Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Joseph, the Suffering Righteous One[a]
Chapter 37
Hated by His Brothers.[b] 1 Jacob dwelt in the land where his father had sojourned, the land of Canaan.
2 This is the story of the descendants of Jacob.
Joseph was seventeen years old and tended the flocks with his brothers. He was young and stayed with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, the wives of his father. Now Joseph told his father bad reports about them.
3 Israel loved Joseph more than all his other sons because he was the son of his old age, and he had a long tunic made for him. 4 His brothers, seeing that their father loved him most of all his sons, hated him and could not speak peaceably with him.
12 Sold as a Slave.[a] His brothers went out to pasture the flocks of their father at Shechem. 13 Israel said to Joseph, “You know that your brothers have gone to pasture at Shechem. Come, I wish to send you to them.”
He answered, “Here I am.”
14 He said, “Go to see how things are going for your brothers and the animals, then return and tell me.” He had him leave from the Valley of Hebron and travel to Shechem.
15 As Joseph was wandering through the fields, he found a man who asked him, “For whom are you looking?”
16 He answered, “I am looking for my brothers. Tell me how to find where they are pasturing their flocks.”
17 That man said, “They pulled up their camp from here and I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’ ”
Joseph therefore went in search of his brothers, and he found them in Dothan. 18 They saw him from a distance, and, before he could draw close to them, they plotted to put him to death.
19 They said to one another, “Here comes the dreamer. 20 Come, let us kill him and throw him in some cistern. We will say, ‘A wild animal devoured him.’ Then we will see what becomes of his dreams.”
21 But Reuben heard this and wanted to save him from their hands. He said, “Let us not take his life.” 22 Then he said to them, “Do not spill his blood. Throw him into this cistern in the desert, but do not lay your hands upon him.” He intended to save him from their hands and restore him to their father.
23 When Joseph reached his brothers, they stripped him of his tunic, the long tunic that he wore. 24 They took him and cast him into a dry cistern.
25 They then sat down to eat. When they looked up, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites from Gilead with camels laden with gums, balm, and myrrh. It was carrying these things to Egypt.
26 Judah said to his brothers, “What would we gain if we killed our brother and concealed his blood? 27 Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites. This way, we will not have laid hands on him, for he is our brother and our flesh.” His brothers agreed with him.
28 Now some Ishmaelite traders passed by, and his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. Thus Joseph was brought into Egypt.
Psalm 105[a]
God’s Faithfulness to the Covenant
1 [b]Give thanks to the Lord, invoke his name;[c]
proclaim his deeds among the peoples.
2 Offer him honor with songs of praise;
recount all his marvelous deeds.
3 Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts[d] of those who seek the Lord exult.
4 Reflect on the Lord and his strength;
seek his face continually.
5 Remember the marvels he has wrought,
his portents, and the judgments[e] he has set forth.
6 You are the offspring of his servant Abraham,
the children of Jacob, his chosen ones.[f]
16 Then he invoked a famine on the land
and destroyed their supply of bread.
17 But he had sent a man ahead of them,
Joseph, who had been sold as a slave.
18 They shackled his feet with fetters
and clamped an iron collar around his neck,
19 until what he had prophesied was fulfilled
and the word of the Lord proved him true.
20 The king ordered that he be released;
the ruler of the peoples set him free.
21 He appointed him as master of his household
and as ruler of all his possessions.
22 He was to instruct[a] his princes as he deemed fit
and to impart wisdom to his elders.
45 so that they might keep his decrees
and observe his laws.
Alleluia.
The Word Is Near You.[a] 5 Concerning the righteousness that comes from the Law, Moses writes, “The person who does these things will attain life by them.” 6 However, the righteousness that comes from faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will go up to heaven?’ (that is, to bring Christ down), 7 or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).”[b] 8 But what does it say?
“The word is near you,
on your lips and in your heart”
(that is, the word of faith that we proclaim).
9 If you confess with your lips, “Jesus is Lord,”[c] and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For one believes in the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. 11 As Scripture asserts, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Gentile. The same Lord is Lord of all, and his generosity is manifested to all who call upon him. 13 Indeed, “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
14 Not All Have Responded to the Good News. But how can they call on him if they have not come to believe in him? And how can they believe in someone about whom they have never heard? And how can they hear without someone to preach to them? 15 And how will there be people to preach if they are not sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who proclaim the good news!”
22 Jesus Walks on the Water.[a] Then Jesus instructed the disciples to get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side while he dismissed the crowds. 23 After he sent them away, he went by himself up on the mountain to pray. When evening came, he was there alone. 24 Meanwhile, the boat was already some distance from the shore, battered by waves and a strong wind.
25 During the fourth watch[b] of the night, Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the water they were terrified, and they cried out in their fright, “It is a ghost!” 27 But Jesus immediately spoke to them, saying, “Have courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.”
28 Peter answered, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you across the water.” 29 He said, “Come!” Then Peter got out of the boat and started walking on the water toward Jesus. 30 But when he realized the force of the wind, he became frightened. As he began to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught hold of him, saying, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 After they got into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Those in the boat fell to their knees in worship, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”[c]
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