Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

45 Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried, Cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren. ² And he ^[a]wept aloud: and the Egyptians heard, and the house of Pharaoh heard. ³ And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence. ⁴ And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. ⁵ And now be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life. ⁶ For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and there are yet five years, in which there shall be neither plowing nor harvest. ⁷ And God sent me before you to preserve you a remnant in the earth, and to save you alive ^[b]by a great deliverance. ⁸ So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and ruler over all the land of Egypt. ⁹ Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not; ¹⁰ and thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy children’s children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast: ¹¹ and there will I nourish thee; for there are yet five years of famine; lest thou come to poverty, thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast. ¹² And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto you. ¹³ And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen: and ye shall haste and bring down my father hither. ¹⁴ And he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck. ¹⁵ And he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them: and after that his brethren talked with him.

The excellency of brotherly unity.

A Song of Ascents; of David.

11 I say then, Did God cast off his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. ² God did not cast off his people which he foreknew. Or know ye not what the scripture ^[a]saith ^[b]of Elijah? how he pleadeth with God against Israel:

²⁹ For the gifts and the calling of God are not repented of. ³⁰ For as ye in time past were disobedient to God, but now have obtained mercy by their disobedience, ³¹ even so have these also now been disobedient, that by the mercy shown to you they also may now obtain mercy. ³² For God hath shut up all unto disobedience, that he might have mercy upon all.

¹⁰ And he called to him the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand: ¹¹ Not that which entereth into the mouth defileth the man; but that which proceedeth out of the mouth, this defileth the man. ¹² Then came the disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were ^[a]offended, when they heard this saying? ¹³ But he answered and said, Every ^[b]plant which my heavenly Father planted not, shall be rooted up. ¹⁴ Let them alone: they are blind guides. And if the blind guide the blind, both shall fall into a pit. ¹⁵ And Peter answered and said unto him, Declare unto us the parable. ¹⁶ And he said, Are ye also even yet without understanding? ¹⁷ Perceive ye not, that whatsoever goeth into the mouth passeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? ¹⁸ But the things which proceed out of the mouth come forth out of the heart; and they defile the man. ¹⁹ For out of the heart come forth evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, railings: ²⁰ these are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not the man.

²¹ And Jesus went out thence, and withdrew into the parts of Tyre and Sidon. ²² And behold, a Canaanitish woman came out from those borders, and cried, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a demon. ²³ But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. ²⁴ But he answered and said, I was not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. ²⁵ But she came and ^[a]worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. ²⁶ And he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s ^[b]bread and cast it to the dogs. ²⁷ But she said, Yea, Lord: for even the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table. ²⁸ Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it done unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was healed from that hour.