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Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Daily Bible readings that follow the church liturgical year, with sequential stories told across multiple weeks.
Duration: 1245 days
New International Reader's Version (NIRV)
Version
Psalm 28

A psalm of David.

28 Lord, my Rock, I call out to you.
    Pay attention to me.
If you remain silent, I will die.
    I will be like those who go down into the grave.
Hear my cry for your favor
    when I call out to you for help.
Hear me when I lift up my hands in prayer
    toward your Most Holy Room.

Don’t drag me away with sinners.
    Don’t drag me away with those who do evil.
They speak in a friendly way to their neighbors.
    But their hearts are full of hate.
Pay them back for their evil actions.
    Pay them back for what their hands have done.
    Give them exactly what they should get.
They don’t care about the Lord’s mighty acts.
    They don’t care about what his hands have done.
So he will tear them down.
    He will never build them up again.

Give praise to the Lord.
    He has heard my cry for his favor.
The Lord gives me strength. He is like a shield that keeps me safe.
    My heart trusts in him, and he helps me.
My heart jumps for joy.
    With my song I praise him.

The Lord gives strength to his people.
    He guards and saves his anointed king.
Save your people. Bless those who belong to you.
    Be their shepherd. Take care of them forever.

Genesis 40

The Wine Taster and the Baker

40 Some time later, the Egyptian king’s baker and wine taster did something their master didn’t like. So Pharaoh became angry with his two officials, the chief wine taster and the chief baker. He put them in prison in the house of the captain of the palace guard. It was the same prison where Joseph was kept. The captain put Joseph in charge of those men. So Joseph took care of them.

Some time passed while they were in prison. Then each of the two men had a dream. The men were the Egyptian king’s baker and wine taster. They were being held in prison. Both of them had dreams the same night. Each of their dreams had its own meaning.

Joseph came to them the next morning. He saw that they were sad. They were Pharaoh’s officials, and they were in prison with Joseph in his master’s house. So he asked them, “Why do you look so sad today?”

“We both had dreams,” they answered. “But no one can tell us what they mean.”

Then Joseph said to them, “Only God knows what dreams mean. Tell me your dreams.”

So the chief wine taster told Joseph his dream. He said to him, “In my dream I saw a vine in front of me. 10 There were three branches on the vine. As soon as it budded, it flowered. And bunches of ripe grapes grew on it. 11 Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand. I took the grapes. I squeezed them into Pharaoh’s cup. Then I put the cup in his hand.”

12 “Here’s what your dream means,” Joseph said to him. “The three branches are three days. 13 In three days Pharaoh will let you out of prison. He’ll give your job back to you. And you will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand. That’s what you used to do when you were his wine taster. 14 But when everything is going well with you, remember me. Do me a favor. Speak to Pharaoh about me. Get me out of this prison. 15 I was taken away from the land of the Hebrews by force. Even here I haven’t done anything to be put in prison for.”

16 The chief baker saw that Joseph had given a positive meaning to the wine taster’s dream. So he said to Joseph, “I had a dream too. There were three baskets of bread on my head. 17 All kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh were in the top basket. But the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.”

18 “Here’s what your dream means,” Joseph said. “The three baskets are three days. 19 In three days Pharaoh will cut your head off. Then he will stick a pole through your body and set the pole up. The birds will eat your flesh.”

20 The third day was Pharaoh’s birthday. He had a feast prepared for all his officials. He brought the chief wine taster and the chief baker out of prison. He did it in front of his officials. 21 He gave the chief wine taster’s job back to him. Once again the wine taster put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand. 22 But Pharaoh had a pole stuck through the chief baker’s body. Then he had the pole set up. Everything happened just as Joseph had told them when he explained their dreams.

23 But the chief wine taster didn’t remember Joseph. In fact, he forgot all about him.

Matthew 8:23-27

Jesus Calms the Storm

23 Jesus got into a boat. His disciples followed him. 24 Suddenly a terrible storm came up on the lake. The waves crashed over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25 The disciples went and woke him up. They said, “Lord! Save us! We’re going to drown!”

26 He replied, “Your faith is so small! Why are you so afraid?” Then Jesus got up and ordered the winds and the waves to stop. It became completely calm.

27 The disciples were amazed. They asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”

New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

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