Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 130[a]
Prayer for Pardon and Peace
1 A song of ascents.
Out of the depths[b] I cry to you, O Lord;
2 O Lord, hear my voice.
Let your ears be attentive
to my cries of supplication.[c]
3 If you, O Lord, kept a record of our sins,
O Lord, who could stand[d] upright?
4 But with you there is forgiveness
so that you may be revered.[e]
5 I wait for the Lord[f] in anxious expectation;
I place my hope in his word.
6 My soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen wait for the dawn.
More than watchmen wait for the dawn[g]
7 [h]let Israel wait for the Lord.
For with the Lord there is kindness,
as well as plenteous redemption.
8 He alone will redeem Israel
from all its sins.
Chapter 44
Benjamin Is Condemned To Remain in Egypt.[a] 1 Joseph then gave this order to the head steward of his house, “Fill these men’s sacks with as much food as they can carry and place each man’s money in the mouth of his sack. 2 Also place my cup, my silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest along with the money for their grain.” And he did as Joseph had ordered.
3 When morning dawned the men set out with their donkeys. 4 They had just left the city and were not far off when Joseph said to the head steward of his house, “Up, follow the men. When you reach them, tell them, ‘Why have you paid back evil for good? 5 Is this not the cup that my lord uses for drinking and to tell the future? Why have you done this evil thing?’ ”
6 He reached them and repeated these words to them. 7 They told him, “Why is my lord saying these things? Far be it from your servants to do such a thing! 8 We brought the money that we found in the mouth of the sacks back from the land of Canaan. How could we steal the silver or gold from the house of your master? 9 Whichever of your servants is found with it will be put to death, and we will also become the slaves of your master.”
10 He answered, “Very well, it will be as you have said. Whoever is found with it will be my slave; the others will be innocent.”
11 Each one hurried to unload his sack and open it. 12 The steward searched from the oldest to the youngest. The cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. 13 At this, they tore their clothes. Then each one loaded up his donkey, and they returned to the city.
14 When Judah and his brothers came to the house of Joseph, they found him still there; so they threw themselves on the ground in front of him. 15 Joseph told them, “What have you done? Did you not know that a man like me could cast a spell to find out the truth?”
16 Judah said, “What will we say to our lord? What can we say? How can we justify ourselves? God has uncovered the iniquity of your servants. Let us be slaves of my lord, we and the one with whom the cup was found.” 17 He answered them, “Far be it from me to do this! The man with whom the cup was found, he will be my slave. As for you, return in peace to your father.”
18 But Judah came before him and said, “My lord, let your servant please speak a word in the ear of my lord. Let your anger not burn against your servant, for you are as great as Pharaoh himself. 19 My lord asked his servants, ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’ 20 We told my lord, ‘We have an aged father and a younger brother who was born in his old age. His brother is dead, and he is the only remaining son of his mother, and his father loves him.’
21 “You said to your servants, ‘Bring him here to me, so that I can see him with my own eyes.’ 22 We told my lord, ‘The young one cannot leave his father; if he were to leave his father he would die.’ 23 But you said to your servants, ‘If your younger brother does not come down here with you, you shall not see my face.’ 24 When we returned to your servant, my father, we told him the words of my lord.
25 “Our father said, ‘Return to buy a little more food for us.’ 26 We answered, ‘We cannot return down there if our younger brother does not go down with us. Otherwise, we will not be admitted into the presence of that man, if our younger brother is not with us.’
27 “Your servant, my father, said, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons. 28 One left me, and I said, “Surely he has been torn to pieces,” and I have not seen him since. 29 If you carry away this one and something were to happen to him, you would make this gray head go down with sorrow into the netherworld.’
30 “Now, when I go back to your servant, my father, and the young one is not with me (for the life of one is bound to the other), 31 he will surely die as soon as he sees that the young one is not with me. Thus, your servants will have made the gray head of your servant, our father, go down into the netherworld. 32 Your servant made himself a pledge for the young one with my father: ‘If I do not bring him back to you, I will bear this guilt before you all my life.’
33 “Let your servant remain as the slave of my lord instead of the young one. Let the young one return back with his brothers. 34 How could I return to my father without having the young one with me? I could not bear to see the evil that I will have done to my father.”
13 Now I am addressing you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I glory in my ministry 14 in the hope that it will arouse the jealousy of those who are of my flesh so that some might be saved. 15 For if their rejection leads to the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?
16 The Gentiles’ Salvation.[a] If the firstfruits are holy, then so is the whole lump of dough. And if the root is holy, so are the branches. 17 But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in their place to share in the rich root of the olive tree, 18 do not boast over against the branches! If you start to boast, remember that it is not you who support the root but the root that supports you.
19 You will assert, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” 20 That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you hold your place only because of your faith. Therefore, do not rise up in pride but be filled with awe. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, he might not spare you either.
22 Therefore, keep in mind the kindness and the severity of God: his severity toward those who fell, but his kindness to you provided that you remain deserving of that kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off, 23 while those who do not persist in their unbelief will be grafted in, since God has the power to do so again. 24 For if you have been cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree and grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated one, how much more easily will these natural branches be grafted back into their own olive tree.
25 All Israel Will Be Saved.[b] I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brethren, lest you think yourselves too wise: this hardening that has afflicted Israel will continue only until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. 26 This is how all Israel will be saved, as it is written,
“The Deliverer will come out of Zion;
he will banish godlessness from Jacob
27 And this will be my covenant with them
when I take away their sins.”
28 As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies for your sake. However, as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of the patriarchs. 29 For the gifts of God and his calling are irrevocable.
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