Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 28[a]
Petition and Thanksgiving
1 Of David.
I
To you, Lord, I call;
my Rock, do not be deaf to me,(A)
Do not be silent toward me,
so that I join those who go down to the pit.(B)
2 Hear the sound of my pleading when I cry to you for help
when I lift up my hands toward your holy place.[b](C)
3 Do not drag me off with the wicked,
with those who do wrong,(D)
Who speak peace to their neighbors
though evil is in their hearts.(E)
4 Repay them for their deeds,
for the evil that they do.
For the work of their hands repay them;
give them what they deserve.(F)
5 Because they do not understand the Lord’s works,
the work of his hands,(G)
He will tear them down,
never to rebuild them.
II
6 [c]Blessed be the Lord,
who has heard the sound of my pleading.
7 The Lord is my strength and my shield,
in whom my heart trusts.
I am helped, so my heart rejoices;
with my song I praise him.
III
8 [d]Lord, you are a strength for your people,
the saving refuge of your anointed.
9 Save your people, bless your inheritance;
pasture and carry them forever!
Chapter 40
The Dreams Interpreted. 1 [a]Some time afterward, the royal cupbearer and baker offended their lord, the king of Egypt. 2 Pharaoh was angry with his two officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, 3 and he put them in custody in the house of the chief steward, the same jail where Joseph was confined. 4 The chief steward assigned Joseph to them, and he became their attendant.
After they had been in custody for some time, 5 the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt who were confined in the jail both had dreams on the same night, each his own dream and each dream with its own meaning. 6 When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they looked disturbed. 7 So he asked Pharaoh’s officials who were with him in custody in his master’s house, “Why do you look so troubled today?” 8 They answered him, “We have had dreams, but there is no one to interpret them.” Joseph said to them, “Do interpretations not come from God? Please tell me the dreams.”(A)
9 Then the chief cupbearer told Joseph his dream. “In my dream,” he said, “I saw a vine in front of me, 10 and on the vine were three branches. It had barely budded when its blossoms came out, and its clusters ripened into grapes. 11 Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand; so I took the grapes, pressed them out into his cup, and put it in Pharaoh’s hand.” 12 Joseph said to him: “This is its interpretation. The three branches are three days; 13 within three days Pharaoh will single you out[b] and restore you to your post. You will be handing Pharaoh his cup as you formerly did when you were his cupbearer. 14 Only think of me when all is well with you, and please do me the great favor of mentioning me to Pharaoh, to get me out of this place. 15 The truth is that I was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and I have not done anything here that they should have put me into a dungeon.”
16 When the chief baker saw that Joseph had given a favorable interpretation, he said to him: “I too had a dream. In it I had three bread baskets on my head; 17 in the top one were all kinds of bakery products for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.” 18 Joseph said to him in reply: “This is its interpretation. The three baskets are three days; 19 within three days Pharaoh will single you out and will impale you on a stake, and the birds will be eating your flesh.”
20 And so on the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, when he gave a banquet to all his servants, he singled out the chief cupbearer and chief baker in the midst of his servants. 21 He restored the chief cupbearer to his office, so that he again handed the cup to Pharaoh; 22 but the chief baker he impaled—just as Joseph had told them in his interpretation. 23 Yet the chief cupbearer did not think of Joseph; he forgot him.
The Calming of the Storm at Sea. 23 [a](A)He got into a boat and his disciples followed him. 24 Suddenly a violent storm[b] came up on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by waves; but he was asleep. 25 (B)They came and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us![c] We are perishing!” 26 He said to them, “Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?”[d] Then he got up, rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was great calm. 27 The men were amazed and said, “What sort of man is this, whom even the winds and the sea obey?”
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.