^(D)I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” ¹⁶ So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who ^(E)runs, but on ^(F)God who has mercy. ¹⁷ For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “^(G)For this very purpose I raised you up, to demonstrate My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed ^[a]throughout the whole earth.” ¹⁸ So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He ^(H)hardens whom He desires.

^19 (I)You will say to me then, “^(J)Why does He still find fault? For ^(K)who resists His will?” ²⁰ On the contrary, who are you, ^(L)O man, who ^(M)answers back to God? ^(N)The thing molded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this,” will it? ²¹ Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel ^[b]for honorable use and another ^[c]for common use? ^22 [d]What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much ^(O)patience vessels of wrath ^(P)prepared for destruction? ²³ And He did so to make known ^(Q)the riches of His glory upon ^(R)vessels of mercy, which He ^(S)prepared beforehand for glory, ²⁴ even us, whom He also ^(T)called, ^(U)not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles. ²⁵ As He says also in Hosea,

²⁷ Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, “^(Y)Though the number of the sons of Israel be ^(Z)like the sand of the sea, it is ^(AA)the remnant that will be saved; ^28 (AB)for the Lord will execute His word on the earth, ^[e]thoroughly and ^[f]quickly.” ²⁹ And just as Isaiah foretold,