Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Joseph’s Brothers Sell Him into Slavery

37 Jacob continued to live in the land of Canaan, where his father had lived.

² This is the account of Jacob and his descendants.

Joseph was a seventeen-year-old young man. He took care of the flocks with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives. Joseph told his father about the bad things his brothers were doing.

³ Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons because Joseph had been born in Israel’s old age. So he made Joseph a special robe with long sleeves. ⁴ Joseph’s brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them. They hated Joseph and couldn’t speak to him on friendly terms.

¹² His brothers had gone to take care of their father’s flocks at Shechem. ¹³ Israel then said to Joseph, “Your brothers are taking care of the flocks at Shechem. I’m going to send you to them.”

Joseph responded, “I’ll go.”

¹⁴ So Israel said, “See how your brothers and the flocks are doing, and bring some news back to me.” Then he sent Joseph away from the Hebron Valley.

When Joseph came to Shechem, ¹⁵ a man found him wandering around in the open country. “What are you looking for?” the man asked.

¹⁶ Joseph replied, “I’m looking for my brothers. Please tell me where they’re taking care of their flocks.”

¹⁷ The man said, “They moved on from here. I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’ ” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.

¹⁸ They saw him from a distance. Before he reached them, they plotted to kill him. ¹⁹ They said to each other, “Look, here comes that master dreamer! ²⁰ Let’s kill him, throw him into one of the cisterns, and say that a wild animal has eaten him. Then we’ll see what happens to his dreams.”

²¹ When Reuben heard this, he tried to save Joseph from their plot. “Let’s not kill him,” he said. ²² “Let’s not have any bloodshed. Put him into that cistern that’s out in the desert, but don’t hurt him.” Reuben wanted to rescue Joseph from them and bring him back to his father.

²³ So when Joseph reached his brothers, they stripped him of his special robe with long sleeves. ²⁴ Then they took him and put him into an empty cistern. It had no water in it.

²⁵ As they sat down to eat, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying the materials for cosmetics, medicine, and embalming. They were on their way to take them to Egypt.

²⁶ Judah asked his brothers, “What will we gain by killing our brother and covering up his death? ²⁷ Let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites. Let’s not hurt him, because he is our brother, our own flesh and blood.” His brothers agreed.

²⁸ As the Midianite merchants were passing by, the brothers pulled Joseph out of the cistern. They sold him to the Ishmaelites for eight ounces of silver. The Ishmaelites took him to Egypt.

⁵ Moses writes about receiving God’s approval by following his laws. He says, “The person who obeys these laws will live because he obeys them.” ⁶ However, Scripture says about God’s approval which is based on faith, “Don’t ask yourself who will go up to heaven,” (that is, to bring Christ down). ⁷ “Don’t ask who will go down into the depths,” (that is, to bring Christ back from the dead). ⁸ However, what else does it say? “This message is near you. It’s in your mouth and in your heart.” This is the message of faith that we spread. ⁹ If you declare that Jesus is Lord, and believe that God brought him back to life, you will be saved. ¹⁰ By believing you receive God’s approval, and by declaring your faith you are saved. ¹¹ Scripture says, “Whoever believes in him will not be ashamed.”

¹² There is no difference between Jews and Greeks. They all have the same Lord, who gives his riches to everyone who calls on him. ¹³ So then, “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

¹⁴ But how can people call on him if they have not believed in him? How can they believe in him if they have not heard his message? How can they hear if no one tells ⌞the Good News⌟? ¹⁵ How can people tell the Good News if no one sends them? As Scripture says, “How beautiful are the feet of the messengers who announce the Good News.”

Jesus Walks on the Sea^(A)

²² Jesus quickly made his disciples get into a boat and cross to the other side ahead of him while he sent the people away. ²³ After sending the people away, he went up a mountain to pray by himself. When evening came, he was there alone.

²⁴ The boat, now hundreds of yards from shore, was being thrown around by the waves because it was going against the wind.

²⁵ Between three and six o’clock in the morning, he came to them. He was walking on the sea. ²⁶ When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified. They said, “It’s a ghost!” and began to scream because they were afraid.

²⁷ Immediately, Jesus said, “Calm down! It’s me. Don’t be afraid!”

²⁸ Peter answered, “Lord, if it is you, order me to come to you on the water.”

²⁹ Jesus said, “Come!” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. ³⁰ But when he noticed how strong the wind was, he became afraid and started to sink. He shouted, “Lord, save me!”

³¹ Immediately, Jesus reached out, caught hold of him, and said, “You have so little faith! Why did you doubt?”

³² When they got into the boat, the wind stopped blowing. ³³ The men in the boat bowed down in front of Jesus and said, “You are truly the Son of God.”